Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

• Method adopted for the study• Variables of the study• Tools employed for the collection

of data• Sample selected for the study• Procedure for collection of data• Scoring and Tabulation• Processing of Data• Statistical Techniques

46

Methodology involves systematic procedures starting from the

initial identification of the problem to its final conclusions. Its role is to

carry on the research work in a scientific and valid manner. Webster has

defined methodology as the "science of method or arrangement". It is a

way to systematically solve the research problem. It provides the tools

and techniques by which the research problem is attacked.

Methodology is the mapping strategy of research. According to

Clifford Woody (1984), "methodology is a procedure adopted by the

investigator in conducting investigation". It is the description,

explanation and justification of various methods of conducting research.

It is one of little value unless used properly. Proper use must be learnt

by the researcher.

The present study attempts to explore the relationship between

examination anxiety and academic achievement among prospective

teachers for the purpose of convenience this chapter has included the

following steps.

1. Method adopted for the study.

2. Variables of the study.

3. Tools employed for the collection of data.

4. Sample selected for the study.

47

5. Procedure for collection of data.

6. Scoring and Tabulation.

7. Processing of data

8. Statistical techniques used for analyzing data.

1. Method adopted for the study

Research method refers to the method the researchers used in

performing research operations. A pre-planned and well-described

method will provide the researcher a scientific and feasible plan for

attacking and solving the problem under investigation.

The success of any research depends upon the suitability of

method adopted. In research many different methods are used. The

different methods followed by the research workers are historical

method, normative survey method, experimental method etc. A

researcher must have a thorough understanding of all research methods

with particular reference to their strengths, limitations, applicability and

appropriateness.

The selection of a method and the specific design within that

method appropriate in investigating a research problem will depend

upon the kind of data that the problem entail. A systematic qualitative

48

and quantitative procedure is necessary to collect the needed data. In

short, a pre-planned and well described method will provide the

researcher a scientific and feasible plan for attacking and solving the

problem under investigation.

In order to attain the major objectives of the study, the present

investigator has made use of the normative survey method as its chief

method. This method helps to gather data from a relatively large

number of cases at a particular time. It is concerned not with the

characteristics of individuals but with generalized statistics of the whole

population or a representative sample.

Normative survey method is concerned with the phenomena that

are typical of the normal conditions. It is one of the most commonly and

widely used methods of descriptive research in behavioural sciences.

This method can tell clearly what exists at present by determining the

nature and degree of existing conditions. Therefore the investigator has

selected the survey method to suit the requirements of the present

study.

2. Variables of the study

The present study employed the following variables under

various heads as detailed here under:

49

A. Biographical and Personal Variables

(a) Sex of the subject - Male, Female

(b) Age - Between 20-25, Between 25-30, Above 30

(c) Religion - Hindu, Muslim, Christian

(d) Optional Subject - Science, Arts

(e) Locality of Institution - Urban, Rural

B. Independent Variables

Examination Anxiety

C. Dependent Variable

Academic Achievement

3. Tools employed for the collection of data

Data collection is essentially an important part of the research

process. A researcher requires many data gathering tools and

techniques. Tools are data gathering devices that have proven useful in

educational research. According to Best, "like the tools in a carpenter's

box, each research tool is appropriate in a given situation to accomplish

a particular purpose". Each tool is suitable for the collection of certain

type of information.

Selection of appropriate tool is very essential for any type of

study. The tool used should be reliable and valid, then only the study

50

will give accurate measurement of the variables under investigation.

There are a large number of tools available for data collection in

research. By keeping various objectives and purposes of the study in

mind, the investigator used the following tools for the collection of

needed data.

A. Personal Data Sheet

B. Examination Anxiety Inventory

C. Achievement test scores

A. Personal Data Sheet

The personal data sheet is used to collect personal information of

the students. By using this, the investigator can collect information such

as age, sex, religion, optional subject, name of the college, locality of the

college, monthly income of parents, etc. A copy of the personal data

sheet is given as Appendix I.

B. Examination Anxiety Inventory

In the present study, in order to measure the examination anxiety

of prospective teachers, an examination anxiety inventory prepared by

the investigator was used. A copy of the Examination Anxiety Inventory

is given as Appendix II. For the scientific preparation of the tool, certain

51

important procedures and steps are followed. The major steps and

procedures used are detailed below.

Tools Development

The researcher chooses the most appropriate instrument and

procedures that provide for the collection and analysis of data upon

which hypothesis may be tested. In some situations, the researcher may

find that the existing research tools do not suit his purpose and so he

may have to modify them or construct his own.

A survey on available scales on examination anxiety was carried

out and they were evaluated on the criterion of suitability of use in the

present study. However it reveals that there was no appropriate tool

available to measure the nature and extent of examination anxiety

among prospective teachers and this necessitated the modification of an

examination anxiety inventory already prepared by the investigator. The

major steps followed in the construction of this tool are described under

different heads.

Steps in the construction of the tool

i. Planning of the test

ii. Item writing

52

iii. Item editing

iv. Arrangement of items

V. Preliminary try-out

vi. Draft scale

vii. Final try-out

viii. Item analysis

ix. Item selection

X. Establishing Reliability and Validity

xi. Final format of Test

i. Planning of the test

The 'Examination Anxiety Inventory' prepared by the

investigator aims at the measurement of examination anxiety among the

prospective teachers. Due considerations were given to the variables

tested and to the different aspects involved.

ii. Item writing

The important step in the construction of any research tool is

writing of suitable items. After a thorough and careful study of the

literature available on anxiety, the investigator collected materials on

different types of anxiety, especially examination anxiety. The

investigator prepared a number of positive and negative statements

53

describing various factors of examination anxiety. The inventory covers

the decisive features of the needed data.

iii. Item editing

Greater care was taken in the editing of the items. Item editing is

the process of checking and scrutinizing items. The items were referred

to experts for modification. After careful examination, the ambiguous

items were rewritten in simple and meaningful language.

iv. Arrangement of items

All the items were then arranged in a random manner including

almost equal number of positive and negative items for the examination

anxiety inventory.

v. Preliminary try-out

A preliminary try out was made to find out the weakness and

workability of the items. The difficulties in responding the items were

noted. This step helped the investigator to modify certain variables,

which were vague and questionable. For this purpose the inventory was

given to prospective teachers.

54

vi. Draft Scale

The first draft was prepared by printing the statements in

English. Necessary directions for the respondents were also included. A

separate answer sheet was supplied to the prospective teachers for

making their response.

vii. Final try-out

A sample of 400 prospective teachers were randomly selected

from the population for administering the draft scale for item analysis.

Scoring

The collected responses were scored with the help of a scoring

key prepared by the investigator. The answer sheet consists of a set of

three responses, namely Always, Sometimes and Never measuring

different levels of examination anxiety. Each positive and negative

statements possess a score of 2, 1 or 0. Based on the responses of

students on each statement they possess any one of the above mentioned

scores. A copy of the answer sheet is given as Appendix III.

viii. Item analysis

Items were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively in

terms of their statistical properties.

55

Qualitative analysis includes the consideration of content validity

and the evaluation of items in terms of effective item writing

procedures.

Quantitative analysis on the other hand includes principle, the

measurement of item difficulty and item discrimination. Both the

validity and reliability of any test depend ultimately on the

charactertistics of its items. High reliability and validity can be built into

a test in advance through item analysis.

The method of item analysis used in the case of the present

investigation is the one developed by Mathew (1982) called the Mathew

Item Analysis Table. This table gives item criterion correlation (Phi-

coefficient) and percentage of tests marking the keyed answer (P-value).

One of the advantages of phi-coefficients is that any convenient

proportion can be made use of in order to use the same table. It is

recommended regardless of the sample size.

The response sheets were arranged in the order of criterion score.

The criterion score is the total score of the trial form of the test itself.

Hundred response sheets having the highest criterion score were taken,

56

constituting the upper tail. Similarly hundred response sheets having

the lowest score were taken forming the lower tail.

The final percentage needed for reading the item indices from the

table are the following.

PL Percentage of individuals in the lower tail marking the

keyed answer.

PU : Percentage of individuals in the upper tail marking the

keyed answer.

In the Mathew Item Analysis Table, indices for he same value of

FL have been grouped together, so in order to read the indices of an

item, the PL value of the given item was locked first, then in that

selection the PU and the corresponding Phi and P values were read.

Whenever the PL value was larger than the PU value, FL and PU values

were interchanged while reading the indices and then a negative sign

was attached to Phi-coefficient. When FL and PU are equal Phi is zero.

ix. Item selection

From the items having highest correlation values (Phi values) the

required number of items were selected. The special feature about the

'Phi' value is that since 'Phi' values tend to be high for items having

57

medium 'P' value, item selection based on 'Phi' value alone would give

the desired result. Items with 'Phi' values below the 5 percent level of

significance are not considered usually.

When 'Phi' values of most items were high and the number of

items large, items with some spread of 'P' values would be desirables. It

may be mentioned here that 'Phi' values were computed for every

combination of PL and PV values of Guilford's (1954) formula.

X. Establishing Reliability and Validity

a. Reliability of the scale

Reliability of a test refers to the degree of consistency with which

it measures what it is intended to measure. According to Anne Anstasi

(1968), "the reliability of the test scores refers to the consistency of scores

obtained by the same individual on different occasions with different

sets of equivalent items".

The reliability of a test can be assessed in different ways such as

test-retest method, split-half method, rational equivalence method etc.

In the present investigation, the reliability coefficient was found

out by Split-half method. It measures the degree of homogeneity of

58

items in a test. The reliability coefficient was calculated using Spearman-

Brown Prophecy formula.

xy

Nxy -

r'2½ =x2 - ( x)2 x y -

N N

Where r 1/2 1/2 - Reliability coefficient of the half test.

x - Total score for a section in odd items test.

y Total score for a section in even items test.

N

Total number of prospective teachers in the group.

The split-half reliability coefficient calculated which is in the table

shows a satisfactory reliability.

After correction using Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula,

rxy =

where,

rxy -

r1/21/2 -

2r 1/2 1/2

1 + r 1/2 1/2

Estimated reliability of the whole test.

Reliability coefficient of the half test.

The reliability of the test was calculated and noted in the table.

Table 3.1

Reliability Coefficient for the Examination Anxiety Inventory

Si. No. Variable Reliability coefficient

1. Examination Anxiety 0.62

b. Validity of the scale

The validity of a test may be defined as the accuracy with which

the test measures what it suppose to do. According to Gate and others

"A test is valid when it measures truly and accurately the ability or

quality one wants to appraise". Validity of a test answers the questions,

what does a test measure and how well it measures whatever it is

designed to measure for. In this study, the face validity was found out

by submitting the tool to a panel of experts from the field of education

and psychology.

The content validity of the present Inventory was established by

systematically analyzing the area under study. On the basis of the

opinion of experts from relevant field the tool has sufficient coverage to

its contents.

M. Final format of test

The final scale consisted of 35 statements with almost equal

number of positive and negative items.

Me

C. Achievement Test Scores

The main purpose of the study is to correlate examination anxiety

with academic achievement. In order to find this relationship

achievement test scores are necessary. Generally, achievement test refers

to test designed to measure the effects of specific teaching or training in

an area of the curriculum.

In the present study the investigator collected marks obtained in

the University examination conduced by the University of Kerala is

considered as the scores of achievement. Due of the limitations of time

and resources the investigator collected the University examination

marks from the college records.

4. Sample Selected for the study

The representative proportion of the population is called a

sample. By observing the characteristics of the sample, one can make

certain inferences about the characteristics of the population from which

it is drawn. Sampling is the process by which a relatively small number

of individuals or measures of individuals, objects, or events is selected

and analyzed in order to find out something about the entire population

selected. It helps to reduce expenditure, save time and energy, permit

61

measurement of greater scope, or produce greater precision and

accuracy.

The sample for the study was selected in such a way as to yield

generalisable results for the study. The data for the present study has

been derived from a representative sample of size 400 consisting of

prospective teachers from five teacher training colleges of Kerala. The

sample was collected by using random sampling technique. The sample

also considered the categories like sex, age, religion, optional subjects,

locality etc. the main analysis are based on these samples which includes

all the groups described in the tables given below:

Table 3.2

Sex-wise Distribution of Subjects

Sex Number of students

Male 112

Female 288

Table 3.3

Age-wise Distribution of Subjects

Age Number of students

20-25 210

25-30 141

Above 30 - 49

62

Table 3.4

Religion-wise Distribution of Subjects

Religion Number of students

Hindu 222

Muslim 93

Christian 85

Table 3.5

Optional subject-wise Distribution of Subjects

Optional subject Number of students

Science 199

Arts 201

Table 3.6

Locality-wise Distribution of Subjects

Locality Number of students

Urban 200

Rural 200

63

Table 3.7

Monthly income-wise Distribution of Subjects

Monthly income Number of students

1000-2000 129

2000-5000 159

Above 5000 112

5. Procedure for collection of Data

After preparing a schedule, the investigator contacted the

principals of teacher training colleges of Kerala and requested for

permission to administer the tools for data collection. The purpose of the

study was explained to the Heads of the institutions and the teacher

educators concerned. They showed much co-operation for collecting the

data.

The investigator administered the test in selected colleges of

Kerala. Before the commencement of data collection, the investigator

gave a short explanation regarding the scope of the study and appealed

for their conscious participation and co-operation. To begin with they

were asked to fill in the personal details in the personal data sheet. Then

the answer sheets were distributed along with the examination anxiety

inventory. The investigator gave clear instructions and gave sufficient

64

time for responding. The rules and procedures prescribed for the test in

the manual were strictly followed. Doubts raised by the students were

also clarified. When the students completed the test, all the response

sheets were collected and classified systematically.

The data thus collected were arranged according to the sub-

groups of the population to facilitate initial statistical processing.

6. Scoring and Tabulation

The data collected for the present investigation is mainly to study

the relationship between examination anxiety and academic

achievement. The collected answer sheets were scored systematically by

using appropriate scoring key prepared by the investigator. Then the

answer sheets were tabulated as per the scoring scheme of the tests

described earlier along with the test.

7. Processing of Data

The data collected was subjected to initial processing which

yielded data in an organized manner. The relevant data collected from

the subjects were consolidated for the purpose of statistical analysis.

This was done by assigning an identification number for each subject in

the coding sheet. Then against the number, the details of personal data

65

sheet like sex, age, religion, optional subjects, locality, income of parents,

scores of examination anxiety inventory, achievement test scores, etc

were noted. Computer was employed for the purpose of analysis of

data.

8. Statistical Techniques

The major statistical techniques used by the investigator for

analyzing the data are the following.

i. Mean

ii. Standard Deviation

iii. Test of Significance (t-test)

iv. Correlation Technique

i. Mean

Mean is the most common type and widely used measures of

central tendency. "The mean of a distribution of scores is the value on

the scores scale corresponding to the sum of the scores divided by their

number or size of sample". It is more stable and suitable for further

calculations.

Mean is calculated using the formula,

=Ex

N

Where, N = The number of subjects

X Arithmetic Mean

= The sum of the series of all items

ii. Standard Deviation

Standard deviation is the most important measure of dispersion

and is widely used in many statistical formulae. It provides accurate

result. It is defined as the positive square-root of the arithmetic mean of

the squares of the deviations of the given observation from their

arithmetic mean. It is least affected by sampling fluctuations.

Standard deviation is calculated using the formula,

1S.D = ^X2 - (yX)

N

Where, N - No. of individuals

x - No. of series

iii. Test of Significance (t-test)

The data obtained were very often require a comparison and

analysis of two or more means, proportions, percentages, standard

deviation and other statistics obtained from different samples or from

the sample, under two or more experimental situation. The means error

67

of two samples may be calculated. The investigator wishes to test the

significance of difference of two means. These measures are subjected to

sampling error, the difference between the two means may be

attributable to sampling error. The statistical treatment which lead in the

decisions of this type are known as test of significance or t-test.

Test of significance is used to find the significant level of

difference between two groups of populations. From the mean and

standard deviation of the two groups the t-values are calculated. If the

obtained t-value is 2.58 and above, then the significant level of difference

is 0.01 and if the values lie between 1.96 and 2.58, the significant level of

difference is 0.05. if the value is below 1.96, the difference is not

significant at any level.

The t-test is calculated using the formula,

Mi-M2t=

I +22

Ni\J N2

Where, Mi - Mean of the I sample

M2 - Mean of the II sample

01 - S.D of the I sample

- SD of the 11 sample

68

Ni - Total number of frequency of the I sample

N2 - Total number of frequency of the II sample

iv. Correlation Technique

Correlation analysis is concerned with measuring the strength or

degree of relationship between the variables. It is defined as a statistical

study of relationship between two or more variables. It shows us the

extent to which values in one variable are linked or related to values in

another variable. The effect of correlation is to reduce the range of

uncertainty of our prediction. Sampling error can also be calculated.

Correlation is the basis for the concept of regression and ratio of

variation. The measure of correlation is called the correlation co-

efficient.

The correlation co-efficient is calculated using the formula,

NXY -r =

NX2 - (X)2 x NY2 - (Y)2

Where

r - Correlation co-efficient

- Sum of X-score

- Sum of Y-score

ME

-

-

xY--

N -

Sum of square of X-score

Sum of square of Y-score

Sum of product of X and Y

Number of students

According to Henry E. Garrett (1969) the interpretation of 'r' is

stated below in the table

Table 3.8

Interpretation of Correlation Coefficient 'r'

Value of 'r' Verbal description

0 Zero relationship or absolutely norelationship

0.0 to ± 0.20 1 Indifferent or negligible relationship

0.20 to ± 0.40 Low correlation; present but slight

0.40 to ± 0.70 Substantial or marked relationship

0.70 to ± 1.00 1 High to very high relationship