CHAPTER III
METHOD AND PROCEDURE
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Research is an attempt to solve a problem or sought an answer to a question in a systematic and
scientific manner. The research methodology simply refers “how” the research has been conducted
which includes what, how and from whom data is to be collected as Kallet (2004) observed that “the
purpose of the methodology is to accurately and clearly illustrate the research design and the
procedures undertaken to collect and analyse the data and to present the rationale for choosing
each for the study”. The methodology of the investigation is defined as a process which includes
identification and definition of the population, the techniques used for the selection of a suitable
representative sample from the universe, the tools used for the collection of data, the research
methodology including all the statistical tools.
In short, the methodology of any research work ensures reliability and validity of the data
collected and at the same time, the applicability of the findings in the wider context. However, every
scientific investigation has various methods and procedures at its disposal but the nature of the
problem under investigation determines the selection of a particular method of study. Thus,
selection of the appropriate method for any research requires the investigator to understand the
field/area in which research is being done and the purpose behind it.
The present chapter is addressed to a detailed description of selection of sample, method and tools
used for data collection and statistical techniques employed for the analysis and interpretation of
data.
The present study entitled “Academic Stress among secondary school students” is descriptive in
nature which uses quantitative methods. It compares and tries to find the relationship between the
variables under study. The descriptive research addressed to the problems related to the present
and is oriented towards the determination of the status of a given phenomenon in present context.
In the present study, the survey approach has been used which is one of the commonly used
approach. It involves evaluation, interpretation, and generalization towards understanding and
solution of educational problems. The study aims to explore level of Academic Stress among
secondary school students. The present chapter focuses on research design, sampling, tools,
procedure of data collection and statistical methods adopted by the investigator.
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
The specification of methods and procedures for obtaining the information required is known as a
research design. It is a blueprint or plan framework that specifies „what information is to be
collected, from what source, and by what techniques. It is a description of the overall research
method, or approach used to study, the problem in hand, as Kerlinger (1966) opined, “Research in
the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research
questions and to control variance,” A research design serves two fundamental purposes:
(i) it entails posing precise questions about the tool’s development, the sampling procedure to be
used, data collection; data analysis
(ii) it serves as a control mechanism for the research procedure. It also allows researchers to
manage undesirable variance such as extraneous variance, error variance etc.
Without a research design, research becomes not only directionless and superfluous in achieving the
research objective. The present study is descriptive in nature which was completed in following
steps:
♧ For comprehensive and intensive mode of data collection, standardized tool was identified for the
variable of Academic Stress by the investigator.
♧ The primary data was collected quantitatively for better understanding and authenticity of the
results. The data were collected from selected sample ( Govt. SR. Secondary schools students
belonging to science, humanities and commerce stream of Shimla district of H.P.).
♧After the collection of data, datasets were analyzed in quantitative terms by using statistical
techniques.
♧ After analyzing the data, interpretations were made to reach at the conclusions, and also to test
the hypotheses and to see, whether the results support or contradict with the earlier research
studies.
3.3 POPULATION OF THE STUDY
Polit and Hungler (1999) define a population as the totality of all subjects that conform to a set of
specifications, compromising the entire group of persons that is of interest to the researcher and to
whom the research results can be generalized. The complete set of individuals or objects to which
researchers seek to generalize their conclusions is referred to as the target population. The
population to which researchers can directly apply their conclusions is termed the accessible
population. This subset of the target population, also known as the study population, is the group
from which researchers draw their samples.
In the present study, target population consists of the students of senior secondary level of
Government schools in district Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
3.4 SAMPLE OF THE STUDY
A sample is a finite part of a statistical population from whom data pertaining to variables involved
in the study in hand have been collected. In other words, sample can be defined as a set of
respondents selected from a larger population for the purpose of a survey. Whereas the population
in research refers to the group of persons, objects, or items to whom the research problem is being
addressed. Thus a statistical sample is a miniature picture or cross-sectional proportion of the
population that is selected for the observation and analysis (Best and Kahn, 2012).
In this study, we used a simple random sampling technique because it reduces the risk of biased
results and total of 120 senior secondary school students were selected from various government
schools within district Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
[Link]
VARIABLES CATEGORIES FREQUENCY (N) Percentage %
GENDER MALE 60 50%
FEMALE 60 50%
TOTAL 120 100%
LOCALITY RURAL 53 44%
URBAN 67 56%
TOTAL 120 100%
STREAM Science 40 33.33%
Arts 40 33.33%
Commerce 40 33.33
TOTAL 120 100%
Table 3.1: Representation OF the sample distribution
3.5 VARIABLES:
variable is a characteristic of the subject (participants) of the research that can be measured. A
variable refers to a person, event, incident, object etc that can be tested through hypothesis
(Labaree, 2021).
The following variables are identified for the present study as-
• Independent Variables
Independent variables are thought to be the ones that the researcher manipulated and assumed
used to directly affect the dependent variables. The following are the independent variables that
were used in the study. In the present study, the following independent variables are mentioned
below:
[Link]: In the present study the researcher included gender as an independent variable which has
some impact on the dependent variable. In this study, this independent variable gender is divided
into two categories i.e.
●) Male
●) Female
2. Locality : Locality were considered to have an effect on the dependent variable in the present
study the researcher included the locality as an independent variable divided into two categories:
●) Rural
●) Urban
3. Streams of study: Streams of study were considered to have an effect on the dependent variable.
in the present study, the researcher included the streams of study as an independent variable
divided into three categories i.e.
●) Science
●) Arts
●) commerce
● Dependent variable:
The dependent variable is the variable that is measured, observed, or tested to determine its
relationship with or response to changes in other variables. In a study, it is frequently the outcome
or the variable of interest. The dependent variable’s values are dependent on the independent
variable(s) or other factors under investigation. The main aim of this study was to measure the
influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable. The dependent variable of the
present study is:
●) Academic Stress
3.6 Description of tool used :
The tool used by the investigator for this study was Sudip Ghoshal and Debasri Banerjee’s academic
stress scale (ASS-GSBD) Constructed to measure the academic stress of students ranging from 13-17
year of age. This tool consists of total 25 items divided into four dimensions-1 personal feeling 2
institutional factor 3 social environment 4 Emotional environment. This tool included both positive
and negative items.
3.7 scoring procedure of the academic stress scale used:
POSITIVE STATEMENT NEGATIVE STATEMENT
Items- 18,20,23,24 Items-
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,22,25
SCORING Scoring
Always true-4, Sometimes true-3, sometimes Always false-4, sometimes false-3
false-2, Always false-1 Sometimes true-2, Always true -1
3.8 validity
Garret, (1973) states that “The validity of a test concerns o the extent that it is relevant to the
purpose for which it intends to measure” . The Validity of the tool is as follows:
Serial No. Type of validity Coefficient of Value
1. Content validity 0.84
2. Construct validity 0.85
3. Criterion validity 0.80
3.9 Reliability
A test must be reliable, that is, it must have the ability to consistently yield the same results when
repeated measurements are taken of the same individual under the same conditions (Koul, 1984).
Reliability of a test refers to the degree of consistency with which it measures what it intended to
measure. The reliability of tool used is as follows:
Cronbach’s alpha Cronbach’s Alpha based on No. Of items
standardized items
.734 .737 25
3.10 Procedure:
3.10.1 Data collection:
In this present study researcher collected sample by using simple random technique (lottery
n chit method) from secondary school students of Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh. The
researcher went to principals of different govt. schools to Get permission to explain the
purpose of the data. Participants were assured that their information would be kept
confidential.
3.10.2 Data Quality :
A total number of 140 respondents were collected by the researcher but 20 of them did not
completed their questionnaire or not answered properly all questions so the rest of 120
responses were considered as sample.
3.10.3 Tabulation of data :
The whole data set was drawn systematically and tabulated sequentially for further analysis
and to draw an inference based on the objectives of the present study. The raw data of 120
secondary schools students were individually tabulated by the researcher in an Excel sheet.
Further, it was coded by various identifiers and made ready for further analysis.
[Link]. Name of schools Female Male Total
1 G.S.S.S. TOTU 15 15 30
2 G.S.S.S. SHOGHI 15 15 30
3 G.S.S.S. GHANAHATTI 15 15 30
4 G.S.S.S. BOILEAUGANJ 15 15 30
Total 60 60 120
3.11 . Statistical techniques used
Statistical techniques are extensively used in educational research. They provide an
indispensable tool for collecting, organizing, and interpreting data expressed in numerical
terms. To test the hypothesis of the present study- ‘t‘test was used to analyze the data. The
following formula was used to calculate the significance of the difference between the
various groups.
t-test Formula
( M 1−M 2 )
√
t = (S . D1 )2 ( S . D 2)2
N1
+
N2
M₁ = Mean of the first group.
M₂ = Mean of the second group.
N₁ = Number of subjects in the first group.
N₂ = Number of subjects in the second group.
(S.D₁) ² = Standard deviation of the first group.
(S.D₂) ² = Standard deviation of the second group.