CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Area of Study
The area of study of this research work was the Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State Nigeria.

The area was picked due to proximity and consideration and access to information.

3.2 Research Design

This study adopted a descriptive research design for this study. Research design is a plan that

provides direction towards which a researcher obtains the knowledge and type of data searching

for (Creswell, 2014). In addition, research designs are always determined by the research

approaches.

3.3 Population, Sample Size, and Sampling Techniques

The total population for the study comprises the entire students in Federal Polytechnic Ede. The

study would adopt total remuneration and purposive sampling techniques due to size and

characteristics. The researchers, therefore, want to use the entire population as the sampling size.

3.4. Source of data and Data Collection Method

The questionnaire research instrument will be used in this research work to gather information

because it helps to access a large number of respondents at a minimal cost. The data collected

would be gathered, sorted, and analyzed with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences

(SPSS).
3.5 Research Instrument

The questionnaire will be used for this study and will consist of two sections (A and B) and

Section A based on respondents’ bio-data using five items and Section B contain statements

concerning the perception of the causes of higher education in Nigeria. Five-point Likert scale (5

– Strongly Agreed, 4- Agree, 3- Undecided, 2, Disagree, 1- strongly Disagree) that best describes

the extent to which the respondents agree with each item in the questionnaire that will be used.

3.5.1 Reliability of Instruments

Cronbach’s alpha method of reliability is for measuring the reliability of this research work

(Adekemi, 2011). The literature reveals that acceptable reliability should fall between 0.60 and

0.70. A high value of Cronbach’s alpha test means that the stability, reliability, and certainty of

the instrument used in measurement are not assured.

3.5.2 Validity of Instrument

Copies of the survey will be made accessible to experts in this study such as my supervisor for

comments and opinions to create validity in terms of contrast, content, criterion, and readability

for it to be suitable for the objectives of the study. Areas that are not needed will be removed and

other areas will be collected and added to the research. Also, areas considered irrelevant to the

study will be removed and while others collected will be added to the research work.

3.6 Method of Data Analysis and Presentation

For the analysis of data, the statistical package for social sciences ‘SPSS’ would be used. The

statistical tools used to analyze the data include the following: descriptive and frequency tables

and percentages the reliability testing performed and the Cranach’s Alpha value supported the

acceptance of the questionnaire as a measuring instrument. Descriptive and percentage analysis

is performed for all variables with demographic Elander (2003).

The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square ( ) are employed in dealing with the getting

all necessary related results from the primary data, questionnaire precisely and the tests are carried

out with the use of statistical package for social science (SPSS).

3.7 METHOD OF ESTIMATION

3.7.1 ANOVA (Analysis Of Variance) for categorical variables

ANOVA (Analysis Of Variance) is a collection of statistical models used to assess the

differences between the means of two independent groups by separating the variability into

systematic and random factors. It helps to determine the effect of the independent variable on the

dependent variable.
The formula for Analysis of Variance is:

ANOVA coefficient, F= Mean sum of squares between the groups (MSB)/ Mean squares of

errors (MSE).

Therefore F = MSB/MSE 

Where,

Mean squares between groups, MSB = SSB / (k – 1)

Mean squares of errors, MSE = SSE / (N – k)

And

Total degrees of freedom, N – 1= df3 

Degrees of freedom of errors, N – k = df2 here, N is the total number of observations

throughout k groups.

Degrees of freedom between groups, k – 1= df1, where k is the number of groups.

Moreover, the ANOVA table below represents its many components: 

3.7.2 ONE-WAY ANOVA

Source of Degree of Sum of square Mean square F-value

variation freedom

treatment k-1 SSt/a-1 MSt/MSE

Error K(n-1) By subtraction SSB/b-1 MSB/MSE

Total Kn-1

-
Source: author computation, (2023).

3.7.3 TWO-WAY ANOVAS

Source of Degree of Sum of square Mean square F-value

variation freedom

treatment a-1 SSt/a-1 MSt/MSE

Blocks b-1 SSB/b-1 MSB/MSE

Error (a-1)(b-1) By subtraction SSE/(a-1)(b-1)

SST-SSE-SSB

Total N-1

-
Source: author computation, (2023).

3.7.4 CHI-SQUARE

A Pearson’s chi-square test is a statistical test for categorical data. It is used to determine

whether your data are significantly different from what you expected. There are two types of

Pearson’s chi-square tests:

1. The chi-square goodness of fit test is used to test whether the frequency distribution of a

categorical variable is different from your expectations.

2. The chi-square test of independence is used to test whether two categorical variables are

related to each other.

There are two types of variables in statistics: numerical variables and non-numerical variables.

The value can be calculated by using the given observed frequency and expected frequency.

If you want to test a hypothesis about the distribution of a categorical variable you will need to

use a chi-square test or another non-parametric test. Categorical variables can be nominal or

ordinal and represent groupings such as species or nationalities. Because they can only have a

few specific values, they can’t have a normal distribution.

Chi-square is often written as and is pronounced “kai-square” (rhymes with “eye-square”).

3.7.5 The chi-square formula

The Chi-square formula is given as:

Where ;

X2= Chi-square

O= Observed frequency of responses to each alternative option in any specific question

E= Expected frequency of responses calculated as follows;

3.8 Decision Rule

If P-value is less than significance level (α) at 0.05, therefore reject the null hypothesis H 0 and accept

the alternative hypothesis H1i.e. The result is statistically significance.

If P-value is greater than the significance level (α) 0.05, therefore accept the null hypothesis H0 and

reject the alternative hypothesis H1 i.e. the result is not statistically significance.