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CHAPTER III

METHODS

Following systematic and methodical procedures was crucial when conducting

this research. The researchers ascertained to review existing bodies of knowledge, related

literature and well established research methods to incorporate on the study and on the

establishment of the methodology. In this way, the research underwent thoroughly and

credibly since supporting methods backed up the conduct of this study. The following

sub-chapters discussed about the design, procedures, measures and data techniques that

were highly observed by this research.

Research Design

The study employed a descriptive-comparative research design since it involved

recording description, comparison between entities, and significant differences between

groups. This research described prevailing phenomena by utilizing numbers to

characterize individuals, group, or set of respondents. Moreover, it will assess the nature

of existing conditions, and there will be no manipulation of treatments or subjects since

researchers must directly measure things in a quantitative nature (Calderon, 2000).

Moreover, Rog (1998) stated that descriptive research is the best method for gathering

information that will describe the population being studied as it naturally occurs. In this

design, collection of data can provide an account or description of individuals, groups or

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situations, and these can be obtained through questionnaires, interviews, rating scales,

and the like.

Furthermore, a descriptive-comparative research design was utilized as it

considered at least two entities which are not manipulated, and establishes a formal

procedure for obtaining data on the basis of which one can compare and conclude which

of the two is better (De Jesus, 1984). In the case of this study, the entities being

considered were the students of different year levels. Each of them was being assessed

and compared in terms of their level of career expectations.

Respondents and Setting

The respondents of this study were Grade 11 and Grade 12 students of Cor Jesu

College, Sacred Heart Avenue, Digos City from the Accountancy, Business and

Management (ABM) strand. For College students, the study also contained Third, Fourth,

and Fifth Year students from the College of Accountancy, Business and Entrepreneurship

(CABE) of the same school who were taking up these Bachelors degree programs:

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accountancy, BS in Accounting Technology, BS in Business

Administration, and BS in Hotel and Restaurant Management regardless of student

classification (regular or irregular). The conduct and data gathering was done solely

inside the school campus during class hours.

Sampling Procedure

The study employed the stratified random sampling technique where various

subgroups are taken from the sample to be a representative from each stratum after it was
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randomly picked (Teddlie & Yu, 2007). This technique is a probability sampling

procedure, in which members of the population are grouped by one or more

characteristics, and respondents are selected from each group using a completely random

process (Ariola, 2006). These individuals must represent the larger group that they were

drawn upon (Ogula, 2005).

Furthermore, the researchers selected 286 respondents in all year of study (Grade

11, Grade 12, Third Year, Fourth Year, Fifth Year). The sample size was computed using

Slovins Formula. This formula uses the population size (N), and a margin of error (e) to

arrive at the sample size (n). It is used when nothing about the behavior of a population is

determined (Andale, 2012). The study had a margin of error of 0.05 and the total

population of Grade 11 and 12 ABM students, together with Third, Fourth and Fifth Year

CABE students is 1001. The researchers had the guidance of a statistician during the

computation. Out from the sample size, there were 78 Grade 11 students, 74 from Grade

12, and from the College; 58 were Third Year college students, 73 from the Fourth Year,

and 3 from the Fifth Year. Respondents were chosen randomly through drawing lots from

their class lists. Moreover, the selected people underwent the data gathering procedure

and were assessed through survey questionnaires to extract their career expectations.

Measures

In order to collect the needed data in a reliable manner, the study utilized a

research instrument. This instrument was a standardized questionnaire adapted by

researchers from the University of Birmingham from Pemberton (1998). It was used to

determine students level of career expectations and to identify their career choices and
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preferences. This survey questionnaire safeguarded the anonymity and confidentiality of

the respondents, hence writing the name, gender or other personal details was optional.

The study only had one questionnaire, mainly the career expectations, and a space was

provided for the students to fill up their year of study.

The mean score of the respondents in the questionnaire measured the level of

students career expectations. The following descriptive interpretation from Armenio,

Deslippe, et al. (2012) was utilized as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Table for interpretation for level of students career expectations

Mean Scores Description Interpretation

The students have set very

4.51-5.0 Very High
high career expectations

The students have set high

3.51-4.50 High
career expectations

That students have average

2.51-3.50 Average
career expectations

The students have set low

1.51-2.50 Low
career expectations

The students have set very

1.0-1.50 Very Low
low career expectations

Finally, the mean score of the respondents answers to this questionnaire was used

to measure the level of their career expectations.

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Data Gathering Procedures

According to David (2002), data gathering is an extremely crucial part of any

research because the conclusions of a study are based on what the data have to say. There

are numerous techniques of collecting data. The choice of procedures typically depends

on the objectives and design of the study. During the conduct of the study, the following

procedures were observed:

1. A letter of permission requesting to conduct the study in the school was sent to

the concerned offices. For the Senior High School department, the letter was

addressed to the Basic Education Department (BED) Principal, and Senior High

School Coordinator. For the College/Higher Education, it was addressed to the

dean of the College of Accountancy, Business and Entrepreneurship (CABE).

Each letter was noted by the Research Adviser.

2. The researchers asked for assistance from BED and College registrar offices to

identify the population of the students. The data obtained were used for the

sampling procedure. The researchers also acquired the class lists and schedules of

Grade 11 and 12 students from the Senior High School Coordinator.

3. After determining the sample size, the researchers distributed the survey

questionnaires to Senior High School and College students through personal

approach or classroom meet-up. Teachers were first notified about the

administration of questionnaires, and the researchers requested an amount of time

for survey distribution.

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4. After completing the distribution of research instruments to all respondents, the

researchers collected, sorted out, tabulated and encoded the data.

5. The encoded data were then interpreted and analyzed using the most appropriate

statistical tool/s. The interpreted data served as the answers to each statement of

the problem and to the formulated hypothesis.

Data Analysis

To have credible and thorough data, the study must use systematic research

methods and statistical tools. Data can be better valued and effectively used when they

have been analyzed and interpreted methodically. This can help to enable the researcher

deduce the results of the study and to sufficiently answer the research questions. Hence,

data analysis is the process of identifying the distribution of respondents under known

categorical information or responses, and summarizing the trends and patterns observed

in the collected data (David, 2002). In the case of this study, the researchers executed the

data analysis through the help of a statistician and utilization of computer generated

software such as Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study used four

statistical tools in response to each statement of the problem:

Frequency and Percentages. This shows total frequency equated to one hundred

and the individual class frequencies expressed in proportion to that figure. This was

utilized in getting the profile and its frequency of the respondents in terms of year level.

Mean Score. This was used to establish the level of the students career

expectations. A descriptive rating was also assigned and it followed the interpretation

table from Armenio, Deslippe et al. (2012).

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One-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA). It is a statistical method, commonly

used in situations where a comparison is to be made between more than two groups.

Specifically, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to determine whether there

are any statistically significant differences between the means of three or more

independent and unrelated groups (Surbhi, 2016). This was employed in determining the

significant difference on the level of career expectations when grouped according to

students year level.

Post-hoc Analysis. After the ANOVA method, a post-hoc test was then

conducted as a follow-up. Post hoc tests are designed for situations in which the

researcher has already obtained a significant F-test with a factor that consists of three or

more means and additional exploration of the differences among means is needed to

provide specific information on which means are significantly different from each other

(Stevens, 1999).