ee, 1 CHAPTER 4 Research Methodology and Statistical Tools Learning Outcomes After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. determine what is the right research design for the study; Jearn how to sample the respondents; know what is the appropriate sample size; identify what is the appropriate research instrument, learn how to validate the survey questionnaire; develop a cover letter; develop close-ended questions, scales, rating, and ranking questions. determine the ethical issues in business research; and Doe hegre eC SAE aM ad learn how to report the statistical treatment. Business research writing: Part 3 Research methodology is a detailed outline of how an investigation will take place. Tewill typically include how data are to be collected, what instruments will be employed, how the instruments will be used, and the intended means for analyzing data collected. Chapter 4 of the research manuscript is labeled as Research Methodology. It comprises the following components: research design, sampling plan, research instrument, and statistical treatment of data. Research design What is the right research design for the study? ‘This is a question that always haunts inexperienced researchers. They may come up with a problem and the supporting frameworks, but solving it with the right research design may require certain research skills level. Others who are used to their research 41design would be reluctant to take a research challenge dat would mean a ditfereny research design because the switching cos is high (meaning it would tke inve for them, to learn the tools needed for a particular research design). The objective of this chapter is to make the researcher comfortable in finding the right research design that would address the problem. For most studies, the descriptive research design is the right choice, Even if the research would entail a complicated research design, there is still the element of descriptive research that would he needed~ be it an academic research (basic business research) or applied business research, Even, if one is doing descriptive research, the number of tasks associated with the study may be overwhelming sometimes, especially if the client would want to include aw many business activities (he/she would like to be described in the study). Dexeriptive research would just need minimal explanation and there would be no statistical testing (eg, hypothesis testing). If the problem would ‘require measurement that cannot be covered by the descriptive research design, then other researc ns could be used: correlational research design and causal research design. The difficulty level of these research designs increases as the skills of the researchers in using them are also expected to be developed. Some tools of correlational research design are covered in this book. The causal research design is beyond the scope of this book as this is normally tackled in the doctoral programs of the school and not at the undergraduate level. The book is intended for college as well as Master in Business Administration (MBA) students. idelines for using correlational research tools If the problem involves hypothesis testing, clecide on: a. Hypothesis of relationships (between variables) ~ use Pearson R correlation (or parametric data), or Kendall’s tau B, Spearman's rho, or chi-square (for non-parametric data). This is discussed in Chapter 5. b. Hypothesis of difference ~ use: bl Paired test - for comparing a pair of variables (interval scaled or ordinal); b.2_ Independent samples ¢-test ~ for comparing a variable (interval or ratio scaled) with a nominal variable with two categories only, This is discussed in Chapter 5; or b.3 One-way ANOVA ~ for comparing a variable (interval or ratio scaled) with a nominal variable with at least three or more categories. 2, If the problem is to know which factors/variables are valued by the respondents, then the right technique is a multivariate technique called factor analysis. If the researcher would like to know which variables are important and the unimportant 42 a‘ones will be eliminated (data reduction), then the right technique is still factor analysis. This is discussed extensively in Chapter 7, If the problem is to know which of the variables (called independent variables) would explain or predict a particular variable (called dependent variable), then the right technique is another multivariate technique called multiple regression analysis. This is discussed extensively in Chapter 8. If the problem is to know how to group (segment) the respondents based on their preferences and profile them by cross-tabulating their demographic data, then the right technique is cluster analysis. Cluster analysis is not covered in this book. If the problem is to know how to measure the perception of the respondents and show the results visually through a two- or three-dimensional perceptual map, then the right technique is either: a. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) - used if the data are based on paired comparisons (interval or ratio scaled); b. Multidimensional unfolding (MDU) ~ used if the data are based on ranking (ordinal); c. Correspondence analysis — used if the data are based on multiple options (nominal), These techniques are also not covered in this book. 6. If the problem is to determine which in the list of valued factors would result into the best combinations for the respondents to choose from, then the right technique is conjoint analysis, Conjoint analysis should be complemented with cluster analysis. This technique is not covered in this book as well. Guidelines for using causal research tools Although not covered in this book, the following guidelines are still presented for those who would like to explore the techniques: 1. _ If the problem is to test the existing theoretical framework and validate its measurement variables for research application, then the right technique is the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFA is also a very good validation tool. 2. If the problem is complex and characterized by complex relationships (which cannot be solved by either of the following: multiple regression analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and conjoint analysis), then the right technique is titer covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) or partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).Sampling plan How should the respondents be properly sampled Students and researchers have to decide on the right sample size, Some schog, have the standard sample size for the students to follow or adhere to. Sample sizes ary based on the margin of error and confidence level. For example, undergraduate student are expected to have the famous 100 sample size (based on 9.78% margin of error anq 68.3% confidence level); for the graduate school students, it is 377 (based on 5% margin of error and 95% confidence level). Try using Raosoft sample calculator (www.raosof, com). In fact, when you are done with your sampling, you can now measure your actual sample size with Raosoft calculator and see the final margin of error and confidence level easily. See the Raosoft calculator below. femme at vc OK ew HX Vemntererme EN Miperiunnttcerecvanihtnemmeamemmatenso “sana Tererpeare rca spoon ee Ae cert yn nes tpn tro at ia re Weacntarrindtorene ER. Pcl ero rn ea antennae are | omnes Picea ream ancnee et mee poean om | Sasi gh conan rogue 4 solo? Th sn dows an mach de nat prtta i? ae] gegen nto ma Scioscia “Fox uch quonton, what do you epee the rate wil br? Ha sarpha be sawed Mohiy se way tre ar ac x > Seen ry SSR ESTAS RAN gress treetops Dow tr re a ea amanio aa SS SFO Sos mao aon oa a papal repo a oe 37 Dene mince mapa oe bantu ge one cm te Pec ape hfed Syren Sve rs see tna, Condct your survey enlne wth Vor : www.raosofi.com/samplesize html \osoft calculator’s formulas are also shown below: ft up pan 2010p keen a ei. a nt ry 17 pol yu ae eg erm on [bates ys sry woe ba bomen 1% cod 68% epee you tangle soneend Yer ee ‘seoslng GU sfne tac ert ore ston yond ve be cre maps mi it nar ort ue ha eae! nyu rs sono pain bao ead bar ee tort aban 1 ce ated mae mar ma Fromrggpes ng or minh apenas Th yeh eB nc gh Em ie Mietetifacratad Toe ao fen agen, ned a te: Mote proc od The Cot Calle Sat, er bt ela mere afro, thee sabe ys ae sn, sega nd er toe: gn = 2("h0)*1(100-r) n= Mba on E= sqrt ines) rv ppd c,h an pny thd cl we a cnc oa {roid wren rr ceo, er peo Th cn adn ol tad ve Yohanan sme www.raosofi.com/samplesize. hunt 44Other sampling size formulas that the students or researchers can apply | 1. Slovin’s formula (if the population is known) n=N+[1+W xe] Where: n = number of samples N = total population € = error tolerance For example, N = 8,000; e = 10% or .10 Then, n = 8,000 = [1 + (8,000 x .10°]] = 8,000 = [1 +( 8000 x .01)} = 8,000 = 81 = 99, rounded to 100 2. . Cochran's formula (if the population is unknown): n=Z? [p(I-p}=e Where: n = number of samples Z = the value from the normal distribution table corresponding to a desired level of confidence (95%), which is 1.96 : p(l-p) = maximum data variability = .50 (1-.50) = .25 ¢ = margin of error For example, Z = 1.96; p (variability) = .50; e = 10% or .10 Then, n = 1.96? [.50 (1-.50) + .10"] 3.8416 [.50 (.50) + 01] = 3.8416 (.25) = .01 9604 = .01 = 96, rounded to 100 | What is the appropriate sample size? ‘Asto the appropriate sample size, it depends on the school, the panel of examiners, or the contracted researcher. It should, however, be 100 or more. The problem with a big sample size is the cost and time involved: it becomes so expensive and it requires a much longer period to gather the data. Which is preferred — random sampling or purposive sampling? If the objective of the study is to generalize the result across the population, then use random sampling, If the objective of the study is to determine the target market for a particular organization and is not necessary to generalize it across the population LSTA ERR RR nO 45the! (because the purpose is like a case study), " first, then selecting sampling starts by qualifying the respondents by the quota method, market’s preference for its ne nials and Generation X ay the respondents first b; For example, a company wants to know its target d of Millen product. Its current customers are compos are generally female, To conduct sampling, it must qualify th ; A on generational age (Millennials, born: 1981-1999; Generation X, born: 1965-19 and sex (female). Note that convenience sampling is not covered in the dir het as it is not appropriate for research. Convenience sampling is ee data basg on whoever is available during the time of survey, regardless of qualification and sampling frame. ‘Types of random sampling 1. Simple random sampling 2, Stratified random sampling — if the populatio ~ if the population is known mn is known 3, Random sampling based on Poisson distribution ~ if the population is m known ple random sampling ‘To sample the population using simple random sampling, the researcher has have a.ampling frame. A sampling frame isthe list of the target population (especial if the target population is not large enough). From the list of respondents included the sampling frame, the researcher will draw the sample randomly. A good random js available on the Internet. Just go to www.randomizerorg, It has an instruction of how one can draw a sample from the target population. For example: If a student in the Ateneo de Davao University would like to s the target population of the School of Business and Governance (SBG), he/she to secure the sampling frame firsthe list of students enrolled at the SBG. The bf source for this is the Registrar’s Office. Upon proper request, a student can obtain alphabetical ist of students. To convert this lst into a sampling frame, the students the list should be numbered (c.,, if there are 4,000 students, number the students fra 1 to 4,000 based on their alphabetical arrangement). Then, once the sampling form is determined (let us assume 100 respondents), draw the 100 respondents using : randomizer. For example, the first number drawn is 14. Based on this number, go the sampling frame and identify the 14th student and mark the student as respond 1. Continue with the process until you got’and label the 100 students, How vei aclditional 20 students (20% allowance for non-participation) should be dragn alod i nts (20° ould be drawn also; case some students in the list would refuse to participate, then there ih randomizer can be seen as follows. , rele a buffer. A satay 46Co a ey nany sets of numbers do you want to generat Cnet Nae eae) CET SICH Yes least togreatest © RESULTS 1 Set of 100 Unique Numbers Range: From 1 to 4,000— Sorted from Least to Greatest Set #1 14,21, 157, 171, 188, 198, 261, 272, 292, 301, 395, 454, 554, 596, 598, 742, 716, 825, 877, 887, 898, 900, 907, 929, 1024, 1102, 1106, 1136, 1213, 1228, 1246, 1302, 1336, 1350, 1356, 1424, 1449, 1615, 1685, 1689, 1752, 1754, 1759, 1771, 1798, 1841, 1868, 1887, 1897, 1973, 2017, 2068, 2167, 2181, 2230, 2243, 2304, 2369, 2383, 2398, 2448, 2547, 2598, 2620, 2630, 2652, 2699, 2761, 2815, 2856, 2857, 2899, 2948, 2968, 2995, 3028, 3092, 3094, 3187, 3278, 3302, 3311, 3319, f 3341, 3363, 3382, 3481, 3560, 3580, 3592, 3630, 3694, 3752, 3761, 3803, 3893, f 3897, 3905, 3941, 3962 Please note: By using this service, you agree to abide by the SPN User Policy and to hold Research Randomizer and its staff harmless in the event that you experience a problem with the program or its results. Although every efforthas been made to develop a useful means of generating random numbers, Research Randomizer and its staff do not guarantee the quality ‘or randomness of numbers generated, Any use to which these numbers are put remains the ‘sole responsibility of the user who generated them. 47Stratified random sampling ‘ dom sampli Another way to do random sampling is through stratified rant one ay have Here, if the target population has a natural grouping and ne Oe cena respondents than the other groups, then the right random samp ETT" ott stratify the sample based on the population distribution. eer di lation for ag generational age as basis for stratification, then let us ident, f201T5 Generation X group. Here in Davao City: Millennials (675,152 or 33.3% a5 © 0 ogi) a (248,714 or 14.4% as of 2017); and Baby Boomers (126,006 on Tee is 377), then = use the three strata for sampling purposes (assuming the sample size ? stratified distribution is as follows: Strata Population/ Computation : ee Strata Millennial 575,152 (675,152 = 949,950) x 37_| 228 Generation X | 248,714 (248,714 + 949,950) x 377 | 99 Baby Boomers _ | 126,084 (126,084 = 949,950) x 377 +8 Total [49,950 377 Once the stratified distribution and the sample size are computed, each stratum should have the respondents randomly selected. Poisson distribution In some cases, the population is not known. If this is the case, can we still do random sampling without any sampling frame? The answer is yes. Just use Poisson distribution and the need for a sampling frame is substituted. Here is how it works. For example, this writer wanted to study the mall shoppers in Davao City. However, there is no list of mall shoppers in Davao City to use as a sampling frame. So, the writer has go to the mall and intercept the shoppers as they go on shopping. How could they be domly selected? Prior to going to the malls, the writer has a guide for selecting them cd on selected days and selected hours where the shoppers most likely frequent the mall. See below. Guide sampling procedure per mall Sunday 1:00-2:00 pm 2:00-3:00 pm 3:00-4:00 pm 4:00-5:00 pm 48er to shop in the afternoon, late *Based on the study (Te, 2007) that the shoppers pre afternoon, and early evening during Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturday, and Sundays. ‘The enumerator (research assistant) will be guided by the sampling procedure in selecting the respondents randomly. Here, the enumerator will wait at the specific mall entrance and approach the shopper for survey questionnaire participation at the specific time. If the shopper declines, then the enumerator will approach the next shopper, and another shopper, until there is a taker for a particular time guide. Once there isa taker who is willing to fill up the questionnaire, the enumerator will thank the respondent and wait for the next period (another period based on the guide). But the next time, the enumerator will move to another entrance (to simulate randomness) and select the second respondent. The sampling procedure would take several days until all the respondents in the guide are accounted for; it can even be done simultaneously through the different malls at the same time with the help of more enumerators. This process of random sampling is based on Poisson distribution and mall intercept. Research instrument What is the appropriate research instrument for gathering quantitative research data? In general, quantitative research would need just a survey questionnaire as the research instrument. In some cases, depth interview is applied to complement the survey questionnaire. There is, however, some problem when the two research instruments are used in one study ~ the qualitative result (using depth interview) may contradict with the quantitative result (using survey questionnaire). However, in some cases, the depth interview would provide some insights that may not be captured in the survey questionnaire, and thus enhance the study. ‘The research instrument should be designed to’address all the questions in the problem statement, and no unnecessary question/item should be inserted. As much as possible, the research instrument question and instruction should be easy to follow. If these is a need to translate it in the local vernacular, then have a separate version for it to serve those that may comprehend it better As much as possible, answering the research instrument (survey questionnaire) should not take more than 15 minutes; and, if possible, the filling up the survey questionnaire should be supervised by the enumerator to minimize missing data or erroneous entries, If the questions in the survey questionnaire are adopted from an existing study, itis called a standardized survey questionnaire. The standardized questionnaire may 49i xisting researchers/wri be taken from the studies/literatures made by previous and existing Lo ith standardized questi ‘Thereisno need to haveit validated by experts. me Leap ve hereon fia son is that it might not fully address the research Pr ~~ ee wee tee was developed with may hematin se area ating salon i eS to also mention it in your study. In ii event ‘at pie a onan niet in the standardized SO ‘ a cote ¢ better ‘Sabon the questionnaire to a scales reliability test calle i i stionnaires, the researcher may adop < Te Se Ee ca he the author and proper citation. The See it on fully evaluate if the standardized survey questionnaire suits hiss ‘ares cvcing it to the conceptual framework, subproblems, and variabley = ey Md Not all sandardized survey questionnaires are of good. quality, Even Ts Pai : ac ‘ou have to be reminded that only a few people validated that Bess ae sion, you have to check if that questionnaire is from a research seabed a Hinorable spaces because there are a number of predatory journals lately, ‘Aresearcher must exert effort to construct a survey questionnaire thatis appropriate for his/her study: If the questions in the survey questionnaire are developed by the researcher, it is called a self-developed survey questionnaire. There is a need to have it validated by experts. Some schools would require three experts. The experts should also be familiar with research and require the student to submit the problem statement, conceptual framework, research design, and the questionnaire as basis for rating the validation sheet (see Chapter 10 for a sample validation sheet). A self-developed questionnaire may take time before it can be perfected but it is a good start for aspiring researchers. Among the important reminders in preparing a survey questionnaire is to avoid constructing statements that are answerable by yes or no when the way to answer is the use of the Likert scale. Moreover, the researcher must avoid constructing statements that are double barreled. You cannot measure two things in one statement. Lastly, it is better to exclude neutral answers as among the choices in the Likert scale, One of the behavioral distortions among research respondents is the central tendency or the preference to choose the middle answer, _ Asself-developed survey has to go through reliability and validity tests. The scales reliability test will evaluate the suitability of items in each variable, You may consider 30 or more respondents for the reliabilit 0 ity tests but these individuals should not be included im your actual respondents as you proceed with your study. The survey questionnaire “ea fc Pretested to atleast 30 respondents to checkif the respondents understood Bo aa a be th questionnaire. If the pretested Survey questionnaire has scales, t ee ae Mould be measured for reliability using Cronbach’s alp! Rinlidin naa a alpha is 0.50 or below, there is a need to revise the sc: : “xpert validators who are expert in both research and 5———— i : topic/industry being studied. These validators will evaluate the statement and items in each of the variables, and may provide recommendations for the improvement of the survey questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha (a; or coefficient alpha), developed by Lee Cronbach in 1951, measures reliability or internal consistency, “Reliability” is how well a test measures what it should. For example, a company might give a job satisfaction survey to their employees. High reliability means it measures job satisfaction, whereas low reliability means it measures something else (or possibly nothing at all). Survey questionnaire design The research instrument is an important tool for addressing the problem and measuring the problem and subproblems. For quantitative research, the research instrument is normally the survey questionnaire. For qualitative research, the research, instruments could be a depth interview, focus group discussion, or observation. This chapter will focus on the survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire can either be standardized, self-developed, or hybrid (combination of standardized and self-developed). It is standardized if the questionnaire is patterned after an existing questionnaire and such has been applied and published in a journal. A standardized questionnaire need not be validated as it was already validated before. The researcher, if he/she opts for the standardized questionnaire, must seek the consent and permission of the writer/author (of the article where the questions are derived) to use it in his/her (researcher) current paper. The problem with standardized questionnaire, aside from getting the permission to use it, is how close it is in answering the problem and subproblems. That is why some researchers would use a hybrid questionnaire, where some questions are self- developed to address the specific problem. A self-developed questionnaire is designed by the researcher with the hope of addressing the problem and subproblems. The school program, and even the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), would require a self-developed questionnaire to be validated by experts (at least two experts, in some cases, three experts). The experts would review the questionnaire for its appropriateness (comparing it with the conceptual framework, statement of the problem, hypothesis testing of the concept paper or proposal, and statistical methodology), then rate it (scale of 1~5, where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor), and comment on it at the comment section. For a hybrid questionnaire, the self-developed questions should be validated. However, it must inform the validator which part is not standardized. For a sample validation form, see Chapter 10. ‘The self-developed survey questionnaire should be designed in such a way that the respondent will not take much of his or her time in answering the questionnaire, A typical 5-page questionnaire would take 15 minutes for the respondent to fill up. 51uld be supervised by the researcher oth ing data (unanswered POTtIONS). Sony itive to missing data and will have its procening substantial (around 10%). coming up with a self-developey ichors for the questions tha As much as possible, the filling up shot ‘ enumerator to minimize erroneous entries OF missi statistical applications would be sen aborted if the missing data are quite One of the predicaments of the students in the right response an i ire is the task of choosing . - ea pae Dede sn the need, they may choose from the list which may by applicable to their study: Level of Importance Level of Acceptability Not at all important Slightly important Slightly unacceptable Moderately important Very important Frequency 1 2 [Rarely Neither agree nor disagree 3 | Sometimes 4 4 | Often Strongly agree 5 I Always J of Desirability Priority Level Very undesirable 1 |Nota priority f Undesirable 2 | Low priority : Neutral 3. | Medium priority Desirable 4 | High priority Very desirable 5 _| Essential (oF very high priority) Level of Probability Knowledge of Action ——__——| Never true Rarely true _|Neutral__ Sometimes true Always true"The self-developed survey questionnaire should have a cover letter that states » who is the researcher, what is the purpose of research, and the assurance that the data will be treated with confidentiality. The cover letter could be in a separate sheet of paper or it could be integrated in the questionnaire. The questionnaire should also be arranged in the sequence of questions, starting with the difficult ones, The questions about the demographic data of the respondents are better presented at the last part, so the respondents can accomplish them easily. Sample cover letter Date ‘ Dear Respondent: Tama candidate of the DBA Program of Ateneo de Davao University. I am conducting a study on the perception and preference of mall shoppers in Davao City. : I would like to solicit your participation and cooperation by answering a few questions in the survey questionnaire. The data you provide will help us understand consumer behavior in mall shopping The data will be treated with confidentiality and be used only for statistical analysis. ‘Thank you. P| Sincerely, Danilo M. Te __ When designing a survey questionnaire, avoid the open-ended questions as much as possible, An open-ended question would require much of the respondent's time, as © he/she would think first before he/she could come up with the answer. Chances are, » the respondent would just skip the question. As much as possible, go for close-ended | questions, where the options are listed for the respondent to choose from. However, = include an option-others (please specify) ; this will address whatever missed in the options listed. 53Sample close-ended question rchandise from at the mayp 1. “Which specialty store do you normally visit and buy me Please check the appropriate box. Specialty Stores Fast-food Hardware store Drugstore Shoes store Toy store Bookstore Men’s apparel store Women’s apparel store Other (please specify) ‘| If the question is about rating, be sure to specify the range and the value at each point or the value at the extreme points. For example, “Please rate ona scale of 1-7, where 7 is highly valued and 1 is least valued-for extreme or bipolar, please rate the scale on a scale of 1-5, where 5 is highly agree, 4 is agree, 3 is neither agree nor disagree (neutral), 2 is disagree, and 1 is highly disagree—Likert scale. In research, we normally present the positive first (higher value) and the negative (lower value) last. ; Sample Likert scale question 1. What attracts you to your preferred mall? Please rate on a scale of 1-5 by checking the appropriate box, where: 5 - Strongly agree ] 4~ Agree 3~ Neither agree nor disagree (neutral) 2~ Disagree g 1 ~ Strongly disagree 4 } 54 4Item Question Mall Atmospherics 1.1 The mall is sufficiently air-conditioned. 1.2 The grocery store is not crowded. 1.3 The department store is not crowded. 1.4 The mall has no bad smell. 1.5 The grocery wet market has no bad smell. 1.6 The music is conducive to buying, 1.7 The mall color is pleasing to the eyes. 1.8 The mall is adequately lighted. | 1.9 The comfort rooms are clean and well maintained. 1.10 There are adequate benches for shoppers to rest and relax. rating, should not be repeated and be used only once. Sample ranking question do not leave any mall unranked. If the question is about ranking, be sure to specify what is first (normally 1), what is second (2), what is third (3), and so on. The number in ranking, unlike in 1, Based on your perception about mall atmospherics, please rank the malls from | to 7, where | is the first and 7 is the last. Please use only the rank number once and Davao City Malls ‘Abreeza Mall Gaisano Malll of Davao Gaisano South Citimall NCCC Mall of Davao [| ir 2. 3. 4. 5. SM City Ecoland ‘SM City Lanang Victoria Plaza 4 +=Paired comparison question Sample paired comparison question: Schools to be compared (ADU, SPC, and UIC) - ona scale of 1 to 7, where | is highly similar and 7 is highly dissimilar. Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) vs College (SPC) AdDU vs. University of Immaculate Conception ( . San Pedro (UIC) | Semantic differential (also called bipolar) question low for measuring the attitudes or feelings Semantic differential questions a ¢ ional ‘survey question your respondents that might not be revealed through traditi A sample semantic differential question is as follows: Example 1: The checkout process was: Straightforward - ----- 70000777 Confusing The semantic differential scale offers two descriptors as choices (alo with “in the middle” options, as well): straightforward and confusing. mple 2: Do you value quality education in your school? On a scale of 1-7, please ., where 7 is most valued and 1 is least valued (please the check appropriate box). Quality Education 1.1 That can be considered world class [1.2 That results in better job opportunities 1.3 That produces higher board/bar passing results Open-ended question Sample open-ended question: 1. What are the challenges and difficulties in the organization you are working now?Recoding a negatively stated item A negatively stated item can be combined with a positively stated item if its direction is the same (meaning, an item with some negative words results in an ideal situation and another item [positively worded] also has the same direction [ideal situation]). If such is the case, then there is no need to recode the item with some negative words. For example: 1. Teel the respect of other people around me. 2. [have not experienced hurtful comments from others. The question-items above are derived from the “Being Well Respected” variable from the study of Marte and Te (2017) on Profiling the Psychographics ‘of Davao City Millennial. Item 2 has a negative word (not); however, the direction does not change as the statement has a positive meaning (same as item 1). Therefore, there is no need to recode the answer of item 2. However, if the meaning and the direction change because of the inclusion of an item with some negative words, then the item must be recoded. In such a case, there is a need to note it so that the encoder will encode the questions that are negatively worded in reverse (i.e., the positive coding of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 will be recoded: the 1 becomes 5, the 2 becomes 4, the 3 is unchanged [the same], the 4 becomes 2, and the 5 becomes 1). If the numbers are not reversed (for negatively worded), the interpretation might be affected as the meaning is altered. What ethical issues should be avoided in research? Research should be grounded on ethics. The researcher should be transparent with the research process and findings, even if it would mean not meeting his/her research objective, The reader of the research paper should not be misled, Any misrepresentation is unethical. If students are involved in doing data gathering, the school policy about it should be observed; otherwise, it is unethical, If a researcher is doing a contracted research for a particular company, he or she should not accept a research-related activity from the company’s competitors; otherwise, itis also unethical, Ethical consideration should be observed in the entire research process. As one prepares for the research proposal, which contains the Chapters 1-3, ethical considerations must be placed on the integrity of the study and included on the last part of Chapter 3 (as practiced by some schools). ‘The researcher should sce to it that the title, conceptual framework, research questions, and instruments are original. As mentioned, standardized survey questionnaires may be used by asking permission from the author by emailing him/ her, or by contacting him/her in social media, and by proper citation of the person, ayould start by securing it sl ; d, Data gathering may a gathering, As the researcher proceeds with the data BT Nie permission from the management of the institution r, not make use of connections tg : © must t : : entail cost, but that is part of the process. One mus ith appropriate sanctions, run unethical data gathering as companies take this ah ba Respondents must be informed of the purpose of the suey ©, answer the survey questionnaire. The researcher must respec chooses not to participate in the data collection. ee The researcher should also assure the respondent that caer the vonacet af be treated with confidentiality, If it will be shared to others withor caiodnaire, the respondent, then it is unethical. When designing the survey @ ed a numb should have no respondent name. The respondent will just be assi6 4 for checking purposes on missing data or erroneous entry: nly unethical but Claiming the works of other researchers as one’s own is not on ‘, also illegal; there is a stiff penalty for plagiarism. Copying and pasting the works of other researchers is a form of plagiarism if it is not properly cited or paraphrased. tice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing Plagiarism is the pra and them offas one’s own. Based on the article published by Shabe (2018), plagiarism takes various forms: 1. Direct plagiarism. Directplagiarismis the most obvious form of plagiarism. This means taking someone else’s ideas or work and claiming them as your own, without citation. Even if you delete or change a couple of words here and there, it is direct plagiarism if the majority of the structure and words are the same. Direct plagiarism is one of the worst types of plagiarism. It often results in expulsion, and, if it also violates copyright, possible criminal charges. 2. Paying for someone else’s work. This one is self-explanatory. If you pay someone to write an essay for you, it is plagiarism. The words submitted are not yours and are therefore plagiarized. This also includes having a friend or family member write your essay for you and then you hand it in with your d how they are going to dent if he/she name on it. 3, Self-plagiarism. Self-plagiarism can be tricky and is frequently’ unintentional. There are a couple of versions of self-plagiarism; the more serious being turning in a paper you already submitted for a grade to another class, Because you have turned this paper in already, it is no longer new and original work. Self-plagiarism can also occur when you use ideas or phrases from. your previous papers or assignments. Same as with paraphrasing, usit ¢ pieces of essays you have already completed is not inherently plagiariing so falls As long as you consult your professors to check whether do ave written within your institution’s policies, citing previous papers you hi is not considered self-plagiarism. y 4. Paraphrasing without a source. Paraphrasing itself is not plagiarism so long as you properly cite your sources. However, paraphrasifig becomes plagiarism when you read different sources, pull out some key points, and then rewrite these points as if they were your own ideas. If you do not cite your sources for all the non-original ideas referenced in your paper, then you are committing plagiarism. J Accidental plagiarism is frequently caused by paraphrasing without a source. It is simple and easy to avoid. Just remember to properly cite your source. How should the statistical treatment be reported / ‘What should be tested statistically? In the statistical treatment part, the researcher will report the statistical tools he/ she applies in measuring the data. It should include how the data will be processed by the statistical software either by frequency, percentage, ratio, descriptive statistics, and other quantitative measurements (such as multivariate techniques). If the major measuring tool is based on multivariate data analysis, the statistical process (treatment) must be discussed briefly. Sample statistical treatment ‘The demographic profile of the respondents is interpreted and analyzed using frequency count, percentage, and ratio, For the statistical tool, the researcher can use the SPSS software for the computation and analysis of weighted mean, Cronbach’s alpha, one-way ANOVA, and factor analysis. Factor analysis is used to determine whether there are significant factors within the variables. The principal component analysis was applied by the researcher in this study. In interpreting the significance of factor loading, the researcher used the guidelines for identifying significant factor loading based on sample size. A factor loading of 0.325 based on 0.05 significance level was considered significant based on a sample size of 300. ‘The varimax method of rotation was employed for easier interpretation. ‘The researcher also applied the KMO’s measure of sampling adequacy (MSA) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity to determine whether the data are appropriate for factor analysis. 5ONext step: Gathering the data Tips on how to gather the primary data Once the proposal (chapters 1-3 for accepted, the next step is to. gather the data. : through a survey questionnaire the traditional format) is presented The following guidelines may help: tively asa group): For college students (working individually or collec! lL. The enumerators (the ones giving the survey questionnaire and roa it after filling up the questionnaire) should have some prior training of ba Q conduct the survey. In this case, the students are the enumerators as It : expensive to hire the services of experienced enumerators. The enumerators_ are normally paid per respondent basis (within the range of PhP oe respondent). The costs also include transportation (if the area is far) and meal or snack allowance (especially if the data gathering would take more than hours). i The student/enumerator should be amiable when approaching the respondent and be courteous as well. q Students, as well as other researchers, should have patience as there will be more rejection or non-participation by the respondents. This is true because the culture of research is not well adopted in the Philippines. 4 To minimize rejection, a token is normally given after the participation” of respondents. The token, to catch the attention of the respondent, is mentioned once the enumerator will ask the participation of the respondent by explaining briefly what the research survey is all about. Try to limit the questionnaire to a maximum of 5 pages so that the filling up time will not take more than 15 minutes. Check for any unanswered portions in the respondents’ forms. Request it to be filled up, in case there is one or more found. Note that missing dat may pose a problem during data processing and data interpretation. Some software will not even process it if the missing data have reached the critic level (which varies from software to software). Once the data are gathered, encode it in the Excel encoding template carlier discussion and illustration’on how to design it in Chapter 10), U the appropriate code (¢.g., for nominal data, 1 for male, 2 or 0 for fem for multiple options [nominal], | for presence, 0 for absence; for ordinal interval/ratio data, based on the number answered by the respondent, etc.)