INTRODUCTION

Curiosity or inquisitiveness is a distinctive feature of human beings. Curiosity to know about our
self, ones institutions, ones environment , ones planet, other plants, and the universe in horrent in
us. Whenever, people encounter problems, they try to find solutions to them. Seeking answers to
questions and findings solution to problems have been the basis of human progress. A systematic
search for an answer to a question or a solution to a problem is called research.
Research is a purposive investigation. it is an organized inquiry, it is a honest, exhaustive ,
intelligent searching for facts and their meaning or implications with reference to a given
problem . It is the process of arriving at dependable solutions to problems through the planned
and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data. The best research is that which is
reliable, verifiable, and exhaustive so that it provides information in which we have confidence.
METHODS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
All research involves the elements of observations, description and analysis of what happens
under certain circumstances. Research use different methods in their research activities. Usually
all studies fall under one or a combination of these types.
Some important methods of research are the following;
1) Historical methods
2) Surveys methods
3) Experimental methods
HISTORICAL METHODS
It describes what was. The process involves investigation, recording, analyzing and interpreting
the events of the past for the purpose of discovering generalizations that are helpful in
understanding the past and the present and to a limited extent in anticipating the future.
SURVEY METHOD

It describes what is the process involves describing, analyzing and interpret ting conditions the
exists. It involves some type of comparison or contrast and attempts to discover relationships
between existing non-manipulated variables. Some form of statistical analysis to describe the
results of the study.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
It describes what will be when certain variables are carefully controlled or manipulated. The
focus is on cause on effect relationships. As defined, a deliberate manipulation of variables under
controlled conditions is always the part of the experimental research.
METHODS ADOPTED FOR THE PRESENT STUDY
The investigator adapted survey method to study Intrapersonal Intelligence and Self Confidence
of IX standard students.
Survey method involves interpretation, comparison, measurement, classification, evaluation and
generalization. All directed towards a proper understanding and solution of significant
educational problems.
SURVEY METHOD
The survey method deals with large number of causes. It is a distinctive form of research
methodology that owes much of its recent development to the field of sociology. The survey
method is an organized attempt to analyze, interpret and report the present status of a social
institution or group or areas. It suggests the course of future development.
Nature of survey method
The nature of survey method is as follows;
i.
ii.

It deals with the present.

It is oriented towards the determination of the status of given phenomena rather than isolating

iii.
iv.
v.

causes or factors accounting for its existence.

It is generally based on cross sectional samples.
It has a fact- finding approach.
It studies significant relationship among phenomena.

PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY METHOD

The following are the main purpose of the survey method
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

It provides necessary information which helps the administrator for making decisions.
It provides necessary information and plan for improvement.
It interprets synthesis and integrates data and points out their implications.
It more realistic because investigation is done in this method in natural settings.
It is the only method through which the researcher can obtain the opinion, attitude and

vi.

suggestions for improvements.

Hence, the investigator used survey method for the present investigation.

IMPORTANCE OF SURVEY METHOD

Survey method is important than the other research methods for the following reasons;
Factual information regarding existing status enables members of the profession to make
efficient plans about future courses of action.
It provides comprehension of understanding issues in the area of the study.
It focuses attention upon the needs that otherwise could remain unnoticed.
It provides extensive information about the nature of educational phenomena.
It gathers data from relatively large number of cases at a particular time.
It is concerned with generalized statistic of the whole population and with the characteristics of
the individuals.
STEPS IN SURVEYS METHODS
As a problem selected for the present study is concerned with one of the current problems, the
investigator described to employ the survey method for the collection of the data.
According to William wiersma(1985) detailed steps in survey are as follows;
Planning
Development of application of sampling plan

Construction of interview schedule or questionnaire

Data collection
Translation of data
Analysis
Conclusion and reporting
PLANNING
The plan to action has to be drawn up on to ensure scientific and objective merits of the study.
Definition of the problem, operational definitions of variables, review of and development of the
survey design, all such items of plan should be clearly drawn out.
DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF SAMPLING PLAN
The geographical area to be covered, the sample to be selected and detailed sampling procedures
should be defined and formulated.
CONSTRUCTION OF INTERVIEW SCHEDULE OR QUESTIONNAIRE
The tools of investigation generally used are interview schedule or questionnaire and the like.
Specified investigation should require specified tools of inquiry. If no readymade tool is
available, a suitable one will be prepared in a systematic manner. The tools should be tested in a
pilot study before it is administered to the vast sample.
COLLECTION OF THE DATA
The investigator should approach the head of the institution and seek permission for the data
collection. After getting permission from the head of the institution the investigator with the help
of the teacher in charge of the class should administrating the tool to the students the investigator
should clarify the need and purpose of collecting the data, necessary information needed to
answer the questionnaire and about the confidentially of the data supplied by them.
TRANSLATION OF THE DATA

Depending upon the extensiveness of the survey data upon the nature of the material collected,
handling of the data usually takes initial tabulation, construction of category systems as
necessary and technical preparation for analysis.
ANALYSIS
Analysis of data comprises various approaches designed to dissert the phenomena in their
constituent parts with a view to obtain greater insight into specified aspects. The statistical
analysis of data is principally based on counts or numbers and totals, the arithmetic means can e
computed for different classes. Basic summary table can then e compiled more critical can now
be applied.
CONCLUSION AND REPORTING
After collecting and analyzing the data, the researchers have to accomplish the tasks of drawing
inferences followed by reporting, it is only through interpretation that the research can expose
relations and processes that come under his findings. Research report is considered a major
component of the research study for the research task remains incomplete till the report has been
presented or written.
AREA OF THE STUDY
The area of the study is limited to Tuticorin districts only.
POPULATION
The population for the present study consists of the IX standard students in Tuticorin districts
only.
SAMPLE
The investigator has used simple random technique for selecting the sample from the population.
The sample consists of 300 IX standard students of Tuticorin districts only.
TOOLS USED IN THE PRESENT STUDY

As the study aims to find out the Intrapersonal intelligence and self confidence of high school
students, the investigator has used the following standardized tools.
1. Personal data sheet.
2. Questionnaire for measuring usage of intrapersonal intelligence prepared Intrapersonal
intelligence scale is a part of multiple intelligence scale developed by Terry Armstrong
(2000).
3. Questionnaire of measuring Self confidence tool which is standardized tool prepared by
Krishna Prasad and Priya. (2001).is used for the present study.
THE GENERAL INFORMATION OF THE TOOL
1. Personal data sheet
It includes general information about the respondents regarding gender, place of stay,
locality of school, type of school, nature of school, locality of school, nature of
accommodation nature of the family, fathers education, mothers education, fathers
occupation, mothers occupation, mothers occupation mothers monthly income, fathers
monthly income.
Establishing content validity
To establish the validity, the standardized was given to some experts in the field of st.xaviers
college of education and teachers in the st.xaviers school so as to get the comment. The
investigator got the appraisal. According to the suggestions given by them some of the items
have been deleted and some of them were modified. The investigator with help of the guide
pooled the information and suggestions accordingly. Thus, the content

validity has been

established. Finally the tool has only 15 items.

Pilot study
A pilot study was conducted on 40 students. In st. Xaviers boys higher secondary school
Palayamkottai. The responses were scored and each item was analyzed. The investigator used
item wise correlation to find out the value o.48-0.9 were retained and the other item was
rejected. The final tool consists of 10 items.
Establishing reliability

After getting the approval of the guide, the final tool was administered to randomly select 50
high school students. The students reponse was scored. The same tool was administered to the
same set of students after 10 days when both sets of scores were correlated; it was found out that
the correlation coefficient was 0.68 between the two sets of scores.
The statement does not speak about me.
The statement speaks something about me
The statement speaks fully about me
The tool consists of 10 items. Each item measures the intrapersonal intelligence of the students.
The entire 10 item are positive only each item has 3 responses. The respondent has to put a tick
mark in any one of the answers.
SCORING
The tool consists of 10 items. It is 3 point scale. The scoring of the scale is given below.
TABLE 3.1
SCORING KEY-INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE
Response
The statement does not speak about you.

Scoring
1

The statement speaks something about you.

The statement speaks fully about you

3

SELF CONFIDENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

The self confidence questionnaire tries to find out the self confidence of the high school students.
The investigator has used the validated tool which was prepared by by Krishna Prasad and Priya.
(2001). Each item focuses to measure the self confidence.
ESTABLISHING VALIDITY

In order to establish the validity of the tool, it has been submitted to a panel expert in St.Xaviers
College of Education (autonomous), Palayamkottai. The experts have given suggestions; the
investigator has changed few items according to the study given by the experts. Thus the content
validity of the tool has been established.
ESTABLISHING RELIABILITY
Establish the reliability of the tool, the investigator followed the and retest method. After
constructing the drafted tool, the investigator administered the tool to the 50 high school students
who are the members of the sample. After the gap of 10 days the investigator again administered
the tool to the same students. The score obtained from the two tests were analyzed and found to
be consists to each other. The reliability of the tool was found to be 0.635. thus the reliability of
the tool was established.
Description of the Self Confidence Questionnaire
TABLE 3.2
DISTRIBUTION OF THE SELF CONFIDENCE QUESTIONNAIRE
Name of the items
Positive

Item number
1,2,3,6,7,8,9,11,12,17,18,31,33,35

Negative

,38,39,40,43,45,46,47,48,49,50
4,5,10,13,15,16,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,
28,29,30,32,34,36,37,41,42,44

The tools consist of 50 items. Each item measure the Self Confidence of the students. The tool
consist of 50 statements, out of these 24 statements are positive and 26 statements are negative.
TABLE 3.3
SCORING KEY SELF CONFIDENCE
Response
Positive statement
Negative statement

Some time
0
2

Never
1
1

Always
2
0

ADMINISTRATION OF THE TOOL

The investigator approached the heads of the institution and sought permission for the data
collection. After getting permission from the heads of the institution, the investigator himself
with the help of the teacher in charge of the class administered the tools. Before administering
the tools to the students, they were given clear instruction to answer the items given in the
inventories. The investigator clarified the need and purpose of the collection, necessary
information needed to answer the questionnaire and about the confidentiality of the data supplied
by them. Then the inventories were collected from the respondents. They were scored with the
help of the scored with the help of the scoring key provided by the author of the inventory.
POPULATION AND SAMPLE
Population for the study
A population refers to any collection of specified group of human beings or non human entities.
In the present study, the population consisted of the high school students studying in IX standard
in tuticorin district.
Sample for the study
A small proportion of a population, selected for the observation and analysis is known as
sample. The method of sampling is based on the nature of the problem, size of the universe,
availability of finance and personnel. According to john w.best and james v. kahn (1980) a
sample is a small proportion of a population selected for observation and analysis. The
investigator has randomly selected 300 high school students from tuticorin district for the present
study.
TABLE 3.4
SCHOOL- WISE DISTIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE
S.NO

Name of the School

Number

Percentage

of
1

students
St. Joesph Girls Higher Secondary School 30

10

2
3

Sathankulam
St. Michel higher secondary school Mudaloor
30
St. Heart boys higher secondary school 30

10
10

Sathankulam
Hennery matriculation higher secondary school 30

10

5
6
7

Sathankulam
S.S.N. Government higher secondary school
30
St. Mary higher secondary school
30
St.
Annes
higher
secondary
school 30

10
10

Thatarmadam
Government

higher

secondary

school 30

10
10

Sundancoodu
Government

higher

secondary

school 30

10

10

Padukapathu
Ave Maria Marticulation secondary school

30

10

TABLE 3.5
DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE WITH RESPECT TO BACKGROUND VARIABLES
S.NO

VARIABLES

CATEGORY

NO OF STUDENTS PERCENTA

Sex

Nature of school

Medium of instruction

Locality of school

Type of school

Nature of accommodation

Nature of family

Father education

Boys
Girls
Male
Female
Both
Tamil
English
Urban
Rural
Govt
Aided
Private
Days scholar
hostel
nuclear
Joint
Illiteracy
SSLC
HSS

151
149
30
30
240
245
55
121
179
91
154
55
220
80
211
89
146
85
48

GE
50.3
49.7
10
10
80
81.6
18.3
40.3
59.7
30.3
51.3
18.3
73.3
26.6
20.3
29.6
48.6
28.3
16

Mother education

10

Father occupation

11

Mother occupation

12

Father monthly income

13

Mother monthly income

UG and above
Illiteracy
SSLC
HSS
UG and above
Coolie
Business
Private
Government
Coolie
Business
Private
Government
Below Rs.5000
Rs.5000-10000
Rs.10000-20000
Above 20000
Below Rs.5000
Rs.5000-10000
Rs.10000-20000
Above 20000

21
134
69
59
38
132
42
67
59
59
110
46
49
97
51
74
78
61
93
80
66

7
44.6
23
19.6
12.6
44
14
22.3
19.6
19.6
36.6
15.3
16.3
32.3
17
24.4
26
20.3
31
26.6
22

3.12 STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES USED

Statistical techniques are necessary for understanding the general trends and group
characteristics from a variety of individual characters. Appropriate statistical measures like
mean and standard deviation are calculated for each variable. t test is calculated to find out the
significant difference between two means. ANOVA is calculated to find out the significant
difference between more than two variables
1) Percentage Analysis:
The percentage analysis has been used to find out the percentage of students having low,
moderate and high level of co-curricular activities and academic achievement.
Levels:
High level

The Scores with above mean 1 S.D

Moderate level

The Score between mean I S.D

Low level

The Score below I S.D

2) Arithmetic Mean :
It is defined as the quality obtained by adding together all given items and by dividing
this total by the number of items.
The investigator has used the following formula for calculating arithmetic mean,
M=

X
N

Where,
M = Arithmetic mean
= Sum o Scores
X = Individual score
N = Number of items
3) Standard Deviation:
The investigator has used the following formula for calculating standard deviation.
1
N x 2( x)2

S.D = N
Where,
S.D = Standard deviation
X = individual score
x2 = Sum of score
x = Sum of scores
N = Total number of items
4) t Test:

M 1 M

t=

2
1

S S 22
+
N1 N2

Where,
M1 = Mean of the first group
M2= Mean of the second group
S1 = Standard deviation of the first group
S2 = Standard deviation of the second group
N1 = Number of cases in the first group
N2 = Number of cases in the second group

5) ANOVA Test:
Analysis of variance has been used to find out the difference among the variables.
F

Mean square variance between t h e groups

Mean square variance wit ht h e groups

6) Chi- Square test:

The Chi-Square analysis is employed to test the association between the variables.
The Chi-Square is calculated using the formula
(OE)2
X =
E
2

Where,

 = Sum of
X2 = Chi- Square
O = Observed frequency
E = Expected frequency
7) Karl Pearsons Product Moment Correlation
Karl Pearsons Product Moment correlation is used to determine relationship between
two or more paired variables. The degree of relationship between Academic Achievement and
Co-Curricular Activities is measured by the co-efficient of correlation.

Nxy (x )( y)
Nx 2 (x ) 2 Ny 2 (y) 2

Where,
N

Number of scores

Sum of the x scores

Sum of the y scores

x2

Sum of the x scores squared

y2

Sum of the y scores squared

xy

Sum of the product of x and y scores

Karl Pearsons Product Moment Correlation

Co-efficient