Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter shows the methods and techniques used in the study, the population

and samples, the research instrument, the data gathering procedure and processing and the

statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

This study used the experimental research design with random assignment or

placement. According to Kesler (2015) the experimental design is the primary approach

used to investigate causal (cause-effect) relationship and to study the relationship between

one variable and another.

This study explored the effect of the TeacherKit software application as an

instructional device in the acquisition of learning concepts in Geometry in the experimental

group which will then be compared to the performance of a control group. The

experimental research was deemed suitable for this study because it will test the cause-

effect relationship between the performance of the experimental group in the pre-designed

test and the application. Furthermore, assignment of samples in the group were done

randomly and that initial test were conducted to ensure that the experimental and control

group has the same baseline knowledge in the learning concepts presented.

Research Locale

The study was conducted in Tarlac State University, Lucinda Campus. The locale

was chosen primarily because the researchers were currently enrolled as students in the
said university and that selection and samples will be more convenient given the time

constraint.

Sampling Design

Probability sampling was conducted to determine the samples which will be the

experimental and the control group. Two sections were chosen and were initially tested

using the research instrument to determine if they have the same level of baseline

knowledge of the Geometry concepts. Once the pre-test results were compared the

researcher used the toss coin method to determine the group that will comprise the

experimental and control group.

Automatic inclusion was also utilized to determine the number of samples in each

group. This sampling technique was used to allow all the students in each class as samples

in the study.

All-in-all, twenty-five (25) students were selected to be samples in the experimental

group and twenty-five (25) students were selected in the control group.

Table 1
Distribution of Samples

Group Number of Samples

Experimental 25
Control 25

Research Instrument

Two research instruments were developed by the researcher to gather pertinent data

that will be used establish answers to the problems presented in the first chapter.

The first instrument is a twenty-item option-type test which will determine the

students’ level of knowledge regarding selected geometry concepts. The test covers

concepts such as spatial figures, surface area and volume. A draft test consisting of 40-
items was originally constructed and was used as an item pool. The draft test was then

administered to a group of students which are not included in the experimental or control

group for a dry-run. This was conducted to increase the validity of the test. After the initial

implementation of the draft test item, scores were collated and was item analyzed using the

UL 27% method. Items that are deemed “poor” were removed until the draft test was

reduced into a twenty-item test which are comprised of test items that are deemed “very

good” and “above very good”. This final form of the draft test was used as the test

instrument that will be utilized to determine the knowledge of the students in the selected

geometry concepts.

The second instrument used is a five-scale questionnaire in the Likert’s scale

format. This instrument was used to determine the problems that the students encountered

while using the TeacherKit application. The researchers constructed a draft questionnaire

then consulted their adviser for the revision. The questionnaire was submitted to the

researchers’ adviser for comments and suggestions as the basis for improving the items in

the questionnaire.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers first secured the permission of the Dean of the College of Education

to conduct the study. Having secured the permission, the researchers personally facilitated

the administration of the pre-test. The scores in the pre-test was then coded and collated to

a data processing software.

After two weeks the same test was administrated to the same groups to determine

the post-test result. During the post-test, the questionnaires pertaining the difficulty in using

the application was also administered to the experimental group to determine the difficulty
they have encountered in using the application. The scores of the samples during the post-

test as well as the responses of the samples in the experimental group on the questionnaire

was then collated and coded in a data processing software for statistical treatment and

analysis.

Statistical Treatment

The researchers utilized different forms of statistical analysis to answer the

questions presented on the first chapter of this paper.

To determine the level of performance of the students during the pre-test and post-

test frequency counts and percentages was used. The table below was used to describe the

level of performance:

Table 2
Level of Performance

Limits of Index Description

17 - 20 Outstanding
13 – 16 Above Average
9 – 12 Average
5–8 Below Average
0–4 Poor

An independent-samples t-test or student’s t-test was used to comparison of the

baseline knowledge between the experimental and control group. This test was utilized to

reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference

between the baseline knowledge of the geometry concept presented in the test between the

experimental and control group. The this will be conducted with a 5% degree of freedom

with an assumption that both groups have equal variances.

Additionally, it was also used to determine the difference between the mean

performance of the experimental and control group during the post-test or after the
intervention was facilitated. This statistical test was used to reject or fail to reject the null

hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between the mean post-test

performance of the experimental and control group. The test was also conducted using a

5% degree of freedom and with an assumption that both groups have equal variances.

The formula for the student’s t-test is:

̅𝑥̅̅1̅ − ̅̅̅̅
𝑥2
𝑡= 1 1
𝑠𝑝 √ +
𝑛1 𝑛2

with

(𝑛1 −1)𝑠21 + (𝑛2 −1)𝑠22

𝑠𝑝 = √
𝑛1 + 𝑛2 − 2

where:

𝑥1 = mean of the first sample (experimental group)

̅̅̅

𝑥2 = mean of the second sample (control group)

̅̅̅

𝑛1 = number of samples in the experimental group

𝑛2 = number of samples in the control group

𝑠1 = standard deviation of the experimental group

𝑠2 = standard deviation of the control group

To determine the statistical difference between the pre-test and post-test

performance of the experimental group a paired-sample t-test was utilized. This statistical

test will determine the mean gain thus measuring the effectiveness of the application. This

test will be used to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis which states that there is no

significant difference between the mean pre-test score and the mean post-test score of the

experimental group. The formula for the paired-sample t-test is:

 ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
𝑥𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 − 0
𝑡=
𝑠𝑥̅

with

𝑠𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓
𝑠𝑥̅ =
√𝑛

where:

𝑥
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 = sample mean of the differences

𝑛 = sample size

𝑠𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 = sample standard deviation of the differences

𝑠𝑥̅ = estimated standard error of the mean