Chapter 3

Presentation and Interpretation of Data

This chapter will explain the researcher’s methodology of collecting all the data, and the
presentation of data.

Research Design
The researchers chose a cross-sectional survey design as the researchers will only be collecting
data from respondents at a single period in time only.

A cross-sectional survey design involves looking at people who differ on one key characteristic
at one specific point in time. The data is collected at the same time from people who are similar
in other characteristics but different in a key factor of interest such as age, income levels, or
geographic location. The researchers decided to conduct surveys because it was convenient in the
field of collecting the respondent’s preferences. After all, surveying is one of the most important
areas of measurement in the application of social research (William M.K. Trochim, 2006).

Research Instruments
To gather the data, the researchers used questionnaires and sent them via Messenger. This
questionnaire asked for the respondents to rank their top three most frequently used social media
platforms and for their expected duration they spend on each every day.

Research Subjects
The research subjects were chosen by the researchers, but it had to be restricted specifically for
Grade 10 AUFIS students. The researchers took 9 respondents for St. Francis, 5 respondents
from St. Gregory, 16 respondents from St. Jerome, 13 respondents from St. Agustine, and 7
respondents from St. Thomas. In total, 50 respondents participated in this research.

Procedure of Data Gathering

The procedure of Data Gathering began with the structuring and distributing of the questionnaire
towards the respondents. The researchers used the exact same questionnaire for all respondents
and accepted any feedback answers.

Data Processing
After the collection of data, the researchers sorted through the data and tallied up everything in
Microsoft Excel. Two tables were then created, one to demonstrate the frequency of social media
usage and one to depict the durations people spend on the such platforms. To further depict the
inference of the collected data, the researchers included the percentages of how many people use
the social media platforms, and the averages of all the respondent’s duration.

Data Analysis
From the collected data, the researchers surprisingly did not get much varied results. It was
noticed that only four platforms were prevalently being used among the respondents – Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Because of this, the researchers only mentioned these four
social media platforms in the provided tables below. Though there were certain other social
media platforms mentioned by some respondents (such as Snapchat, Tumblr and Reddit), the
researchers decided to discard them as they didn’t have enough respondents to be noteworthy.

Table 1. Social Media Platforms used by respondents.

St. Jerome St. Francis St. Thomas St. Gregory St. Agustine Total
Facebook 16 9 7 5 12 49
Instagram 11 3 6 2 6 28
YouTube 6 7 4 2 7 26
Twitter 9 4 3 0 5 21

In terms of what social media platform is most familiarly used among the respondents, Facebook
has the highest number of respondents, having 49 users, which is 98% of all respondents.
Coming in second is Instagram, having 28 users, which is 56% of all respondents. Next came
YouTube, having 26 users, which is 52% of all participants. And lastly, Twitter had the least
number of respondents, having 21 users, being 42% of all respondents.
Table 2. Spent time of respondents on Social Media Platforms.
Facebook Instagram YouTube Twitter
1-2 hours 24 21 11 14
3-4 hours 8 5 7 3
5-6 hours 12 2 5 2
7 and above 5 0 3 2

In terms of duration spent by the respondents, Facebook has both the largest number of
respondents using it underneath 2 hours and above 7 hours compared to the other three
platforms, showing how the platform’s usage could be versatile depending on the person using it.
Facebook still came in highest for the average time used by respondents, being 3.59 hours.

It has been observed that though YouTube has a lesser number of users, those who actually use it
spend much longer on it compared to other platforms. YouTube came in second for the highest
average time used by respondents, being 3.21 hours.

Twitter, too, had a pretty versatile usage duration range from respondents, as there were a
number of people that used it more frequently and preferred it over Facebook, and there were
others that only used it for a few minutes daily. Twitter came in third with an average time being
used by respondents of 2.23 hours.

It has been observed that people that use Instagram do not use it for long durations, as nearly half
of all of its users reported that they use it for only one hour a day. Instagram came in last with an
average time being used by respondents of 1.75 hours
Definition of Terms
Average – The calculated “central” value of a set of numbers achieved by adding all the
numbers and then dividing by the number of numbers.
Data – facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.
Duration – the time during which something continues.
Instrument - a way or tool of achieving or causing something.
Methodology - a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity.
Percentage – a rate, number, or amount in each hundred.
Preference – a greater liking for one alternative over another or others.
Questionnaire – a set of questions with a choice of answers, devised for the purpose of a survey
or statistical study.
Research Study – a set of methods and procedures in collecting and analyzing measures of the
variables specified in the research problem research.
Respondent – a person who replies to something, especially one supplying information for a
survey or questionnaire or responding to an advertisement.
Survey – examine and record the area and features so as to construct a map, plan, or description.

Bibliography
Kendra Cherry (2019, March 10). The Definition and Use of a Cross Sectional Survey. Retrieved
from: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cross-sectional-study-2794978
William M.K. Trochim (2006). Social Research Methods – Knowledge Base – Survey Research.
Retrieved from: https://socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survey.php