DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH I OF 12 STEM

PM CLASSES OF PHINMA-UPANG COLLEGE URDANETA

A Research Presented to

the Senior High School Department

PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta,

Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

In Partial Fulfilment

of the Requirements for the subject

APP 006 Practical Research 2

by

ABRAZALDO, CHRISTIAN PAUL B.

DELOS SANTOS, IVAN KURT T.

ONG, NATASHA MARIE V.

PETROLA, FATIMA MAE O.

SANCHEZ, LEONAH CLAIRE T.

12 STEM 03P

OCTOBER 2017
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

Research is a systematic investigative process employed to increase or

revise current knowledge by discovering new facts. It is principally a way to counter

the queries aroused by curiosity. It is also an important tool in the field of education

because it helps the students to have a detailed analysis of everything, as well as

it develops critical thinking expertise among students, and communication skills

that are globally sought-after and incredibly advantageous.

Perhaps, the most important contribution of professors doing research is

that it creates lifelong learners, learning that involves making mistakes while

pursuing the joy of discovery. These professors can understand and empathize

with their students, who are sharing similar learning process. Students who learn

from lifelong learners may even be more likely to discover their own innate thirst

for knowledge.

However, there are some students who are still unacquainted with the

significance of research and the intentions of including it as a subject in curriculum.

To choose an entirely new topic and work on it within available resources is not an

easy task and in such a situation, the research seems to be the most difficult

subject which cannot be qualified easily. People usually found it difficult especially

novice researchers during their research work. There are numerous problems

faced by researchers especially on the basis of difficulties they encounter while

conducting research. The fact is that research is not something next to impossible

rather it is easy and motivating but the need of the hour is to highlight the difficulties

which are stumbling block in the way to research. Writing a thesis proves very

difficult for most students as it is an important write up in a researcher’s life. Some

students may carry out research with ease; but writing the research document in

the form of a thesis is something they cannot seem to do with ease. A thesis, by

default, has to undergo multiple rounds of revision before it gets a green signal by

a research supervisor. (Taskeen et.al., 2014)

Researchers must be patient enough as he or she may encounter

unexpected difficulties and problems while conducting a research. They must

allocate plenty of time to complete each activity. They must be conscientious and

need to work in the library for a certain number of hours each week. They need to

add some more hours, weeks before the scheduled deadline because there are

some things that take more time than what is planned, and there are some stages

in research work that is more difficult than what the researchers expect. In addition,

a researcher must be open-minded and must also adopt a critical way of thinking.

He or she must be diligent, focused and devoted to his/her specific field of interest.

(Trimmer, 1992)

Most of the time, research work is found to be a tedious and very tiring work

to do however, teachers and students cannot get away from this work because

most often this is an academic requirement.

 Hence, this study is conducted to investigate the difficulties encountered by

the student researchers of Grade 12 STEM PM classes in PHINMA UPang College

of Urdaneta during their Practical Research I.

Statement of the Problem

This study is conducted to determine the difficulties encountered in Practical

Research I Grade 12 STEM PM classes of PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta A.Y.

2017-2018.

Specifically, it answered the following questions:

1. What are the difficulties encountered in Practical Research I as perceived

of the following respondents:

a. 12 STEM PM1;

b. 12 STEM PM2; and

c. 12 STEM PM3?

2. Is there a significant difference among the difficulties encountered in

Practical Research I of the respondents?

3. What suggested measures are to be done to address the difficulties

encountered in Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM PM classes of

PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta?

Null Hypothesis

There is no significant difference among the difficulties encountered in

Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM-PM class of PHINMA UPang College

Urdaneta.

Significance of the Study

The researchers decided to conduct this study to find out the results and

findings that would be beneficial primarily to the following:

 Students - as it serves as a guide to their academic life to enlighten them,

as a help to overcome these difficulties somehow.

 Teachers - especially research-teachers will have an insight regardless to

the difficulties encountered by students in conducting a research study and

will be able to develop or improve their educational strategies to lessen the

difficulties mentioned.

 Future researchers - will be beneficial too, just like the students, but for

their own reference. Since this study could be a great help to improvise and

expound for future use.

Definition of Terms

For clarity of ideas, the following terms are defined according to how they

are used in the study:

 Constructivism - is a theory that is based on an observation and

scientific study about how people learn.

 Self-Concept - is the individual's belief about himself or herself, including

the person's attributes and who and what the self is. (Baumeister,1999)

 Schema – a conception of what is common to all members of a class; a

general or essential type or form.

 Social Milieu – refers to the immediate physical and social setting which

people live or in which something happens or develops.

 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough

and in-depth search done by the researchers.

Related Literature

The book entitled, “The Management of a Student Research Project” by

John Peters, Keith Howard and John A. Sharp, shows the extent to which it is

realistic to cover, in a book aimed at student researchers in general, the range of

problems encountered by the student at each of the stages of their research. The

authors highlighted the most common difficulties encountered by student

researchers and one of these is the preparation, production and publication phases

of student research have (for a given level) much that is common across all

research fields. That which primarily distinguishes one type of research from

another is the activities to track down, collect, and analyze data. These activities

are the chapters on analyzing and gathering the data. In addition to the present

chapter the other chapters to be found in preparation, production and publication

phases are selecting and justifying a research topic, planning the research project

and literature searching. There are also problems when it comes on producing

research results, which is concerned with research output, covers executing the

research, common problems encountered in research, specific issues of dealing

with supervisors and presenting results of the research. It is clearly shown and

stated in the book that problems of data gathering and analysis, is the greatest
difficulty in our attempt to be relevant to the broad of student research. We have,

however, concentrated on the management of data gathering and analysis. On the

authors’ coverage of analytical methods, they recognize their bias towards the

social sciences but would claim that many of the techniques referred to have a

broader application, not least because of the growing importance of subjects such

as management in fields of study like engineering or environmental studies.

Related Studies

According to Dombeck and Wells-Moran (2006), many people are

discouraged from trying to learn new knowledge or skills because of time issues.

They already feel that their lives are too busy and they don't see how it is possible

to fit more commitments into their already jammed schedules. Time management

skills boil down to awareness, organization and commitment. One needs to

become aware of and record everything he is doing so that important things will be

done on time. One also needs to commit to keep a schedule, and not wandering

off when something more momentarily interesting occurs. They emphasized that

time management and organization skills are applicable to a wide range of life

tasks one might decide to take on. As it will benefit the person broadly in whatever

he/she might do.

A study conducted by Ankit Jain (2013) stated that lack of timely availability

of published data from various government as well as the library management

adds difficulties to the researchers. Some libraries are not satisfactory at many
places and much of the time and energy of researchers are spent in tracing out the

books, journals, reports, etc., rather than in tracing out relevant material from them.

There is also the problem that many of our libraries are not able to get copies of

old and new Acts/Rules, reports and other government publications in time. He

also stated that lack of scientific training in the methodology of research causes

problem to researchers and causes unnecessary delays in the completion of

research studies.

Reports from the University of Cincinnati (2001) declares some common

reasons why college students experience academic problems. It was said that

some students do not have a clear vision regarding their reason for being in

college. It could be pointed out that students are in college since parents insist

while not feeling good on what they are doing. What college students want to do

with their life might be different from what parents lead them to do. Sometimes

courses and majors are chosen by the students to please their parents, but have

little or no relationship to their true interest.

Similarly, in conducting a research one must have the interest of doing it. It

is a very laborious task. A research study cannot be completed when there are no

respondents. Respondents are the ones to give their perception and answers on

the issues in the study. At this point the researcher must have built a friendly

relationship with the respondents for the success of the study. But there might be

a problem in relating with others.

Research is never done in a vacuum, once the topic and methodology are

in place, you will need a research team to support you, as well as the participants.
A study entitled “Research Challenges and how to overcome them” claimed that

cooperation in the workplace is perhaps one of the most important influences on

productivity, especially in a team-based environment. When each person relies on

input or task completion from others, things go smoothly but when one person is

uncooperative, the entire process slows down. Whether the lack of cooperation is

due to limited time, skills or resources, the outcome is the same: productivity drops.

(Hamlin 2017)

According to the study of Mahbub Sarkar (2014) entitled “Challenges in

Conducting Educational Research: The Case of a Developing Country”, intended

to recruit science teachers representing a range of geographical locations, school

types with different class sizes, lengths of teaching experience and educational

qualifications. The head teachers in the selected schools, however, insisted him to

recruit the teachers who they perceived ‘good’ teachers. Same happened in

recruiting students for focus group interviews. Head teachers wanted high-

performing students to participate, whereas I wanted to recruit students of different

abilities and performances. They were worried that their weaknesses would be

exposed if I selected underperforming teachers and students, and they might get

into trouble with parents and/or higher authorities. From the study, it is concluded

that information people in positions of power and authority or with technical skills,

are not necessarily the best people to talk to. Sometimes people who are less

obvious can be extremely useful.

A study entitled “Problems encountered by Researchers” states that

another problem encountered by the researchers is the lack of confidence among

the researchers and manipulation of data. Lack of confidence to take up a new

study especially explorative study, also the fear of the result and fear of not able

to answer questions during presentations. The lack of confidence over the result

they may get after the completion of study is the reason for manipulation of result.

Every researcher tries or does one or the other kinds of manipulation of data.

Maybe multiplying the sample size or to make the result in the way they want. This

never reveals the reality, as the intuition of the researcher is guided by mere

theoretical knowledge. In reality, sometimes theory and practice may be

contradictory. Some researchers just finish off their study by simply sitting in their

home; they don’t even interact with their subject or have any one.

The lack of availability of access to Internet, ignorance of the way to search

needed articles from journals and other databases are other problems. Searching

books and newspaper articles from conventional libraries consumes a lot of time

and effort. These kind of libraries, especially which are situated away from the

capital cities lack copies of new acts/rules published by the government. There is

also timely unavailability of published data. (Physiovipin, 2015)

Theoretical Framework/ Conceptual Framework

Constructivism is a theory that is based on a perception and scientific study

about how individuals learn. The term alludes of the possibility that learners

develop data for themselves - each learner independently (and socially) expands

meaning- - s he or she learn. It says individuals develop their own understanding

and learning of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those
experiences. This sort of principle is a philosophical viewpoint regarding those

nature about information. It is the idea that learners develop learning for

themselves each learner separately (and socially) constructs meaning as the

learner or student learn. According to Davis Elkind, constructivism is the

recognition that reality is a product of human intelligence interacting with

experience in the real world. As soon as you include human mental activity in the

process of knowing reality, you have accepted constructivism. Constructivism

maintains that knowledge is constructed by scientists and it opposes the idea that

there is a single methodology to generate knowledge.

Jean Piaget, a noticeable scholar known for his constructivist sees,

concentrated on how people make importance in connection to the cooperation

between their encounters and their thoughts. At the point when a learner

experience something new, he or she need to accommodate it with his or her past

thoughts and experience, possibly changing what the learner accept, or perhaps

disposing of the new data as unimportant. Regardless, we are dynamic makers of

our own insight. Constructing of meaning is learning. Constructivism speaks to an

epistemological position. With a specific end goal to do this, the learner must make

inquiries, investigate, and survey what he or she know.

Based on Piaget, Ulric Neisser (1976) defined perception as the “pickup of

information” controlled by the mental structure that is constructed from earlier

perceptions. He called this “schemata-controlled information pickup.” It expresses

the view that an individual’s cognitive apparatus determines the way she looks at

the environment. The apparatus constructs anticipations of what to expect and

thus enables the organism to perceive the expected information. Without these

anticipations the individual would not be able to see anything.

Cognitive decisions are not taken in response to an environmental

challenge but are a consequence of internal cognitive dynamics. Clearly, this

emphasizes the key role of the cognitive apparatus in the process of reality

construction, which is not simply the (passive) representation of a mind

independent reality. Therefore, cognition is not about information processing but

rather about information generating. (Riegler A.,2012)

During its earliest stages, constructivism analyzed the interaction between

human experience and their reflexes or conduct designs. Jean Piaget called these

systems of knowledge schemes. These are not to be mistaken for "schema," a

term that originates from schema theory, which is from information-processing

perspectives on human cognition.

The emphasis on networks and their dynamical self-modification due to its

accommodation to new experience makes it clear that constructivist accounts of

reality construction and cognition cannot be based on static propositional

knowledge but must – methodologically – include insights from the newly emerging

network sciences (Riegler A., 2012). According to Wertsch and Toma, the authors

of Wertsch and Toma, “a fundamental claim of this approach is that mental

functioning is assumed to be inherently situated with regards to cultural, historical,

and institutional contexts”. A major claim of constructivism is that mental working

is thought to be inalienably arranged with respect to social, verifiable, and

institutional settings.

Constructivism is the theory that all knowledge, including declarative,

procedural, and conditional, is the product of the individual’s interaction with ideas,

the social milieu and institutional environments in which ideas are interpreted,

applied, and valued (Vygotsky, 1978).

Based on the theories and concepts from literatures presented, the

framework of this study is made. Seen after this section is the paradigm of this

study.

The figure on the next page, shows the input of the study wherein it

discusses the perception on the difficulties encountered during their Practical

Research I of the following respondents; (a) 12 STEM PM1; (b) 12 STEM PM2;

and (c) 12 STEM PM3.

Determining the (1) perception on the difficulties encountered during their

Practical Research I of the following respondents; (a) 12 STEM PM1; (b) 12 STEM

PM2; and (c) 12 STEM PM3; (2) significant difference between the profile variables

of the respondents and their perception on the difficulties encountered in Practical

Research I, is the process that this research will undertake.

The output of this study shows suggested measures in order to address the

difficulties encountered in Practical Research I of the Grade 12 STEM PM classes

of PHINMA-UPang College Urdaneta.

 Input Process Output

Perception on the Determining the:

difficulties encountered Suggested
in Practical Research I 1. Perception on measures in
of the following the difficulties order to
respondents; encountered in address the
Practical difficulties
a. 12 STEM Research I of encountered in
the following Practical
PM1; respondents; Research I of
a. 12 STEM the Grade 12
b. 12 STEM STEM PM
PM1; classes of
PM2; and PHINMA
b. 12 STEM UPang College
c. 12 STEM Urdaneta.
PM3 PM2; and

c. 12 STEM
PM3

2. Significant
difference
between the
profile variables
of the
respondents
and their
perception on
the difficulties
encountered in
Practical
Research I.

Figure 1. Paradigm of the Study

 Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, sample of the study, data

instrument, and collection of data and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

The researchers used Descriptive-Quantitative method to find out the

difficulties encountered in Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM PM classes of

PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta. Descriptive research involves gathering data

that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the

data collection. It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the

reader in understanding the data distribution. Because the human mind cannot

extract full import of a large mass of raw data, descriptive statistics are very

important in reducing the data to manageable form. When in-depth, narrative

descriptions of small numbers of cases involved, the research uses description

as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis.

Descriptive quantitative method aimed at finding out “what is,” so

observational and survey methods are frequently used to collective data. Three

main purposes of research are to descrbe, explain, and validate finding that the

researchers gathered. Descriptive emerges following creative exploration, and

serves to organize the findings in order to fit them with explanations, and then

test or validate those explanations. It utilize data collection and analysis

techniques that yield reports concerning the measures of central tendency,

variation, and correlation. The combination of descriptive research’s

characteristic summary and correlational statistics , along with its focus on

specific types of research questions, methods, and outcomes is what

distinguishes it from other research types.

This makes the Descriptive-Quantitative suitable for the study since the

researchers interpret the information's rate and describe if there is a difference

among the difficulties encountered in Practical Research I of the respondents.

The gathered information serves as the basis of this study and to interpret data.

Population and Locale of the Study

This study was conducted at PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta which

focuses on the difficulties encountered in Practical Research I of 26 Grade 12

STEM students from PM1, 37 students from PM2, and 37 students from PM3,

A.Y 2017-2018.

Data Gathering Instrument

The main tool used in gathering the needed data was a survey-

questionnaire made to achieve the objectives of the study. The questionnaire

contains the difficulties encountered in Practical Research I as perceived of the

following respondents: (a) 12 STEM PM1; (b) 12 STEM PM2; and (c) 12 STEM

PM3.

Indicators included in the instrument was adopted from various researches

and concepts related to the study.

Data Collection Procedure

First and foremost, the conduct of this study, the researchers came up with

the title, by the guidance and help from their practical research adviser, Ms.

Goldameir Sison-Pablo, M.Ed.

In order for the researchers to gather important data needed for the

completion of the research, the researchers used survey-

questionnaires/checklist as data gathering instrument. The survey-

questionnaire/checklist was then formulated. After the formulation of instrument,

a letter addressed to the respondents was made to ask permission for the floating

of the survey questionnaire, noted by the thesis adviser for recommending

approval. Upon permission, the researchers distributed the questionnaires to the

selected respondents and collected them to perform data analysis accurately.

Statistical Treatment of the Data

To be able to come up with a definite conclusion regarding this study, the

researchers used the following statistical tools:

1) The average weighted mean was utilized in order to determine the difficulties

encountered in Practical Research I as perceived by the following respondents:

a) Grade 12 STEM 01P; b) Grade 12 STEM 02P; and Grade 12 STEM 03P

Formula:

WM= 4F4+3F3+2F2+1F1

N
 Where:

WM = weighted mean

F4 = number of respondents who answered “Very Much Serious”

F3 = number of respondents who answered “Serious”

F2 = number of respondents who answered “Slightly Serious”

F1 = number of respondents who answered “Not Serious”

The following scale was used to interpret the obtained weighted mean:

Scale Descriptive Equivalent

3.25 – 4.00 Very Much Serious

2.50 – 3.24 Serious

1.00 – 2.49 Slightly Serious

1.00 – 1.74 Not Serious

2) To determine the significant difference on the perception on the difficulties

encountered in Practical Research I among the respondents, one-way anova

was utilized:

mean square due to treatment MST

𝐅= = MSE
mean square due to error

𝑘 𝑘
)2
ni (x̅i − x̅ (ni − 1)si2
𝐌𝐒𝐓 = ∑ 𝐌𝐒𝐄 = ∑
k−1 n−k
𝑛=1 𝑛=1
 Chapter 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter introduces the procedures undertaken to answer the research

problems set in the previous chapters of the study.

The information accumulated were analyzed and further interpreted in this

chapter. Moreover, the outcomes obtained from the statistical analyses done are

presented in both tabular and narrative forms to explain the discovered answers

to the objectives of this research.

Respondents’ Perception on the Degree of Seriousness of the Difficulties

Encountered in Practical Research I

The first problem that this study sought to determine was the respondents’

perception on the level of seriousness of the difficulties encountered in Practical

Research I.

The table 1 on the next page, presents the respondents’ perception on the

level of seriousness of the difficulties in Practical Research I.

Difficulties Encountered in Practical Research I by 12 STEM PM1

Table 1 shows the average weighted mean of the accumulated data

from the respondents in which corresponds to a specific descriptive equivalent.

From the PM1 class the 7th indicator states that “I have difficulty choosing the right

statistical tool to be used in tallying the gathered data” has an average weighted

mean of 3.42 with a descriptive equivalent of Very Much Serious (VMS). There is
a problem of choosing the most effective statistical method, which implies mainly

defining the characteristics of each method. Meanwhile, regardless of the

application sphere, it is necessary to correctly apply statistical methods while

implementing scientific research, thus guaranteeing scientifically valid and reliable

results of data processing. (Khusainova R., 2015)

Meanwhile, the 2nd indicator states that “I have difficulty managing my time

especially when meeting a deadline.” with an average weighted mean of 3.19 and

a descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). Majority of respondents are having time

management problem in terms of late entrance into class after break. The study

also shows that student’s own behavior is the largest contributor to time

management and punctuality problem among student’s academic achievement.

Overall, the study concludes that time management and punctuality problems

among students has negative impact in the process of student’s learning. (Sultana,

A.M., 2013)

Lastly, the 6th indicator states that “I have difficulty getting full cooperation

from the respondents while answering survey questionnaires.” with an average

weighted mean of 3.12 and a corresponding descriptive equivalent of Serious (S).

A series of empirical studies suggests that respondents' generalized attitudes

towards surveys are important determinants for different kinds of cooperative

behavior in survey contexts. Accordingly, respondents with a positive attitude

towards surveys, compared with those who have a more critical position, have

been found to have participated more often in surveys in the past. Evidence for the

explanatory power of this factor is also found in studies where the effort necessary
to obtain survey participation is compared for respondents with positive and

negative attitudes towards surveys. Here, subjects who initially refused to

participate, but were convinced by a second request to take part in the interview,

proved to have significantly more negative attitudes than subjects who

spontaneously agreed to participate. (Stocké, V. and Langfeldt, B., 2004)

Also in the PM1 class, the 9th indicator “I have difficulty finding and choosing

the good review of related literature and studies” has an average weighted mean

of 2.69 with a specific descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). Some of specific

rationales might emerge from a literature review: a) Lack of consistency in reported

result. b) Uncovered a flaw in previous research based on its design, data

collection instruments, sampling, or interpretation. c) Research may have been

conducted on a different population. (Okiki, O. PhD, 2015)

And then, the respondents’ “I have difficulty finalizing the research study

due to inexperienced researcher.” Has an average weighted mean of 2.65 with a

specific descriptive equivalent of Serious (S) which is the 8th indicator. No

researcher is born with fundamental research skills but they learn those skills from

others usually from their supervisors or seniors who have gone through the same

procedures while they conducted their own research study but what happens is

that no one readily guides them. Researchers especially novice researchers run

here and there but they have to do their work without any appropriate guidance.

(Taskeen S. et.al, 2014)

Difficulties Encountered in Practical Research I by 12 STEM PM2

From the accumulated data of the PM2 Class, it starts off from the 10 th

indicator states that “I have difficulty planning and working the study due to the

lack of cooperation between research members.” Has an average weighted mean

of 2.81 with a descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). No matter how sophisticated

the tools we put in classrooms, the curriculum designed to educate students to

meet the new standards is sorely inadequate to help them after they leave school.

In short, learning -- and schooling -- must be totally transformed. (Pearlman, B.

2006)

Also in PM2 class, the 9th indicator mentions “I have difficulty finding and

choosing the good review of related literature and studies.” Having an average

weighted mean of 2.78 with a corresponding descriptive equivalent of Serious (S).

But unfortunately our researchers are unable to get appropriate review as

appropriate literature is not available or there is no access to the appropriate

related literature and without going through the literature a research work cannot

enjoy success. This is a major problem faced during the research work by

researchers. (Taskeen, S. et.al, 2014)

In addition, the 1st indicator: “I have difficulty handling and managing

financial crisis during the conduct of research.” Every kind of research study

requires costing. Researchers have to invest money as well as time but required

timing and money is not being invested on the research which obviously gives no

satisfactory results. Acquires the same descriptive equivalent with the 4 th indicator

in which it stated “I have difficulty interpreting and analyzing findings”. But

researchers are unaware of data analysis techniques. Usually data is analyzed

through the usage of SPSS in Social Sciences quantitative research but

researchers, even most of the supervisors, do not know how to use it. (Taskeen,

S. et.al, 2014)

Withal, the 7th indicator expresses that: “I have difficulty choosing the

right statistical tool to be used in tallying the gathered data.” with average weighted

mean of 2.49 and Slightly Serious (SS) as its descriptive equivalent. It is vital not

only to master the knowledge of statistical methods but to acquire skills of its

relevant application in various scientific studies. (Khusainova R., 2015)

The 2nd indicator articulates “I have difficulty managing my time especially

when meeting a deadline.” And to the 5th indicator with “I have difficulty tallying the

gathered data from the respondents” have the same average weighted mean

around 2.57 and a descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). Data is analyzed at the

end of research work most of the supervisors, do not know how to use it. For the

given purpose, researchers seek help from other people who on payment analyze

the data. Hence, data analysis in this way cannot provide satisfactory results.

(Taskeen S. et.al, 2014)

Furthermore, the 8th indicator “I have difficulty finalizing the research study

due to inexperienced researcher” with an average weighted mean of 2.59 and a

descriptive equivalent of Serious (S), all from PM2 class. Researchers have to

cope with the available resources as no help or guidance is provided to them.

Supervisors are found with ambiguous concepts. They are unable to guide in a

real manner. (Taskeen S. et.al, 2014)

 Nevertheless, from the gathered data of the PM3 class begins with the 7 th

indicator: “I have difficulty choosing the right statistical tool to be used in tallying

the gathered data” with an average weighted mean of 3.95 and Very Serious (VS)

as its descriptive equivalent. In its turn, there are still many open questions; for

example, there is a problem of selecting the most efficient statistical method, which

mainly involves defining the characteristics of each method. (Khusainova R., 2015)

Alongside with it, the 3rd indicator: “I have difficulty managing stress caused

by conducting research.” with an average weighted mean of 3.95 and an

equivalent of Serious (S). Different factors that cause stress among students. The

factors were grouped into four, namely Relationship factors, Environmental

factors, Academic factors, and Personal factors. With respect to Relationship

factors, working with new people was the main cause of stress for students in both

groups. In the case of Environmental factors, worries about the future was the main

factor causing stress among students, whereas class workload was the main

element of stress with regard to the Academic factors. In the category of Personal

factors, financial problems caused most stress to students. Stress can, however,

be managed through the introduction of a stress management course and

engaging in extracurricular activities. (Essel G. and Owusu P., 2017)

Difficulties Encountered in Practical Research I by 12 STEM PM3

In addition, the PM3 class’ 9th indicator states: “I have difficulty finding and

choosing the good review of related literature and studies” with a descriptive

equivalent of Serious (S) and an average weighted mean of 3.05. Some of specific
rationales might emerge from literature review: a) Possibility of documenting an

ongoing educational or psychological problem and propose studying the effect of

an innovative intervention to try to correct that problem. b) Uncertainty about the

interpretation of previous studies’ findings may justify further research. (Okiki, O.

PhD, 2015)

While, on the 4th indicator of the PM3 class which states: “I have difficulty

interpreting and analyzing findings” with Serious (S) as its descriptive equivalent

and 2.70 as its average weighted mean. The data collection/analysis activities can

be enhanced in the future if greater attention is given to creating more clearly

defined goals at the demonstration project level and to providing guidance on

scientifically valid data collection and analysis techniques to maximize the

usefulness of local efforts. (Gallagher, K. et.al, 2005)

Albeit to the 1st indicator: “I have difficulty handling and managing financial

crisis during the conduct of research.” in which it has a descriptive equivalent of

Serious (S) and 2.76 as its own average weighted mean. Addressing students’

funding challenges as early as possible would mitigate the burden and stress of

students trying to secure financial aid while also trying to cope with their academic

and other commitments. These include finding a part time job and addressing

personal issues such as accommodation, food and living expenses. The best

universities want to produce the sort of graduates who can do great things for their

country and community. To do this, institutions must realize that financial stress is

a terrible burden – one which distracts potentially excellent graduates from their

academic goals. (Pather, S., 2015)

 Whereas to the PM3 class the 10th indicator that evokes about: “I have

difficulty planning and working the study due to the lack of cooperation between

research members.” by having a 2.81 average weighted mean and Serious(S) as

its descriptive equivalent. Unstructured situations do not contain the crucial

elements and safeguards that make the jigsaw and other structured cooperative

strategies work so well. Like anything else, structuring cooperative learning

activities and ensuring that they run smoothly with the desired results takes time,

trial and error, and practice. (Manis, C., 2012)

And to the entirety of the Table 1 on the next page, shows the differences

beyond the result upon the different respondents.

Starting off with the seventh indicator which states that “I have difficulty

choosing the right statistical tool to be used in tallying the gathered data” has an

average weighted mean of 3.42 with a descriptive equivalent of Very Much Serious

(VS) coming from both PM1 and PM3 class, while in PM2 class the tenth indicator

states that “I have difficulty planning and working the study due to the lack of

cooperation between research members.” Has an average weighted mean of 2.81

with a descriptive equivalent of Serious (S).

The statistical portion is a vital component of any research study. The

research methodology and the application of statistical tools and techniques have

evolved over the years and have significantly helped the research activities

throughout the globe. The results and inferences are not accurately possible

without proper validation with various statistical tools and tests.

 Table 1

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH I OF GRADE 12

STEM PM CLASSES OF PHINMA UPANG COLLEGE URDANETA

N = 26 N = 37 N = 37

INDICATORS PM1 PM2 PM3

AWM DE AWM DE AWM DE
1. I have difficulty handling 2.85 S 2.68 S 2.76 S
and managing financial crisis
during the conduct of research.
2. I have difficulty managing 3.19 S 2.57 S 2.95 S
my time especially when meeting
a deadline.
3. I have difficulty managing 2.92 S 2.65 S 3.05 S
stress caused by conducting
research.
4. I have difficulty 2.77 S 2.68 S 2.70 S
interpreting and analyzing
findings.
5. I have difficulty tallying the 2.62 S 2.57 S 2.89 S
gathered data from the
respondents.
6. I have difficulty getting full 3.12 S 2.62 S 2.84 S
cooperation from the
respondents while answering
survey questionnaires.
7. I have difficulty choosing 3.42 VMS 2.49 SS 3.95 VMS
the right statistical tool to be used
in tallying the gathered data.
8. I have difficulty finalizing 2.65 S 2.59 S 2.81 S
the research study due to
inexperienced researcher.
9. I have difficulty finding 2.69 S 2.78 S 2.97 S
and choosing the good review of
related literature and studies.
10. I have difficulty planning 2.81 S 2.81 S 2.81 S
and working the study due to the
lack of cooperation between
research members.
Over-All 2.84 S 2.64 S 2.97 S
Legend: AWM= Average Weighted Mean; DE= Descriptive Equivalent; 3.25-4.00= Very Much Serious
(VMS); 2.50-3.24=Serious (S); 1.75-2.49= Slightly Serious (SS); 1.00-1.74= Not Serious (NS)
 The evidence based anesthesia research and practice has to incorporate

statistical tools in the methodology right from the planning stage of the study itself.

Though the medical fraternity is well acquainted with the significance of statistics

in research, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge about the various statistical

concepts and principles among majority of the researchers. The clinical impact and

consequences can be serious as the incorrect analysis, conclusions, and false

results may construct an artificial platform on which future research activities are

replicated. The present tutorial is an attempt to make anesthesiologists aware of

the various aspects of statistical methods used in evidence-based research and

also to highlight the common areas where maximum number of statistical errors:

are committed so as to adopt better statistical practices. (Bajwa S.J., 2015)

Moreover, the second indicator states that “I have difficulty managing my

time especially when meeting a deadline.” with an average weighted mean of 3.19

and a descriptive equivalent of Serious (S), coming from the PM1 class. While in

PM2 class, the 9th indicator states that “I have difficulty finding and choosing the

good review of related literature and studies.” Having an average weighted mean

of 2.78 with a corresponding descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). Lastly, in PM3

class the third indicator states that “I have difficulty managing stress caused by

conducting research.” has an average weighted mean of 3.05 and a descriptive

equivalent of Serious (S). Therefore, the study found out that students contributed

to inconsistency in meeting for consultations and this also led to late feedback on

submitted work, which, in turn, affected the research progress. It also became

apparent that there was no follow‐up from the institution to find out how the
research in departments was progressing. Among other matters, the study

recommended regular research workshops and seminars for supervisors and

supervisees and research presentations by students. (Chabaya O. et.al, 2009)

Meanwhile, in the PM1 class, the sixth indicator states that “I have difficulty

getting full cooperation from the respondents while answering survey

questionnaires.” with an average weighted mean of 3.12 and a corresponding

descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). In the PM2 class, the first indicator states

that “I have difficulty handling and managing financial crisis during the conduct of

research.” Having the same average weighted mean of 2.68 and descriptive

equivalent of Serious (S) along with the 4th indicator in which it stated “I have

difficulty interpreting and analyzing findings”. Lastly, in PM3 Class the ninth

indicator states that “I have difficulty finding and choosing the good review of

related literature and studies” with an average weighted mean of 2.97 and a

descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). It only shows that In the project, stress can

occur due to a multitude of internal and external factors. In terms of internal

tensions, conflicts may arise in the human plan, at project team level or in the

material plan in the inadequate resources organization or structure. Study of

individual and organizational stress has become a necessity given that the stress

level conditions the quality of the activities. (Velicu S. 2015)

The fifth indicator states that “I have difficulty tallying the gathered data from

the respondents.” with an average weighted mean of 2.62 and a descriptive

equivalent of Serious (S) in PM1 class but for PM2 class the seventh indicator

states that “I have difficulty choosing the right statistical tool to be used in tallying
the gathered data.” it has an average weighted mean of 2.49 with a corresponding

descriptive equivalent of Slightly Serious (SS). Meanwhile, in PM3 class the fourth

indicator states “I have difficulty interpreting and analyzing findings.” Having an

average weighted mean of 2.70 and a descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). The

main problem among students doing discourse analysis or any of its sub-

disciplines is a lack of theoretical knowledge, combined with a tendency towards

over-interpretation of data. The latter is especially true for students doing Critical

Discourse Analysis. Doing a discourse analysis study requires a deep and wide

knowledge of various social and theoretical aspects. However, students often get

stuck in the description part, since it only (or mostly) requires following some

linguistic guidelines, depending on the framework applied. To interpret the data,

and then to explain it (in Fairclough's terms), or in a Foucauldian sense, to critique

and criticize the ideologies, requires an in-depth study of the socio-historical

background of the data, all the theories revolving around the social problem under

study, and of course, an understanding of such theories. It is a huge task, often

ignored by students. (Dehghan, E., 2015)

Moreover in PM1 class the eight indicator “I have difficulty finalizing the

research study due to inexperienced researcher.” Has an average weighted mean

of 2.65 with a specific descriptive equivalent of Serious (S), but in the PM2 class,

the second indicator “I have difficulty managing my time especially when meeting

a deadline.” and fifth indicator “I have difficulty tallying the gathered data from the

respondents” have the same average weighted mean around 2.57 and a

descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). Meanwhile, in the PM3 class, the first
indicator “I have difficulty handling and managing financial crisis during the conduct

of research” has an average weighted mean 2.76 with a corresponding descriptive

equivalent of Serious (S). Students and the lay public are familiar with simple

notions of causality; indeed, they can be said to order their lives on the basis of

looking for causality to “explain” every event, especially important events with

negative consequences. In particular, for events that do not obviously have a

physical interpretation, they look for the role of a human agent as the causal factor;

the universal idea is that some person is to be blamed or thanked, but in any event

credited with the observed outcome. Statistics and probability theory are

essentially acausal. This simple fact is the first major stumbling block to the

layman’s understanding of random phenomena. The shift from disciplines with an

all pervading causal interpretation to one that is inherently acausal represents a

major fundamental shift in viewpoint and one that cannot merely be dismissed as

an alternative “explanation.” It is easier for a student to accept alternative and often

contradictory theories coming from different disciplines' explanations of some

sequence of events than it is to accept the notion that the events are random.

Notwithstanding everyone's exposure to what is regarded by the statistician as

overwhelming evidence of randomness, that notion represents a deep insight on

the part of the student that is in fact difficult to achieve. This is the reason why

teaching statistics is not like teaching mathematics and not like teaching physics

either. Arising out of this insight is the concept that distributions and their links to

physical experiments are crucial to the understanding of statistical reasoning. The

very notion of a distribution is mysterious to the student. The idea that individual
phenomena can be independently distributed, but the “distribution” of large

collections of these random events can be described mathematically with great

regularity, is at best a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Independence is the

quintessential example. Many psychological experiments have indicated that

people expect samples, even small samples, to be representative. Consequently,

the ability to reconcile independence with a given distributional shape is a

challenge. A common misunderstanding is captured by: “If ten heads have been

thrown in a row, the next few tosses have to be tails for the results to represent the

distribution.” The second source of difficulty is due to the fact that statistical

reasoning is very abstract. Even though we attempt to relate our probability theory

to observed events, the exercise is one that is quite foreign to the average student.

The connection between theory and observation is not easily made; no matter how

many times we, as statisticians, profess it. Events occur and the student neither

knows how nor why. The link between specific observation and general inference

is opaque to the student. Our presentations are not aided by the decrease in

training in abstract thinking that is the hallmark of conventional education. Consider

a simple pair of examples. In explaining Hooke's Law, it is easy for the student to

visualize the process of extending a spring and measuring the force needed.

Alternatively, imagine an equally simple statistical explanation of the outcomes

from the toss of a die; for the student there is no explanation at all. The outcomes

from the experiment are as mysterious after the statistician's “explanation” as

before it. The student looks for explanations that rely on the coin tosser's inability

to control his toss precisely, or the coin tosser's deliberate efforts to alternate
setting heads and tails when initiating the toss, and so on. Finally, the most difficult

aspect is that of tying statistical reasoning to physical cognate disciplines such as

physics, chemistry, biology, and economics. Because statistics is acausal and the

cognate disciplines are inherently causal, the link between the two is difficult for

the student to fathom. The difficulty is greater in those cases where the formulation

of the cognate discipline’s theory must itself be couched in terms of distributions,

as is true for statistical mechanics, biology, or economics. (Ramsey, J., 2015)

The ninth indicator “I have difficulty finding and choosing the good review of

related literature and studies” has an average weighted mean of 2.69 with a

specific descriptive equivalent of Serious (S) for the PM1 class, but for the PM2

class the eight indicator “I have difficulty finalizing the research study due to

inexperienced researcher” has an average weighted mean of 2.59 and a

descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). Lastly, in PM3 class, the tenth indicator “I

have difficulty planning and working the study due to the lack of cooperation

between research members” has an average weighted mean of 2.81 with a

descriptive equivalent of Serious (S). Research undertaken by inexperienced

researchers such as students or those new to a particular field will require the

provision of adequate training and supervision prior to, during and after fieldwork

has been carried out. Training and supervision may be the responsibility of the

student supervisor or principal investigator but may also require the input of other

experienced individuals (such as an experienced liaison in a host country). Risk

assessment should include information concerning supervision, support and

training provided to inexperienced researchers. (Codner, H., 2014)

 All the indicators given to the respondents were rated Serious having an

overall total of 2.84 for the PM1 class, 2.64 for PM2, and 2.97 for the PM3 class

all under the PM Class sections of the STEM track. Therefore, the students are

aware that the difficulties upon conducting a research study are taken seriously or

it has a serious effect regarding the entirety of the research project. In the light of

this study teachers must be aware regarding to the learning and experience of

student-researchers in which their knowledge are usually acquired from their class

discussions and applied in the conduct of their research work is not the very reason

that results in serious academic difficulties and failures. The cooperation of the

chosen respondents beyond the research study is a very crucial problem. To some

extent students also felt that those personal problems like time and stress

management may disturb their concentration.

Significant Difference Among the Respondents and their Perception on the

Difficulties Encountered in Practical Research I

The second problem of this study dealt to discover the significant difference

among the respondents and their perception on the difficulties encountered in

Practical Research I.

Table 2 on the next page, is the tabular representation of test of significance

difference among the respondents and their perception on the difficulties

encountered in Practical Research I.

 Table 2
DIFFERENCE AMONG THE RESPONDENTS AND THEIR PERCEPTION ON
THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH I

N SD ∑X2 SS df MS F DE
Section
12 STEM PM1 26 0.7291 221.07
12 STEM PM2 37 0.5372 268.9
12 STEM PM3 37 0.5608 315.57
Source
Between- 1.0294 2 0.5147
treatments 1.42627 NS
Within- 35.003 97 0.3609
treatments
Legend: N=number of respondent; SD= Standard Deviation; ∑X2= summation of chi-square; df=
degree of freedom; MS= Mean Square ; f= f-ratio value; DE= Descriptive Equivalent

The table presents the summary of results of the one way Analysis of

Variance (ANOVA) conducted to test the relationship among the respondents and

their perception on the difficulties encountered in Practical Research I.

Based from the findings, the mean square (MS) between treatments is

0.5147 and within treatments is 0.3609. The standard deviation (SD) for the 12

STEM PM1 section is 0.7291 with 26 number of participants, the standard

deviation (SD) for 12 STEM PM2 section is 0.5372, and 0.5608 standard deviation

(SD) for 12 STEM PM3 section. Both of them has 37 number of participants.

It can be seen that the computed ratio (f) between the respondents is

1.42627 at 0.05 level of significance. It implies that there is no significant difference

among the difficulties encountered by the respondents since the computed ratio (f)

is greater than 0.05 significance level.

As percieved, majority of the students find research as the most

challenging, if not the most problematic task in college. Failure to practice writing
drops interest in doing research. Introducing the topic, developing conceptual

framework, linking theoretical framework in the conduct of the study, and

developing data gathering tools are some of the common problems faced by

student researchers. (Maldia, 2014)

Therefore, the result implies that research much depends on hardwork.

While work/life balance is important, it is up to the student researcher how much

time they will allocate in each part of the research. However, no matter what type

of research a researcher does, there is no really substitute for focused, well

planned and therefore very efficient hardwork, so that when the laboratory

experiments, literature analysis has begun, the amount of effort required is

reduced to appropriate minimum. (Johnson, 2011)

This only means that the null hypothesis which states that “There is no

significant difference among the difficulties encountered in Practical Research I of

Grade 12 STEM PM Classes of PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta”, is accepted.

Suggested Measures to Address the Difficulties Encountered in

Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM PM Classes of PHINMA Upang
College Urdaneta

The last problem that this study sought to answer is to come up with a set

of suggested measures to be done to address the difficulties encountered in

Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM PM classes of PHINMA UPang College

Urdaneta

Based on the findings of the study mentioned in this chapter, the following

recommendatory suggested measures to be done to address the difficulties

encountered in Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM PM classes of PHINMA

UPang College Urdaneta:

1. The respondents should plot plans first before conducting research to

save time, effort, and financial budget.

2. The respondents should set time for relaxation away from stress caused

by conducting research.

3. The respondents should ask for opinions from their research adviser or

experts like statisticians on what should be the right statistical tool to be

used on their study.

4. The respondents should cooperate with their groupmates to prevent

unnecessary problems on the conduction of research.

5. The respondents should be patient on finding good reviews on the

internet, books, and other materials.

 Chapter 5

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the conclusions drawn based on the salient findings

of the study presented in the previous chapter. The recommendations of the study

are also provided in this chapter.

Conclusions

Based on the findings presented through the interpretation and analyzed data

gathered the researchers found out that:

1. The perception of the Grade 12 STEM PM classes on the difficulties

encountered in Practical Research I are all “Serious”.

2. There is no significant difference among the difficulties encountered

in Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM-PM Classes of PHINMA UPang

College Urdaneta.

3. The suggested measures had been designed to address the

difficulties encountered in Practical Research I of Grade 12 STEM PM

classes of PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta.

Recommendations

Based on the conclusions drawn, the following recommendations are

offered:

a. For the Students

1. Time management should always be considered and valued since

conducting research has too many processes needed to be done in a given

time. Good management and planning can be a big help on saving time,

effort and money.

2. Maintain a good relationship between research participants.

Cooperation between research participants is a great way on gaining

positive outcome on conduction of research paper. It makes the work easier

and can prevent future problems like misunderstandings between

researchers and cramming on deadlines given.

3. Accept that conducting research is not easy and researchers must

need guidance from research advisers and experts. Asking for guidance

can give assurance that researchers are doing the right thing and the

research paper being conducted will not become invalid.

b. For the Teachers

1. Give an ample time to facilitate and guide the students or

researchers on conducting their research. Young researchers need

guidance especially on analyzing and computation of data gathered during

 their research conduction. Make the researchers fully understand how the

idea of research works so they won’t get a hard time on making one

succesfully done.

2. Provide seminars for students that could engage them into activities

that could promote their research skills. It could help them enhance their

understanding towards the processes that are needed to be done on the

conducting the research.

3. Be a considerate and approachable teacher. Don’t make the

students feel pressured especially if it is their first time to conduct a study.

Make them feel that you are willing to guide them and help them to make

their study successful.

c. For the Future Researchers:

1. Don’t include unnecessary informations in your research study. It could

only make the readers be confused about it’s reliability. Just the most

essential and most important datas will do.

2. Gather experiences, perceptions, and informations to fellow researchers

in order to develop their knowledge and skills to enhance this study.

3. Share informations that is clear, reliable, and came from trusted sources.

The datas and informations you will include to your study could change

or sustain the perception of a person who read it so it needs to be clear

and trusted when it comes to informations.