Paññāsāstra University of

Cambodia

Course: Research Methodology

Dr. Gary Kawaguchi

Group Assignment

Topic: Graduated Students at PUC

Love Reading

Group Members:

Mr Huoth Chankressna
Mr Chhiv Eang Seng
Mr Sopheak Pheara
Mr Neang Phannith
Mrs Kinn Kannitha
Mr Soun Sophea
Mr Vann Sophy



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Content
Page

1. Description of Topic 3
2. Problem Statement 3
3. Hypothesis 4
4. Research Question 4
5. Summary of the Topic so far 4
6. Topic Relevance 5
7. Appendix A & B 7
8. Reference 8

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1. Description of Topic

Our group has researched on a topic “Graduate Students at Pannasastra

University of Cambodia (PUC) love reading.” This is very interesting topic for our
research study. We have seen many students in the PUC campus reading everywhere and
especially in the library. We believe that the study life of students is reading in order to
success in their academic purposes.
Reading is one of the most important things that every student should have in mind.
Many students enjoy reading for all types of things and sometimes they read for pleasure as
well as for study, research and their work. It can help students improve the vocabulary and
general knowledge about the world. Also having a good habit and discipline in life can
introduce them to the different cultures around the globe, and especially it can keep their
brain working well. The more we read, the more knowledgeable we gain. Within more
knowledge, we will become more confident, and then it can help us to build self-esteem. For
real example, one of my friends who loves reading the most always gets grade A in all
subjects, including a higher position in her workplace because she has more confident than
that of other people. In addition, the PUC also encourages all students to have a reading time
via DEAR program. This program is about Drop Everything And Read. We feel that reading
is the desired thing in the university.
To the above preferences, graduate students at PUC love reading because reading can
bring a value fact in their academic life and career. It also makes them more confident and
gain more general knowledge.
In contrast, some students are not really enjoy reading book at all because they think
that reading is a kind of a boring thing, and sometimes it is very stressful. In this research, we
are going to do a survey to find out whether graduate students at PUC love reading books or
not and how it effects to their studies?

2. Problem Statement

Not all students really love reading. We have seen students sit around the campus and
do reading including in the library. It maybe a task and obligation that professors assign them
to do. For example, before the exam date, professors provide chapters for students to read for
their exam. Therefore, they read just for their task or obligation.
Reading is still a major problem for most Cambodian students. They are not familiar
with it because of some reasons. First of all, it’s a habit for them since they were children.
For example, some students prefer doing something else such playing sports, playing games,
spending time with friends, and having a trip when they have free time rather than spending
time for reading. Another reason is that there are not good enough facilities to motivate those
students to read. For instance, some schools or universities do not have comfortable libraries
or places for students to spend their free time for reading. The last reason, some students do
not know the importance of reading so they just spend their time to read for their exams.
Based on the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, reading is the skill or an
activity of getting information from books and other materials. Reading can improve our
vocabulary, memory and creativity. Moreover, we always have something to talk with other
people because we have a wide knowledge. So, universities in Cambodia are trying to find
many ways to encourage students to spend more time on reading. For instance, PUC spends
much money to set up a comfortable large library which equips modern technology and
facilities for students. Furthermore, the university also has a Reading Competition for
students every year in order to motivate them to read and understand clearly the importance
of reading.

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 Thus, for our research, we want to find out that do the graduate students at PUC love
reading?

3. Hypothesis

"DEAR program can make graduate students to love reading."

Research methodology is conducted for the primary and secondary data of the research. It
consists of research design, data collection and sampling. Our research study conducts in
descriptive and explorative research. The reasons that we study the descriptive and
explorative research because we want to precisely study about the graduate students at PUC
love reading by explore more information. The research topic is new and suitable one for the
focus target group of PUC students, as 20 students from PUC is enough for us to test the
hypothesis of “graduated students at PUC love reading.”
We have tried to arrow down the topic to be appropriated for our time constraint, data
collection, and data analysis. In order to access the target group is much easier for us. Other
target group or population is not so useful for us to add up in our sampling depending on our
research area; for example, they are not helpful to complete the questions or they are in a
rush time.

4. Research Questions

1. Do graduated students at PUC love reading?

2. Why they love reading? Why don’t they love reading?
3. What do they do at their spare time?
4. Do they join DEAR program?

These questions are answered below:

The purpose of these questions is to observe that the graduate students at PUC love reading or
not. Without our observation, we think that students at PUC really love reading because we
always see them carry heavy books, sit in the library, join a group discussion around the
campus and sit around the campus reading the books. By answer to those questions, we can
know that not many students love reading. We also have done an observation on DEAR
program.

5. Summary

In summary, reading is the best way to get a good grade, and success in the
homework, assignment, midterm and final test for all students. Actually, many graduate
students at PUC love reading for some reasons. First, lecturers assign them directly to read
the articles or to find out related books to read. Second, they need to have supplement ideas
about lessons, so they have to read some books which they think it is relevance. Third,
usually the exam is near, they revise and review the lessons in order to prepare themselves for
it. Fourth, some of them read books because they like readings. However, the habit of reading
book for them is not really a habit because most of them read for their academic purpose only
and moreover during the weekday they have to work, nearly all of them have jobs, so the
really don’t have time to read. In addition, they spend their spare time with the family and
friends. Mostly they go to the office for extra hours in order to complete their work or

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project. Those are the reasons that they don’t have much time to read the books. Especially, it
is habits of Cambodian students don’t love reading books.

After, our interview by phone with 20 graduate students, we have found that none of
them have joined the DEAR program. So we can make a conclusion that they don’t love
reading and don’t have the habit of reading.

One significant thing that we think it would build their reading habit is to assign more
load reading works for them to read because most of them read because lectures assign them
to read and this really work.

Moreover, an evidence from a research by Dr. Anson Yang which was published in
ASIAN EFL Journal show that “senior form students believed that teachers should prepare
more loan reading materials for them”.

6. Topic Relevance

Research was done around PUC for one week. The topic is “Graduate Students at
PUC love reading.” The objective of the research is about studying on graduate students love
reading or not. Why they don’t practice reading. The result may help someone who seems to
improve number of readers in PUC.
We found that most of them don’t like reading the reason as we discuss above. The
popular reason for like reading because it would help them to do well in tests or gets a good
job than that reading was enjoyable. According to our research and public opinion, reading
really important for education and social. If a student like reading, in normally they always
pass good grade because they have prepare they self already with their reading before the
class was started, so they’re easy to understand their lessons.
Readers get to learn from the experience and knowledge of the author as well as
factual information social. For social, we will receive quality human resources for developing
country. If social receive most of unlike reader it with cause many problems. They are more
likely to be sick and jobless, and the fall-out from increased crime. Over view of research we
saw that less or unlike reading seem like a small issue but it really effective to human and
social themselves and social development.
In short, our research study is not too broad and we focus on our target audience only.
It is easy to investigate on graduate students at PUC love reading. This research study does
not take much time and cost. It also a real problem that students do not love reading because
of many factors such as it is not a culture of reading, and they spend time with family, friends
and doing their favorite things in their spare time.

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Appendix A: Questionnaires

Questionnaires

We are graduated students at Paññāsāsstra University of Cambodia. Our group is

going to research about “graduated students at PUC love reading”. Thank you very
much for kind cooperation and helpful information.

1. Your gender please:

 Male
 Female

2. Do you love reading?

 Yes
 No

3. Why do you love reading?

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

4. Why don’t you love reading?

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

5. What do you do at your spare time?

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
6. Do they like DEAR program? Why or why not?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

7. What part of DEAR program do you like the best, in your opinion?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

8. What new things did you learn from this program?

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

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_______________________________
Appendix B: Interviewed Question

1. Do you know about DEAR program?

 Yes
 No

2. Do you join this program?

 Yes
 No

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Reference

Yang, A.(June, 2007). Cultivating a Reading Habit. The Asian EFL Journal, 9(2),
115-129