CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter discussed the research methodology as presented below;
3.1 Research Design
The study employed a Quasi-Experimental with pretest-posttest group design. Abraham and
MacDonald (2011) stated that Quasi-experimental research is similar to experimental research in
that there is manipulation of an independent variable. The design expressed two groups: The
experimental and control. Only the Experimental group received intervention in sign language.
This methodology is deemed appropriate for the current study, focusing specifically on gathering
data from children with hearing impairment who were exposed to the art of sign language and
those who were not for acquisition of vocabularies. The independent variable is defined as sign
language strategy while the dependent variable is vocabulary acquisition.
3.2 Area of the Study
The project research focused on the Government Special School Lafia Nasarawa State as key
area of study. The sudy focussed on Primary three pupils. This investigation delves into various
aspects vocabulary acquisition including monosyllabic, Bisyllabic, home and school related
words.
3.3 Population of the Study
Population is seen as variables or subjects under study, which could be people, animals, objects
etc. Razaq and Ajayi (2000) saw population as collection of elements about which we wish to
make an inference. This refers to the set of all elements, people or observations that are related to
a phenomenon that are of interest to the researcher. The population of the study consists primary
three of the Government Special School Lafia, Nasarawa state.
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3.4 Sample and Sampling
The sample population and size better informed the researcher of the current focus of the
investigation (Krathwohl, 1998:172 as cited in Gbaje, 2011). A sample of two Classes made up
of 10 each making a total of 20 pupils will be drawn out using simple random sampling
technique from Government Special School Lafia, Nasarawa state. The sample is made up of 10
boys and girls who were either born with hearing impairment or acquire later in life. Their ages
ranged between 8-15 years respectively.
3.5 Instrument for Data Collection
The instrument used in this study is a structured questionnaire entitled "Teacher made Test".
The instrument consists of information related to vocabulary acquisition on monosyllabic,
bisyllabic, home and school related words. These vocabularies were used to teach pupils using
sign language.
3.6 Validity of the Instrument
The validity of the research instruments was confirmed by the researcher's supervisor. He
evaluated the questionnaire to determine if they were appropriately designed to gather the
intended information. Based on his review, several constructive criticisms and corrections were
made to improve the relevance of the instruments and the tone used. These changes ensured that
the instruments had the desired face and content validity.
3.7 Reliability of the Instrument
Reliability refers to the ability by which a given research instrument is capable of giving the
same results when used by another researcher (Ndunguru, 2007). In the light of the above, the
questionnaire was tested test-retest reliability and found to be consistent for the intervention.
3.8 Method of Data Collection
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The relevant data for this study will be collected by the researcher with through strategic
teaching of vocabulary to pupils with hearing impairment in the experimental group while the
control group were taught orally. The intervention took a period of four (4) weeks. The pupils
were pretested, then the experimental group received intervention and later both groups were
posttested.
3.9 Method of Data Analysis
The data collected was analyzed based on the research questions stated in Chapter 1, using mean
score and t-test unrelated sample.
The mean score was calculated by adding the values in the scale and dividing by 10 to obtain the
mean. Any score from 0.06 and above was considered positive and accepted, while any score
from 0.05 and below was considered negative and rejected. The score for each item was obtained
by summing up the ratings given by the respondents.