PARENTS, PEER, SELF-CONTROL, SAVING BEHAVIOR 21

CHAPTER II

Methods

Research Design

The study applies the descriptive-correlational research design in order to describe and

determine the level of relationship of parental socialization, peer influence and self-control to the

student’s saving behavior. According to Price, Jhangiani and Chiang (2015), the descriptive-

correlational research design is characterized as a non-experimental measurement and

description of existing or potential relationships between two or more quantifiable variables.

However, a descriptive-correlational research design does not necessarily indicate manipulation

and a cause and effect relationship between the variables being studied. Instead, the identified

correlations among the variables of a study can be used to predict the outcomes of related

inquiries.

Having used a descriptive-correlational research design, the researchers are able to gather

and analyze statistical data that can help provide an in-depth understanding to the influence of

parental socialization, peer influence and self-control to the saving behavior of students.

Moreover, the extent of the influence of the parents, peer and self-control to the students as well

as their saving behavior can be further explained due to the descriptive aspect of the research

design applied in the study.

Research Locale

The Senior High School Department of Baliuag University located in Baliuag, Bulacan is

considered as the setting of the study. Aside from the cost of tuition fee upon enrollment to the

private university, the students are also challenged to manage their allowances to pay for

miscellaneous expenses in participation to different academic or athletic activities. Unlike most

PARENTS, PEER, SELF-CONTROL, SAVING BEHAVIOR 22

academic institutions, the schedule of classes among the Senior High School Department of

Baliuag University requires students to transfer from one campus to another which exposes them

to a greater variety of business establishments. For this reason, the researchers concluded that the

Senior High School Department is a reliable locale for the conduct of the study as it challenges

and practices students to become more responsible in spending and saving their money.

Participants

The Senior High School students of Baliuag University are chosen to be the participants

of the study. These include students coming from four academic strands namely Accountancy,

Business and Management (ABM), General Academic Strand (GAS), Humanities and Social

Sciences (HUMSS) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Since the

researchers presumed that most of the Senior High School students experience a certain level of

financial independence from their parents, their exposure to different challenges in terms of

handling their budget or expenses make them reliable sources of information that can be used to

determine the saving behavior of the students. Moreover, the reliability of the chosen

respondents is also based on the premise that their age bracket might significantly influence their

motives to set aside part of their finances besides their level of maturity to consider their future

financial stability before spending their money.

Sampling Procedure

Since saving behavior is not particularly practiced by a specific strand or grade level of

students, the researchers decided to use stratified random sampling to provide an unbiased

selection of respondents from the total population of the Senior High School students.

As the first step in identifying the number of respondents, the totality of the Senior High

School Department is obtained primarily which consists of 1,616 students. Subsequently, the
PARENTS, PEER, SELF-CONTROL, SAVING BEHAVIOR 23

data obtained is substituted to the Slovin’s Formula to acquire the sample size of 321

respondents. Then, the stratified random sampling is employed to the study to compute for the

number of respondents that are needed from each of the four academic strands offered in the

Senior High School Department of Baliuag University. Afterwards, the subdivision of the

respondents for each section per strand is calculated using stratified random sampling while

simple random sampling is applied lastly to further specify the students that would be the actual

respondents of the study.

Instrument

The data gathering instrument used in the study is a two-part survey questionnaire which

was mainly modified from the studies of Chai, Chia, Fong, Lew and Tan (2012), Dangol and

Maharjan (2018) and Otto (2009) as cited by Adams (2018). Since the researchers intend to

provide a comprehensive description of each research variable, the 45-item survey questionnaire

is subdivided into two sections that primarily focus on parental socialization, peer influence, self-

control as predictors of saving behavior and saving behavior. The students are also tasked to rank

their level of agreement or disagreement in each statement through the use of a four-point Likert

Scale. Their responses may range from 1 (“Strongly Disagree”) to 4 (“Strongly Agree”) which

can provide numerical data to the researchers that would help analyze the correlation of parental

socialization, peer influence and self-control to the saving behavior of the students. Aside from

the stated reasons, survey questionnaire is also selected as the data gathering instrument of the

study due to its ability to gather data from a large number of respondents which can significantly

increase the generalizability of the findings of the study.

However, the researchers decided to modify some of the statements from the survey

questionnaire for clarification purposes. For self-control, the 27th statement is modified from the
PARENTS, PEER, SELF-CONTROL, SAVING BEHAVIOR 24

study of Chai, Chia, Fong, Lew and Tan (2012) wherein the phrase “describes me” is changed

into “describes the way I buy things even if it is expensive” to further specify the reason behind

the behavior because not every person spend their money impulsively as there are also some who

prioritize spending money on practical things or needs. For the same reason, the 28th statement is

also modified such that the phrase “describes me” is changed into “describes the way I tend to

spend my money on things that aren’t even practical to me”. Furthermore, the 29th statement is

modified from the study of Indrani and Yamunadevi (2019) wherein the phrase “limit my

expenses” is supplied to provide a particular reason that might help students save money with

hardly any difficulty.

Data Gathering Procedure

Prior to the administration of survey questionnaires, the researchers prepared a

permission letter to be approved by the principal of the Senior High School Department. Once

granted, a copy of the permission letter was also presented to the subject teachers of the

respondents to ask for their consent regarding the distribution of questionnaires at the time of

their classes. Then, the researchers proceeded to explain a brief introductory about the purpose

and significance of the study in order to inform the chosen respondents about the anonymity and

confidentiality of their responses and identity throughout the conduct of the study. Each section

was also given a maximum of 15 minutes to complete the data collection of the study and the

researchers made sure to be open for any clarifications regarding the terms used in the survey

questionnaire.

Once the sample size needed is completed and the survey questionnaire from each

respondent is recollected, the responses are calculated and tabulated using the Statistical Package

for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to obtain the data needed for interpretation and analysis.
PARENTS, PEER, SELF-CONTROL, SAVING BEHAVIOR 25

The ethical considerations indicated below are included in the study in order to protect

the rights of the researchers, participants and other contributors to the study.

Informed consent. Aside from a brief orientation about the procedures and significance

of the study before the survey administration, a consent form is also included at the first section

of the questionnaire to inform students that their participation to the study is completely

voluntary and that they have the right to refuse their involvement to the conduct of the study. The

researchers also made sure that proper explanation is provided to the respondents of the study in

order for them to understand the risks and benefits of entrusting their responses and identity to

gather data for the analysis and interpretation of the study.

Anonymity and confidentiality. As part of the rights of the research participants, the

researchers ensure that their demographic profile would not be made available to any person who

is not directly involved in the conduct of the study. The survey questionnaires were also handled

and kept in confidentiality to guarantee that the responses of the participants would not be traced

back to their identity in research reports or presentations.

Honesty, sympathy and respect. The researchers made use of appropriate citations and

references to give proper credit to the author of the cited sources. The results of the study were

also obtained through a systematic and planned process to ensure that the data gathered was not

manipulated, fabricated or presented out of guess. Each part of the research paper was also

submitted on time to avoid disruption to the schedule of the research adviser. Moreover, the

totality of the respondents, teachers and researchers were also treated with respect all throughout

the research process.

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Data Analysis and Statistical Treatment

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) is mainly used in the study to

conduct a quantitative analysis of the gathered data that ensures higher reliability and accuracy.

As a measuring instrument, the researchers decided to use a four-point Likert Scale with

no neutral point where two extremes (1 and 4) were used to represent the opposing agreements.

Predictors of Saving Behavior

Point Scale Interpretation

4 3.26 – 4. 00 Extremely Influential

3 2.51 – 3.25 Moderately Influential

2 1.76 – 2.50 Slightly Influential

1 1.00 – 1.75 Not Influential

Saving Behavior

Point Scale Interpretation

4 3.26 – 4. 00 Strong Behavior

3 2.51 – 3.25 Moderate Behavior

2 1.76 – 2.50 Weak Behavior

1 1.00 – 1.75 Negligible Behavior

PARENTS, PEER, SELF-CONTROL, SAVING BEHAVIOR 27

Furthermore, the interpretation for the size of a correlation coefficient was also used in

the study to measure the level of relationship of the variables being studied.

Size of Correlation Interpretation

± 1.0 Perfect positive/negative correlation

± .71 - ± .99 Strong positive/negative correlation

± .51 - ± .70 Moderately positive/negative correlation

± .31 - ± .50 Weak positive/negative correlation

±.01 to .30 Negligible positive/negative correlation

To interpret the gathered data, the researchers used the following:

1. Percentage was used to describe the demographic profile of the respondents.

2. Mean and standard deviation was used to describe parental socialization, peer influence,

self-control and saving behavior.

3. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to determine the significant

relationship of parental socialization, peer influence and self-control to students’ saving

behavior.

4. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine whether parental socialization, peer

influence and self-control can significantly predict the students’ saving behavior.