CHAPTER III

METHODS OF RESEARCH

This chapter presents the methods and techniques, population and sample,

research instruments, data gathering procedure and data analysis.

Methods and Techniques of the Study

This qualitative study which aims to determine the narratives of pre-service Social

Studies teachers in localizing and contextualizing selected topics in Economics and

World History during Academic Year 2016-2017 will use narratology as the approach.

According to Phillion (2007), narrative inquiries almost always are about people’s lives,

their interests,concerns, and passions. The theoretical underpinning of narrative inquiry is

the belief that telling a story about oneself involves telling a story about choice and

action, which have integrally moral and ethical dimensions. A narrative inquiry collects

participants’ stories and retells the participants’ views by combining the researcher’s

experience with those of the participants to produce a collaborative narrative (Creswell,

2003).

The aim of narrative inquiry is therefore not to find one generalizable truth but to

sing up many truths/narratives. The present study uses narrative inquiry as a window into

the complexities of localizing and contextualizing selected topics in Economics and

World History. The researcher adapted a narrative inquiry methodology to learn about the

lives and experiences of pre-service Social Studies teachers handling Economics and/or
2

World History. The study design included descriptions of data collection methods, data

sources and data analysis procedures. Specifically, the study would want to know how

pre-service Social Studies Teachers’ stories of practice teaching provide insight into their

practices of localizing and contextualizing selected topics in Economics and World

History. The various insights from the participants’ narrative will be described while

drawing symbolic representations from the findings.

Meanwhile, Bakhtin’s dialogism provided the philosophical underpinning for the

collaborative aspect of this narrative research. In dialogism, meaning can come into

existence only when two or more voices come into contact: when the voice of a listener

responds to the voice of a speaker (Yang, 2011). The present study particularly banked on

the communicative constructionism abstract point of dialogism where the meaning of

discourse and texts is accomplished in and through active sense-making of the linguistic

and communicative. Meaning is dialogically constituted, made in dialogue(cognition and

communication), with reference to the world and against the backgroundof the world,

which is then dialogically appropriated and dialogically [Link] dialogical

interplay involves taking the perspective of theother but also interpreting the other by

responding or preparing aresponse on one´s own terms: imposing one´s own meaning

(Marková, 2002).

Population of the Study

The participants of the study will be seven (7) pre-service Social Studies teachers

handling Economics in grade 8 and 9 and six (6) pre-service Social Studies teachers

handling World History. They will be selected using criteria sampling technique since
3

there are inclusion and exclusion criteria that are considered. The 13 pre-service Social

Studies teachers who will serve as key informants of the study will be chosen by criteria

since the researcher provided an inclusion and exclusion criteria when looking for a

particular participant. The researcher initially interviewed 32pre-service Social Studies

teachers, with an aim toward reaching saturation as a method of trustworthiness, and of

determination of sample size.

With the inclusion criteria being considered in choosing the participant, only

seven (7) pre-service Social Studies teachers handling Economics in grade 8 and 9 and

six (6) pre-service Social Studies teachers handling World History were considered. The

researcher settled for eleven participants since this number is still within the suggested

participant range for a narratology to ensure saturation. Each participant met three

criteria: (a) pre-service Social Studies teachers enrolled in the BSE program of the

university for the second semester of AY 2016-2017 (b) handled Economics and/or

World History subjects during their Student-Teaching program (c) have been teaching

Economics and/or World History subjects since January to March 2017. Excluded in the

study are pre-service Social Studies teachers enrolled in the BSE program of the

university but were not enrolled in the Student-Teaching course or enrolled in the

Student-Teaching course but were not handling Economics and/or World History subjects

in their cooperating schools.

4

Research Instruments

This study will use data triangulation like in-depth interview, direct observation

and document analysis.

In-Depth Interview. The researcher developed an interview protocol that

contained a greeting, description of the purpose of the research, research questions,

interview questions, follow-up questions to each key research question, interview

questions between key research questions, space between follow up questions for the

notes and observations, and space for reflective notes (Creswell, 2003). Open-ended

questions with follow up questions were developed using the research questions to probe

for deeper meaning. The topics for Economics that were covered by the interview were

the following: Sektor ng Agrikultura, Sektor ng Industriya, Sektor ng Paglilingkod and

Impormal na Sektor. On the other hand, the topics for World History includedUnang

Digmaang Pandaigdig, Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig, Cold War and Samahang

Pandaigdigan.

Direction Observation. Provide the meaning, use and application to the study.

Document Analysis. Provide the meaning, use and application to the study as

well as the documents that will be perused.

5

Construction and Validation of the Instrument

The interview questions, follow-up questions to each key research question and

the interview questions between key research questions which were included in the

interview protocol were product of consultations and several validations. In developing

and improving the in-depth interview guide, the researcher passed through several

processes. The researcher consulted different books, magazines, journals, published and

unpublished research papers, theses, and dissertations on localizing and contextualizing

topics in Social Studies. Other sources of the questionnaire were taken from the informal

interview, observations and personal experiences of the researcher. The concepts derived

from these consultations were carefully analyzed and developed into an interview guide

form as part of the interview protocol.

The developed interview protocol was tested through a pilot interview to perfect it

as well as build and develops the interview skills of the researcher. Pilot interviews were

conducted with 2 Social Studies teachers in a public secondary school to refine the

interview protocol and to practice conducting face-to-face interviews. After conducting

the first pilot, words that were too technical and questions that were too redundant were

modified.

The interview protocol that was developed by the researcher was validated by

three experts who included a Master in History graduate and two public secondary school

teacher handling Social Studies subjects like Economics. These experts ran through the

content of the interview guide and made some necessary notations regarding the framing
6

of the questions. After the validation, all suggestions and recommendations of the experts

were considered and necessary improvements in the interview protocol particularly the

interview questions. The use of the interview questions allowed for recollections and

reflections on experiences of the 13pre-service Social Studies teachers about localizing

and contextualizing selected topics in Economics and World History in their practice

teaching. To be specific, conversational interviewing was done by the researcher.

Data Gathering Procedures

To begin the study, the researcher will secure an endorsement letter and

permission to gather data for the study from the Dean of the Graduate School of BPSU.

These letters will be forwarded to the Student Teaching Coordinator for permission to

employ the 13pre-service Social Studies teachers as participants of the study.

Informed Consent Form discussion.

In-depth Interview. Discuss here where and how this data gathering procedure

will be used in the study and how long will it take to finish the process.

Direction Observation. Discuss here where and how this data gathering

procedure will be used in the study and how long will it take to finish the process.

Document Analysis. Discuss here where and how this data gathering procedure

will be used in the study and how long will it take to finish the process.

Data Analysis

The data were gathered through the use of in-depth interviews, survey-

questionnaire and indirect participation. The results of the interview were encoded and
7

statistically processed with the help of a statistical software. Analysis of the data was

done using Chase’s (2005) two of the five interconnected, analytic lenses used in

narrative inquiry. These were the first lens which were focused on the narrative as a

vehicle for the uniqueness of human actions and the third lens which was focused on the

ways in which the narrative was constrained by social circumstances. The researcher

engaged with the participants as much as possible, within the constraints of their work

and personal commitments. In the analysis of the data, the researcher used the following

methods:

Transcribing. After each interview, the recorded data were transcribed.

Transcribing the data after each interview kept the transcriptions manageable and allowed

the researcher to begin to review them for suggestions of emerging [Link] transcripts

were kept in confidentiality. To achieve credibility, the researcher met weekly during the

data collection and analysis with an external source to review the primary findings and

emerging interpretations. Member checking was conducted by having participants review

the transcripts of the interviews. The research achieved triangulation of data by using my

field notes, the participants’ reflective journals, and the interview transcripts. According

to Creswell (1998), triangulation of data is the use of multiple sources of evidence to

determine a theme or perspective.

Coding. Necessary in describing, classifying, and interpreting the data is the

coding of the individual transcripts. Pattern coding involves identifying explanatory or

inferential codes, ones that identify an emergent theme, configuration, or explanation”

(Miles and Huberman, 1994). Pattern coding is helpful for reducing large amounts of data
8

into related themes. To this end, each individual transcript was coded and emerging

themes were used to construct the individual narratives.

Constructing Narratives. Written transcripts were used to identify discrete

experience segments of text in which the participants talk about a single event or

experience. The transcripts were reviewed for places where there was change from one

experience segment to another. The segments were reordered in order to create a logical

sequence or story. In order to demonstrate particular themes, Individual segments were

used. The construction of the narrative provided a sequence of experiences that reflected

the participants’ experiences and the themes that emerged from them. Member checking

with the participants added accuracy to confirm the reconstruction of these experiences.

Peer review. During data analysis, the researcher will invite three professional

colleagues with research experience in the context of this study to conduct a peer review.

The content experts will review the categories, themes and preliminary findings for

plausibility. The feedback and suggestions that will be provided by the content experts

will ensure the relevance and plausibility of the researcher’s interpretations. Through peer

review, the researcher’s analysis is opened to other experts, who check analytic steps,

such as the categorization of codes and themes. To ensure confidentiality and anonymity,

no identifiable participant information will be revealed during this peer review process.

Trustworthiness of the Research

To ensure the accuracy and trustworthiness of the findings of the study, the

researcher used the four criteria suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985): credibility,

transferability, dependability and confirmability. Credibility or internal validity helped to

9

establish the participants’ perspective as the determinant of believability through

prolonged period of engagement, persistent observation, triangulation, peer debriefing,

and member checking. In establishing the credibility of the study, prolonged period of

engagement with the participants was done by the researchers which mean spending

extended time with the participants to aid in understanding the culture, checking for

misinformation, and building trust. Also, triangulation was used to help understand the

research inquiry. The research achieved triangulation of data by using my field notes, the

participants’ reflective journals, and the interview transcripts. Moreover, peer debriefing

was conducted wherein an external auditor was used to help explore every aspect of the

inquiry by probing for meaning, ethical and legal issues, researcher’s biases, and

methodologies. Member checking is directed at judgment of overall credibility.

Another source of maintaining accuracy and trustworthiness throughout this study

was transferability or external validity. Lincoln and Guba (1985) pointed out that

establishing transferability is achieved by a thick description of a wide array of

information from the data collected in order to make transference. This study created ___

narratives to provide a thick description of the narratives of pre-service Social Studies

teachers in localizing and contextualizing selected topics in Economics and World

History.

Another source of maintaining accuracy and trustworthiness throughout this study

is noting any changes that occur during the study which pertains to the principles of

dependability. In maintaining dependability, field notes and an external audit were

utilized as sources. The researcher kept field notes to record changes and observations

during the study, and an impartial individual examined the process and product of these
10

observations and assessed their accuracy as part of the external audit. This external

auditor, according to Lincoln and Guba (1985) verifies the bottom line in order to check

that the data, findings and conclusions are accurate. In this study, field notes of the

observations and interpretations of the findings were kept and conferred weekly with an

external auditor, who was knowledgeable in qualitative research.

Finally, the principles of confirmability or objectivity was also applied in the

study. As mentioned by Lincoln and Guba (1985), this way of maintaining accuracy and

trustworthiness refers to the confirmation of a study’s findings by others. An audit trail,

which was composed of six parts: raw data, data reduction and analysis products, data

reconstruction and synthesis products, process notes, materials relating to intentions and

dispositions and instrument development information and the inclusion of the field notes

were used to establish dependability and demonstrated confirmability by others. In the

present study, the raw data were the electronic recordings and field notes. Data reduction

and analysis products included summaries from field notes, transcripts and preliminary

coding and thematic analyses and data reconstruction and synthesis products were the

narratives, descriptions of cross narrative themes, and conclusions, along with the final

paper.

Ethics of the Research

Discuss here the following ethical principles and how these will be applied to the

present study:

Respect for People.

Beneficence.
11

Justice.

Notes in Chapter III

Phillion, J. (2002). Narrative inquiry in a multicultural landscape: Multicultural

teachingand learning. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.

Ching-Jung,Y.. (2011). The quality of narrative research: on a theoretical framework for

narrative inquiry. STUT Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 6: 195-241.

Marková, I. (2002). Dialogicality and social representations. Ms. University of Stirling:

Department ofPsychology.

Chase S E. (2005). Narrative inquiry: Multiple lenses, approaches, voices’ in N K

Denzin and Y S Lincoln (eds) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research Sage
Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA: 651-80.

Sunstein, B.S. & Chiseri-Strater, E. (2007). Fieldworking: Reading and writing

research. Boston: Bedford/[Link]’s.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.