UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS OF SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS

WITHOUT IN-PERSON CLASS EXPERIENCE IN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY-

GENSAN
__________________________________________________________________

A Research Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of Sociology
College of Social Sciences and Humanities
General Santos City

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Socio 112 - Qualitative Data Analysis for Social Research

By:

Aljen A. Dayaganon
Mike L. Ponte
Dennirosse T. Diego

April, 2022
Introduction

The sudden shift toward online education amid the pandemic COVID-19 has raised

concerns over the disruption of the social interactions of the students. For the most part, there are

college students who never meet in-person any of their classmates and worst they did not have

the opportunity to come together face to face as a class. Distant learning is one thing however

distant learning without in-person experience during college is another thing that brings issues on

the social aspect of the students and learning process. Thus the researchers seek to understand the

social interactions of students on distant learning, specifically those students without in-person

class experience since they entered college.

Social interactions of students have been a crucial part of higher education learning

(Wright and Horta, 2018). Hence, interaction is the central core of learning experience and a key

factor for the positive student learning outcome (Alqurashi, 2019). On this accord, interaction

helps to build knowledge and empower learners (Holland, 2019). Also Tand and Tsui (2018)

added that it offers the platform for members of a society to share their values and interests of

each other.

In the global context, the onset of the year 2020, COVID-19 has created the largest

disruption to education ever recorded, affecting nearly 1.6 billion students in more than 190

countries around the globe (United Nations Statistics Division, 2020). One of the relevant

problems seen according to Downing (2020) was the sense of community that was easily lost in

online or distant learning due to lack of physicality of in-person classes. Students note that in the

classroom they can make personal connections with like-minded peers who share their scholarly

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interests. This implies that this kind of bonding experience is not easily replicated online, as most

students rarely converse with each other during and after an online class.

In the Philippines, one of the top issues that the CHED highlighted after a year of

continuing education amid pandemic is the issue of social integration and peer culture, and the

possibility of transmission of values in a “virtual” classroom (Gamage, 2020). Since, there is a

lack of human interaction in the learning process students may learn less in such a set-up as

opposed to those in the traditional classroom. The lack of face-to-face human interaction in the

online learning space and process appears unsettling to both educators and learners alike.

Social interaction plays an integral role in the learning experience, however, distant

learning imposed disruptions and limitations to the normal social interactions of the students.

Thus, the researcher realized that when means of social interaction disrupted due to the present

pandemic and the way of interaction of student’s changes, understanding social interactions of

college students without in-person class experience became an interesting topic to study.

Likewise, little is known on the experiences of college student’s interaction without in-person

class since they entered college in the Philippines.  On this accord, the researchers are interested

to understand how they attached meanings to their social interactions on distant learning with the

absence of in-person class experience, as they face these new experiences due to the present

pandemic.

In response to the call, this research study focused on understanding the social

interactions of Sociology students who did not experience in-person class since they entered

college. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to understand the live experiences of Covid-era

students on their social interactions with their co-students and professors on distant learning.

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Additionally, the results or findings of this research will be beneficial to educational institutions,

teachers, and students to come up with strategies to enhance social interaction in online learning

and to be prepared on the adjustments that are needed to be done considering that face to face

classes will start again soon.

Research Questions

This study aims to understand the social interaction of Sociology students without in-

person class experience in Mindanao State University. Specifically, the study seeks to answer the

following questions:

1. What does social interaction in general mean to Sociology students?

2. How do Sociology students give meaning to their social interaction without in-person class

experience?

3. How do the Sociology learners participate in social interaction on distant learning without in-

person class experience in college?

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study will be useful to fill the gap and research concerning the

meanings that students attaches to their social interactions on distant learning amid Covid-19

pandemic. It will provide research-based data about the students live experiences on their

interactions with their co-students and teachers or professor. Also, the results of the study can be

used to improve the social interactions of students on distant and online learning and be prepared

for the re-opening of face to face class in the near future. Specifically it will benefit Government

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Agencies, Non-Government Agencies, State Universities’ admins, teachers and instructors,

students, and future researchers.

To contribute knowledge to the present literature, this study has the potential to

contribute to what is already known about the social interactions of students on distant learning.

It will add new understanding and fill the gap in literature and research regarding the live

experiences of the students interacting amid the Covid-19 pandemic without in-person class

experience sine they entered college.

To Government Agencies such as Department of Education, Commission on Higher

Education, etc. might find this research useful in order to identify and fill in the gaps on the

social interactions of the students on distant learning. They may also identify the significance of

the social aspect of the students on conducting distant learning where no students will be left

behind.

To Non-Government Agencies, by this research, the sense of volunteerism and act of

helping the students on their education in times of pandemic will develop and improve. Also,

they can provide solutions and interventions for the identified problems.

To State Universities’ Admins, by this research, admins of the State Universities can

assess the emerging needs of the students especially giving them assistance on having a

conducive environment where effective social interaction is being highlighted for the students to

develop sense of relatedness not aloneness and isolation.

To the Teachers and Instructors, the Sociology Department’s teachers and instructors

as well as professors can create and provide intervention in the identified or evaluated problems

in the study especially on innovating their approach in teaching their lessons and give effective

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response to the emerging needs of the students which regards to their social interactions online

and the re-opening of face to face class.

To Sociology Club MSU-GSC, Through this study officers of the club in the present up

to the coming semesters or academic years will have a basis conducted by its students that will

provide them data as their basis on planning specific solutions and assistance in helping the

student’s especially Sociology-major students in their social aspect.

To the students, through having knowledge on the learning experiences of the students

on the social aspects of their lives will help them to extend arms to those who think needy of the

support and still think that they could not effectively interact with other students.

To Future Researchers, This research is a benchmark and may be used by other and

future researchers in order to gather data, and also for future resources.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study aims to understand the social interactions of Sociology students who did not

experience in-person class since they entered college, specifically, the means, motivations and

meanings of the social interactions of Sociology students. In this study, participants will be

coming from the Sociology Department since they are the ones that is more inclined with the

objectives of this study as well as studying social interactions is related to their field of interest-

studying social and societal behavior right in the center of the society. They must be on the first

and second years of taking the degree. It is in the sense that they are not well familiar of each

other or how social interaction in college are happening given that they enter the institution

amidst the pandemic. In addition, participants of this study shouldn’t have any classmates or

acquainted to other Sociology students before being admitted to the Sociology Program.

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Moreover, participants of the study must not be acquainted with each other on the time of their

admission to the university or into the Sociology program and only have a chance to socially

interact through online platforms or during synchronous class discussions. Participants may

come from different areas in the Philippines as long as they are currently admitted to the

Sociology program of Mindanao State University- General Santos Campus and may also be of

different gender identity or gender preferences. In order to understand the social interactions of

Sociology students on this study, qualitative data will be gathered and will be evaluated through

online interview in accordance to the institution’s mandate as well as IATF’s minimum health

protocol. This study will utilize Key Informant Interview (KII) as method of gathering the data

that may undergo through either in-person interview and through real-time video conferencing.

This is to ensure that all channels and resources will be utilized without compromising the safety

of all people involved in this academic endeavor as well as the integrity of data being gathered.

Theoretical Framework

This study will use Social Action Theory developed by sociologist Max Weber to guide

the generation of the data and data analysis of this study.

Social Action Theory provides the framework that social actions can trigger the means

and ends of every social actors and social interaction to attain or achieve specific goals. This

relates on how people act and why people interact with others. People can reflect on how they act

and they can tell why they acted in this way or in that way. People in public sphere for example,

work in the sense that they act such as goal that triggers them to interact with other people in

order to attain the specific end on what they are doing. On this accord Webber discern this first

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type of ideal action which is goal rational (Avendano, 2021). Using this framework the

researchers can understand why certain individuals or certain social groups act in a certain way

under certain circumstances.

In the sphere of the academe especially on students interactions with their co-students and

teachers, shifting to distant learning posses the same faith as to those who are working in the

public sphere. Students are greatly challenged by the fact that they are learning in new

environment with the absence of in-person classes due to the present pandemic. Though

challenged by distance, students find social networks by having effective social interactions with

other students forming the so called, collected social behaviour fuelled by their personal desires

of passing a specific subject and most importantly for better learning outcomes.

Moreover, social interaction is a key in attaining specific goals. Students according to this

theory socially interact to fulfil their goals as students thus this framework is suitable for the

nature of the study on understanding the social interactions of students without in-person class.

The researchers can understand how college students act without in-person class experience and

capture why they act in this way or in that way.

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Figure 1. Theoretical Paradigm

Social Action Theory

Rationally Purposeful
Action

Social interactions of
Sociology students on
distant learning

Means of student’s
social interaction on
distant learning

Understanding the
Social Interactions of
Sociology Students
Without in-person Class

9
 Review of Related Literature

This section presents the review of related literature and studies to understand further the

existing phenomenon regarding the social interactions of students without in person class

experiences since they entered college.

Social interactions of students

Social interaction is part of our everyday life. We can describe it as the the ways in which

people act with other people and in response react to how other people are acting. On this accord,

students manifest this fundamental feature of social life on their studies.

There are many meanings that the students use to acknowledge on their social

interactions while studying. Accordingly, Holland (2019) on his study stipulated that interaction

helps to build knowledge and empower learners. He found out that students interact to acquire

more knowledge given that it is the purpose of them going to school. They also find social

interactions as their avenue to showcase who they are. Likewise, interactions offer the platform

for members of a society particularly the students, representing a mode of associated living, to

share their values and interests of each other (Tang and Tsui, 2018).

In addition, interaction means interacting partners will exchange information about each

other’s minds and therefore act socially, regardless if they share common goals. Gallotti,

Fairhurst and Frith (2016), claim on their research that in social interactions we align our minds

by incorporating reciprocal exchange of information by adjusting our mind and bodies in a

dynamic manner depends on the context. To understand the nature of social interactions, they

propose that we should consider and see the manner in which people align words and thoughts,

bodily postures and movements. On their study they challenge and tested the paradigm of social-

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cognitive neuroscience by proposing an alternative approach to the cognitive foundations of

social interactions. According to their research findings, the defining feature of social

interactions is the reciprocal exchange of information that leads to mutual understanding.

Social interactions contribute to a collective identity. Stoeckel and Florian (2016)

investigated social interactions across individuals with different backgrounds. They build a

contact theory and the common in group model thus argue that the intergroup interactions must

fulfil certain properties to contribute to a shared identity. For example, individual from different

economic backgrounds need to perceive each other’s hierarchically equal and be in a position

and initiative to form friendships across group boundaries. They also stipulated marginal effect

of contact with other students. Students needs to interact with diverse set of people with whom

they share experiences as a student’s rather than only with individuals whom they have

commonalities. This implies that social interactions do not limit you from interacting with same

backgrounds. On the one hand, their study is limited only to students with different economic

background taking into account that students faced many students with different culture, tradition

and values on their interactions while studying.

Moreover, Alqurashi (2019) stressed from the results of his study that interaction

between learners to learner involve sharing and discussing ideas , answering student questions,

content-related interaction, and group activities. This interaction has better impact on student

satisfaction and eventually effectiveness of learning. The study utilized quantitative method. A

total of 167 students participated in this study. Regression results revealed that the overall model

with all three predictor variables learner–content interaction (LCI), learner– instructor interaction

(LII), and learner–learner interaction (LLI) can predict student satisfaction and perceived

learning. The study found that learner–content interaction (LII) was the strongest and most

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significant predictor of student satisfaction. This finding implies that students value their

interactions with their co-students and it gives them satisfaction building strong relationship with

their liked minded peers. Meanwhile the study emphasize that the other two indicator needs to be

studied to understand the nature of the interaction and how it influence students.

A study conducted by Hurst, B., Wallace, R., and Nixon, S., (2013) reveal that social

interaction improved the students learning by enhancing their knowledge of literacy and teaching

and their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. One way for students to shoulder the

responsibility for learning is for them to be the readers, writers, speakers, listeners, and thinkers

in the classroom through active engagement in social interaction with others (Vacca, & Mraz,

2012). Routman (20015) contends “students learn more when they are able to talk to one another

and be actively involved” hence, it is very vital to have social interaction among the students in

order to facilitate effective learning process. Social interactions among student on distant

learning has created huge impact on students which find out that students learned from others,

thus enhancing comprehension and retention by activating prior knowledge, making connections,

and consolidating new ideas. Social interaction created a positive working environment; and

social interaction provided a means for our students to view topics from multiple perspectives

and enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Social interaction of students on distant learning

Certainly, like many other aspects of everyday life, COVID-19 has a serious impact on

the social interactions of students, instructors, and educational intuitions around the globe. On

this accord students have many meanings attached on their new means of social interaction on

distant learning.

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 Mehall (2020) in her study revealed that there are three components of purposeful

interpersonal interaction in online learning that students acknowledge with their interactions.

These are the three types of interactions: purposeful interpersonal instructional interaction,

purposeful social interaction, and supportive interaction. The study attempted to build a quality

lens to view interpersonal interaction in online learning through the so called purposeful

interpersonal interaction (PII) by exploring types of interpersonal interaction.

The result of the study revealed that student’s interactions are driven by instructions,

purpose and supportive endeavours of social interactions. Whereas, instructional interaction

pertains to requiring students to communicate with the instructor, instructional activities require

students to develop products by working together cooperatively (e.g., in pairs or in small groups)

and share results and feedback with other groups in the class. Purposeful interaction is any high

quality, organic and valid communication exchange between two or more participants of the

learning process that directly relates to the achievement of established learning outcomes or to

the building of social relationships. Support interaction on the one hand is a variety of ways that

many students take for granted in the online environment because the face-to-face environment

allows them to be far more agile and responsive to student issues. In the online environment,

students are separated by time and distance from the faculty and other learners, so student issues

have the potential to further isolate students and increase the transactional distance faculty seek

to decrease. For this reason, it is essential that faculty and students provide supportive

interactions, as well as find ways to facilitate support from various resources in the event that a

student needs assistance.

Lack of social presence in an online learning is one of the factors why students became

less interested, motivated and driven to continue studies amid pandemic. According to Bawers

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and Kumar (2020) analysis, they identified lack of social presence in online as the primary

reason why many students are tempted to stop studying and explosive growth of dropout rates in

online learning. While it is easy to establish social interaction in traditional classrooms,

developing them in an online environment could be challenging due to absence of any face-to-

face contact. The purpose of this study is to compare students’ perceptions of social and teacher

presences in online and traditional classroom. Thirty-four students enrolled in an online section

and 29 students enrolled in a face-to-face section of an undergraduate course participated in the

study. The results indicate that students’ perceived stronger social presence in the face-to-face

section compare to online section.

Online learning has become a reality for many students in higher education.

Unfortunately, something that has also become a reality is a sense of isolation in online courses.

Borup, West, Graham (2012) explained that students' sense of distance can threaten their

learning. He also stated that this potential source of difficulty can become a remedy, since

students' psychological sense of distance is determined not by location, but by the quantity of

their interactions. They supported this claim by finding a strong correlation between the

frequency of interaction and online students' sense of community and satisfaction. On the other

hand their finding also show that physical and temporal separation of teacher and student, and

between students themselves, can lead to feelings of isolation. The lack of interaction and

discussion between students on non-cohort based courses lessens the richness of the learning

experience and omits a significant element of the constructivist approach to learning.

This research investigates this pedagogic problem through examining the experiences of

distance learning students, exploring issues and barriers to collaborative study, and exploring

student isolation. The participants of the study are 154 students on pure distance learning

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Masters level courses. Three-stage mixed method approach was utilized hence the result of study

revealed that there are dimensions of isolation experienced by students on distance learning

courses. The ability to discuss ideas with fellow students was an aspect of learning that is absent

in online learning. This suggests that a lot of the more conceptual stuff is hard to learn or to get

excited about when you’re on your own, whereas talking about it is easy to argue and debate. It

was felt that verbal/written communication could not be a complete substitute for hearing a

human voice or seeing another person.

Online learning disconnects social interactions between students, teachers, and academic

content goals. Using a Cognitive Apprenticeship Model to inform the analysis of data, Boling,

Hough, Krinsky, Saleem & Stevens (2012) findings revealed an emphasis on text-based content

and lecture; instruction that led to disconnect between students, teachers, and course content and

goals; and one innovative program that links real-world experiences with online classroom

learning. This qualitative research study was designed to inform the development and

implementation of effective online learning environments by exploring, from both teacher and

student perspectives, what constitute effective online learning experiences. The study examined

course content, tasks, and pedagogical approaches, as identified by students and instructors,

which contributed to or hindered positive online learning experiences. Researchers interviewed 6

online course instructors and 10 adult students to understand their experiences in undergraduate

and graduate level online degree programs. Although the majority of participants described

online programs that emphasized text-based content, limited student interactions, and disconnect

between individuals, there were a few instances where instruction veered from more

conventional “read, write, and lecture” pedagogy. Some examples occurred when instructors in

these courses required students to post comments on online discussion boards. Other examples

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were presented when one instructor and two students described their online Masters' program in

Higher Education, a program that proved to be unique in the strategies that were used to promote

social interaction, community development, and meaningful, real-world activities. This study

exhibit both the possibility of connectedness and disconnectedness of the social interactions of

students on online learning.

Students believed that they experienced greater interaction with the other students and

their lecturer when they used social technologies in online learning. Hamid, Suraya, Waycott,

Jenny; Kurnia, Sherah; Chang, Shanton (2020), studied the interaction benefits of online social

networking (OSN) use in higher education from the students perspective. The findings offer a

detailed explanation of how students view their interactions when using social technologies in

higher education. With the advent of pandemic, students and teachers opted to online means of

learning hence social technologies have been adopted and used actively by students for non-

educational activities. A total of nine focus group discussions with 46 students were held in

Malaysian and Australian universities. A thematic analysis revealed that students identified a

number of positive outcomes from using OSN to interact with each other and with their lecturers.

The findings of this research increases current understanding about how students leverage social

technologies to enhance interaction among themselves, with their lecturers, and with the

knowledge or content of the course.

A tertiary education in Sultan Kudarat gathered the perception of the students in terms of

social presence and social interaction. Their commonalities stipulated that they were dissatisfied

when it comes to online discussions, conversing, interacting, participating, and speaking online

(Escomes, Gutierrez, Sarabia, Morbo & Calixto, 2021). This implies that there is a lack of quick

16
interaction between learner to learner, which includes socialization, answering student questions,

sharing and discussing ideas, group activities and content-related interaction.

Means in interacting on distant learning

The onset of COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the way social interactions of

people especially students. Social interaction in this time was relying more on the use of social

media and other virtual platforms as the government agencies together with the people in the

state are battling in the effects of the recent pandemic. Recent global happenings reshape the real

of communication and constant social interaction. Prohibiting in-person classes changed the

modes on how students socially interact and participate to classroom discussions.

Communication is vital to every human. Social interaction is only a way in order to

communicate to others and to students an avenue to engage in social discourses as well as

discussions in the virtual realm. According to a study conducted on the social interaction of

students with the use of social media conducted by Jamil M., Jamil, S., Urooj, A.H. (2021),

social interaction among students especially on the secondary and higher education took place

within the bounds of the social media platforms and other communication websites through the

use of internet. Students aged 14-21 as state in the study make use of these social media

platforms in the purpose of social interaction with their peers as they are also prohibited to social

physically as the threat of the recent pandemic is still in effect. Social interactions among their

peers made most of their time for entertainment as they spent more than four hours a day facing

their screen especially on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube,

Google+, Instagram and other popular websites or applications. The study further finds out that

social media plays a very big part on the students’ lives especially on having constant social

17
interactions. It has created huge impact on them among their age group as they consider social

interactions on the social media platforms as parts of their lives and feels incomplete if cannot do

such act in every minute of their lives.

Digital technology has served people for educative purpose and formation of virtual

social interactions as well as social networks and connections for the co-existence of human

relationships amid the COVID-19 pandemic (Toquero and Talidong, 2020). Based on the study

conducted, Facebook application is the top means for social interaction in the Philippines as most

of the Filipinos. According to the data published gathered by (NapoleonCat, 2020), 66.4% of the

total Filipino population has access to the said application and their primary source of

information as well as medium of social interaction and socialization in the midst of the

pandemic. More Filipinos especially students greatly rely on Facebook as it is the most cost-

efficient and most appropriate application for students. Facebook made most of the students stay

updated on the current updates regarding the progress on the country while battling for COVID-

19 and is being used as medium of instructions through the use of specialized Facebook pages

where educational instructions and lessons are being attached.

People stay at home in isolation. Though one of the biggest steps to flatten the curve of

the present pandemic is to stop physical communication as virus may spread through this. Social

media platform like Tiktok saved most of the Filipinos from boredom (Tara, 2020), from distress

brought by the fact that they are unable to leave their homes and engage as a community.

Tiktok has been used by the mainstream to initiate a new and modern way of social interaction.

This is a way of sharing their lives in an update of how they are and how they feel at the

moment. Social interaction during this time was modernized as the country and the world is

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investing on the efficiency that technological advancement could brought into the lives of every

humans.

Social interactions happening inside the typical classroom was greatly altered by the

present pandemic. Distance education is a pragmatist field, which uses a diverse array of media

to deliver educational content to students who are separated from their teachers and other

students. Social networking technologies, offering appealing communication tools for daily life

and e-learning environments, allowing students to form digital identities and express themselves

digitally. Moreover, they allow students to be socially interactive and build a learning

community in online spaces. Andrews, Tynan and Backstrom (2012) claim that some distance

education students are actively and deliberately using popular, non-institutional social media

tools to augment and improve their learning experiences. Ozmen and Atici (2014) found that

distance education students have positive attitudes towards the use of social networking sites,

which positively affected the quality of communication between instructors and students.

Callaghan and Fribbance (2016) examined Facebook at Open University of UK and found that

Facebook can be used to build a community for distance education students.

The disruption of COVID-19 in the educational system of the Philippines is of great

magnitude that universities in the country have to cope and develop a resilient learning system in

continuity of learning process amid the pandemic utilizing distant learning methodology.

According to SimilarWeb (2022), online learning application such Google Classroom, Edmodo,

Moodle, Discord, and Facebook messenger are some of the most used application used by

students to participate online learning. Zoom, Google Meet are some of the most frequently used

application for synchronous online discussion where most of the social interaction between

students and their teachers usually took place as these applications used real-time video

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conferencing feature where teachers and students participate in an online discussion and sharing

of information for better understanding of lessons given.

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 Methodology

This section includes the methods used and the research design that includes the locale of

the study, the participants, research instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis

technique.

Research Design

This study will be qualitative in nature and will utilize a phenomenological approach as

this study opt to understand meanings of social interactions made by Sociology students virtually

in the absence of in-person class experience. Qualitative research design focuses on the “why”

facet or the quality of a particular phenomenon (Portus, L., Barrios, E., Conaco, M.C., Go, S.,

2018). This research design allows researcher to gain more valuable data as well as gaining more

insights into people’s attitudes, behavior, value systems, motivations, inspirations, and lifestyles.

Thus, this research design fits to the core of this study which aims to highlight meanings on

social interactions of students through virtual mode of classes in coping with the present

pandemic.

Moreover, phenomenological research method focuses on studying a certain phenomenon

that have an impact on an individual, specifies and identifies a phenomenon as experienced by

that individual in the situation (Pramath and Shreyasi, 2021) which reflects rich data being

obtained that opens up lots of opportunities for further inquiry. Thus, design and the approach

were chosen by the researchers to understand specifically and substantially the meaning to life

experiences of Sociology students of Mindanao State University- General Santos City in the

absence of in-person classes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Participants of the Study

The target participants of the study will be first- and second-year Sociology students of

Mindanao State University- General Santos City that are currently enrolled in the second

semester of the Academic Year 2021-2022. The number of participants in this study will be

determined based on the saturation point of the data being gathered from the responses of the

participants. Participants may come from different areas in the Philippines as long as they are

currently admitted to the Sociology program of Mindanao State University- General Santos

Campus and may also be of different gender identity or gender preferences. They will be chosen

carefully using the inclusion criteria. First of all, the participants should be a bonafide first year

or second year Sociology major student of the Mindanao State University- General Santos City

that is currently enrolled in the second semester of the academic year 2021- 2022. Second,

participants of this study shouldn’t have any classmates or acquainted to other Sociology

students before being admitted to the Sociology Program. Third, they met their classmates or

built social networks after being admitted to the program through digital media platforms. And

lastly, they never had experienced any in-person classes. Any student who will meet the criteria

mentioned above will be selected as the research participant.

Instrumentation

The research instrument that the researchers will be using is a Key Informant interview

guide. The questions in the interview will be prepared by the researchers to truly understand the

meanings of life experiences of sociology major students on their social interactions in the

absence of in-person classes due to the present pandemic. Each question are intended to satisfy

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what is ask in each statement of the problem and follow up questions are given to clarify some

answers and/or to support the questions given to gather and understand the responses from the

participants deeply. The researchers will be utilizing the use of real-time video conferencing such

as google meet, zoom and other social media platform in the ease of the participants. The

researchers will also be using note pads, video recording feature of the said applications, and

smart phones with consent from the participants for a convenient way of recording the responses

and to ensure the good flow on the interview session in the participants.

Method of Data Gathering

Participants of the study as stated above are sociology students that haven’t experience

face to face classes due to the present pandemic and since the inclusion criteria for choosing the

research participants are also given, the researchers will proceed on sending letters to the

department chairperson in order to ask for a permission to conduct the research study among the

stated participants. This is to ensure that the researchers will have the support of the department

chairperson and also to give the researchers the proper authorization as well as legitimacy to

conduct the said study. After the permission will be granted, the researchers will be checking

their target participants and send them a message or letter of intent to be part of the research

specifically, as research participants. Once positive feedback from the target participant was

achieved the researchers will now set for an interview schedule (at their convenient time) and

will proceed on finalizing the scheduled date. The researchers will make sure to update or remind

the participants two days ahead of the schedule in order to made both of them ready for the data

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gathering to be followed by the informed consent form which must be given a day prior to the

interview.

The interview is expected to be done 10 to 20 minutes in duration. But before the

interview, the researchers are expected to explain a bit of the background of the study, the

objectives, and the significance of the study in the field of Sociology. The researchers will also

explain to the participants their rights in responding to the research questions and everything that

is stated in the informed consent. Once being finalized, the researchers will begin the interview

based on the interview guide as the backbone of data gathering. After the interview to the

participants, bother fee or a token will be given to the participants for lending their time and

efforts in being a part of the study. Video recordings will be stored in a storage device secured

enough in order not to spill any sensitive data from the participants. In order to secure the

recordings, each participant’s response will be labelled with codes and will be file orderly.

Method of Data Analysis

Responses of the participants will be transcribed from the voice recorder. The

transcription will be read several times for the researchers to familiarize the data and make sense

of the answers of the participants based on the research problems. Coding will be done in order

to thoroughly analyse the data being gathered. Codes will help the researchers in highlighting

important concepts and in formulation of the emerging themes in the study.

Thematic analysis will be used in the study to further analyse the emerging themes.

According to Braun and Claurke (2006:79) Thematic analysis is a method for identifying,

analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data. Therefore, thematic analysis allowed

flexibility to identify common themes across all transcripts. First, the significant statements from

24
the raw data were highlighted and the text segments of these were copied from the matrix,

specifically on the first column. Each text segment will be analysed and concepts were extracted

from them to the second column of the matrix, which also show the clustered similar concepts

and formulated themes. Each theme will be narratively discussed with the inferences of

researchers with the support of related studies and literature.

Research Ethics

There are several ethics that the researchers will follow before, during, and after

the conduct of research to ensure that the participants are secured when it comes to rights and

confidentiality of the information and data. The researchers will apply the code of ethics in doing

the research.

Before the data gathering procedure being conducted the researchers will send an

informed consent to the identified research participant for the conduct of the data gathering.

Once, responded positively researchers will be preparing the schedule in the benefit of the

research participant. Furthermore, the usage of phones or any devices for the recording process

will be done. The participants will be informed and assured that everything they have said will

remain confidential and secure.

Treatment of Data

Data gathered from the participants will be stored directly in the google drive which only

the researchers will only have the access. Having the files uploaded to the google drive is more

secure than having it on flashdrive or any other external storage device as it can be by-passed

25
and is vulnerable to leaking of sensitive data. Stored data on the google drive will be kept within

a year after the study was being presented and will be erased after the said period of time. Printed

documents will be treated as part of the study and is considered confidential. Thus, all the data

both printed and stored online will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will be filed

orderly.

26
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