CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter deals with the methodology used for the research. It presents the

research approach, research design, study area, population of the study, sample and

sampling procedure, data collection issues instrument, data collection procedure, and data

analysis.

3.1 Research Design

The study employed descriptive cross sectional survey research design to achieve

its objectives. Orodho (2005) states that descriptive survey research design enables the

collection of information about peoples attitudes, opinions, values and behaviour on

educational or social issues. It is a systematic method of studying behaviour that cannot

be observed or experimented without manipulating the environment. This design was

suitable in investigating and collecting information about the attitudes, opinions and

experiences regarding educational communication among staffs and Junior High School

pupils of schools in Ho West District, Ghana.

3.2 Population and Sample Size

Lokesh (2004) defines a target population as a large population from which a

sample population is to be selected. The target population for the study encompass head

teachers, staff and pupils of Junior High School within Ho-West District Education
Directorate. A total of 300 comprising head teachers, staff and pupils all in the -West

District Education Directorate were selected for the research.

3.3 Research Instrument

The research instruments employed in this study is a set of structured and

unstructured questionnaire. It consisted of items, which was divided into two (2) sections;

section A and B. Section A had an introductory part which comprised items relating to the

demographic information of the respondents such as age, marital status, level of

education and religion. Section B sought data on the communication styles normally

adopted; and factors that lead to students and staff communication challenges in the

Junior High School pupils within Ho-West District Education Directorate. All items were

considered as approximately equal attitude value to which participants responded with

degree or intensity of agreement and disagreement.

3.4 Sampling Method and Procedure

According to Trochim (2006), sampling is the process of selecting units such as

people or organization from a population of interest. Wimmer and Dominick (2003) state

that, sample is a representative subset of a population. This study used the purposive

sampling technique to gather qualitative data. Purposive sampling is a technique by

which a researcher makes deliberate choice of an informant due to the qualities the

informant possesses. This is a type of non-probability sampling technique.

3.5 Ethical Consideration

It is very important to adhere to ethical issues in any serious research work. As

such, an introductory letter was obtained from the Head of Universidad Empresarial de

Costa Rica, Ho Campus to seek permission and consent of management of the

organization and respondents respectively. Again, respondents were assured of the

researchers absolute adherence to the tenets of ethics which include respect for

respondents dignity, confidentiality, anonymity among others.

3.6 Data Collection Procedure

The questionnaire was administered by the researcher because the researcher

wanted to ensure high accessibility and response rate. The researcher was at the various

schools using a letter of introduction obtained from the researchers department, to

administer the questionnaire personally. The researcher explained the purpose of the

study to the head teachers and staff of the various schools. The respondents were made to

understand that all information being provided would be treated with confidentiality and

used for the purpose of research only. This helped to obtain desired responses. The

administration of questionnaires and its collection took two weeks to complete. In all a

total of 300 questionnaires will be administered and all of them were returned.

3.7 Data Analysis

The raw data obtained out of a study amounts to nothing if it cannot be

transformed into information to be used for decision making (Emory et al, 2003). The

data analysis refers to the reduction of the raw data into a more convenient size,
developing summaries and applying statistical inferences. Consequently, the following

steps were taken to analyze the data for the study. The data was edited to detect and

correct, possible errors and omissions that were likely to occur, to ensure consistency

across respondents.

Both descriptive and inferential statistics were computed during the analysis of

the data using both SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The descriptive aspect employed

frequency tables; pie and bar charts. On the other hand, the inferential aspect of the

analysis employed binomial test to categorize the proportion of those who agreed and the

proportion of disagreed to the variables. Furthermore, at a significant level of 5%,

Pearson correlation analysis will be use to study the strength of a relationship between

two, numerically measured, continuous variables. This particular type of analysis is

useful when a researcher wants to establish if there are possible connections between

variables.