CHAPTER 2

Methods

2.1 Research Design

The design to be used in this study is Research and Development (R & D).

According to Hall (2006), it is a term that is used in describing the activities done by

firms and other entities such as individual entrepreneurs for them to create new or

improved products or processes. He also added, “It is the broadest meaning of the term

covers activities from basic scientific research performed in universities and laboratories

all the way to testing and refining products before commercial sale or use.” (Hall, 2006,

p.1)

Hall (2006) also cited in his study that the Frascati Manual of the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development (EOCD) (1963) defined R&D as, “creative

work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge,

including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge

to devise new applications.” (p.2)

There are four (4) short stories to be adapted into graphic novels as an output for

this research. The short stories are recommended by DepEd based from K12

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 Curriculum Guide. The validation was anchored on the following standard or criteria:

appropriateness, adequacy, and usability (Imperial, Jalique, and Robles, 2016).

2.2 Research Locale

The study will be conducted in Diliman Preparatory School Mindanao Avenue

Campus (DPS-MAC). The school has two campuses: the Commonwealth and

Mindanao Avenue Campus. MAC has a number of students not more than three

hundred (300). The grade 4 has two sections and is composed of fifty (50) students

combined. MAC grade 4 students will be the basis of this study.

2.3 Sampling and Participants

The 4th grade has total number of 50 students. Since this study focuses on a

particular group, the participants will be drawn using a purposive sampling wherein they

will be chosen intentionally for this study.

As a grade four teacher for three years, the researcher observes that the

transition from primary to intermediate level is a huge step for most students. Their

primary days consisted of having teacher aids and very hands-on subject teachers and

advisers. It also involves use of pencils and erasers as their primary writing material.

But in the intermediate level, the students are expected to be more independent and

more manageable inside the classroom. According to Reynolds (2005) at this point in

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 time, the students are beginning to evolve in their biological, cognitive, psychological,

and social characteristics. Therefore, the students are expected to have good

comprehension. However not all students have the same level of learning. In the study

of Wood (2015), as measured by grades, those students who were given graphic novel

supplement performed significantly higher on comprehension compared to those who

did not. Therefore, graphic novels have been known as a tool in the development of

cognitive activity (Lavin, 1998 as cited in Tonegato 2012, p.1).

2.4 Instruments

The researcher will choose four (4) short stories that are recommended by

Department of Education aligned with the K12 Curriculum Guide. For the content

validity, a questionnaire validation tool will be utilized. This is to validate the accessibility

of the graphic novel. The tool is adapted from the study of Robles (2017). The

questionnaire validation tool has four components usability, relevance, acceptability and

quality of content.

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2.5 Procedure

The following procedures will be followed to come up with a good quality graphic

novel. This procedure is adapted in the study of Imperial, Jalique, and Robles (2016).

2.5.1 Assessment/Pretesting Phase

In facilitating data collection, the researcher will make contact of Department of

Education Quezon City Division Office for the list of narrative short stories suggested for

Grade 4 ESL learners. Four (4) short stories will be chosen. Each short story represents

a quarter of the school year.

In addition, the researcher will make contact of Dr. Ava Clare Marie O. Robles

from Mindanao State University General Santos Campus to adapt the questionnaire

validation tool used in their study Construction and Validation of Reading

Comprehension Comic on Afro-Asian Folk Narratives for Grade 8 Students (Robles,

Imperial & Jalique, 2016).

2.5.2 Development Phase

In the development stage, the chosen four (4) short stories are based on the

following criteria: usability, relevance, acceptability, and quality of content (Robles,

2017). The researcher will create the first draft of the graphic novel. Storyboarding,

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penciling, inking, coloring, and lettering will be done. A storyboard is a series of panels

roughly depicting scenes and copy for a graphic novel. There are four parts in lettering.

The first one is caption; it is where it contains information about a scene. Next is the

speech balloon, it represents the speech of a character. Third is the thought balloon, it

represents the thought of a character. Lastly, the sound effects will be added.

(Capstone publishers, 2009)

2.5.3 Validation Phase

First Validation

The researcher will seek help from Reading experts in validating the

questionnaire validation tool. The questionnaire validation tool was borrowed from

Robles (2017). The experts will give their comments and suggestions as regards with

the acceptability of the questionnaire.

Also, the researcher will seek help from Fine Arts experts for the face validity of

the graphic novels to be used for the formal validation of the proposed material. The

experts will give comments and suggestions regarding the acceptability and face validity

of the material. The Reading and Fine Arts experts are the informal validators to assess

the content of the graphic novel.

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 Final Validation

Following the comments and suggestions of both Reading and Fine Arts experts,

the researcher will make revision of the questionnaire validation tool as well as the

material. The formal evaluators, on the other hand are the English Teachers from both

public and private schools who taught English subject for at least 5 years. After

validating, they will give comments and suggestions for the improvement of the material.

The evaluators will assess the content and acceptability of the material. The following

criteria will be used: usability, relevance, acceptability, and quality of content. Figure 2

summarizes the procedure.

Planning Selection of Stories from DepEd Graphic Novel

Tool Adaptation
Recommendation based from K12 Preparation
Curriculum

Construction Storyboarding Penciling & Coloring and

Inking Lettering

Validation Informal Validation Formal Validation Appropriateness

Adequacy
Usability

Final Output Printed Four

Revision based
from the results of Graphic Novels
validation

Figure 2

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2.5.4 Ethical Considerations

The following are the potential issues the researcher might encounter during the

preparation and development process of the material. Some of the categories below are

adapted from six categories that are grounded in the values of research specifically

visual research (Cox, S. Drew, S. Guillemin, M. Howell, C. Warr, D. and Waycott, J.,

2014).

Censorship

Since graphic novels are composed of text and visuals such titles with violence,

sexual explicit and crimes contents should be refrained. The responsibility to restrict

access or censorship should include the reader’s sensitivities, location, cultures and

religions (Gorman 2002 as cited in Muniran & Yusof, 2008).

Policy

There is no definite policy guideline for selecting titles of short stories to graphic

novels or selecting titles of graphic novels alone. However not all guidelines and policies

will fit to the criteria set by the publishers of the graphic novels. Knowledge and

awareness of policy is important Muniran & Yusof, 2008)

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 Fuzzy Boundaries

In visual research methods, boundaries between the roles of researchers,

participants, artists, and others involved in the project can become blurred. This blurring

of roles and purposes has been referred to as ‘fuzzy boundaries’ (Gubrium et al, 2013

as cited in Cox, S. Drew, S. Guillemin, M. Howell, C. Warr, D. and Waycott, J., 2014).

It is considered that there is a potential for the researcher role to become blurred.

How is it possible? It is when researchers may spend significant periods of time

engaged in fieldwork, researchers and participants may co-create products, participants

may be peer researchers, or participants may share or create images in a process that

requires great personal investment beyond the normal role of a research participant. In

the case of this study, the informal validators specifically the fine arts experts and the

researcher may be co-creators of images during the process of material development.

Authorship and Ownership

The products of visual research methods may be generated in different ways

such as efforts of individual participants, or individual or group efforts that also

incorporate contributions or collaborations with researchers or artists who are not strictly

speaking research participants, but who are nonetheless contributing to the research

process and the generation of visual material (Cox, S. Drew, S. Guillemin, M. Howell, C.

Warr, D. and Waycott, J., 2014). Therefore, in the case of this study, it is a must that the

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researcher should have a clear agreement as regards to ownership with her co-artist

when creating the graphic novel and appropriate acknowledgement of authorship of the

material.

Publication

The researcher would surely be governed by ethics committee approvals as to

publication and display of the material. Agreement between the researcher, co-artist,

and research locale is necessary if they are to have a copy of the material created

during the research.

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