Mobile Board Exam Reviewer for Criminology Department

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A System Presented to the Faculty of the

College of Computer Studies

Cristal e-College

City of Tagbilaran

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In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement

The Degree of Bachelor of Science

In Information Technology

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Tuñacao, Jerra Mae

Lacia John Rey

Hallazgo, Jason

Arbasto, Erlinda

Ararao, Dolores
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

CHAPTERS

I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE 2

Introduction 2

Project Context 4

Description of Study 6

Significance of Study 7

Objectives of Study 8

Scope and Limitation of the Study 8

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 9

II. REVIEW OF RELATED SYSTEM 14

III. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 16

IV. METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 20

Analysis 20

Use Case 21

Flow Chart 25

Conceptual Design 29

Prototype 30
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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Introduction

The world that we live today is constantly changing. Today’s generation will

always find a new and more innovative way of learning things as technology will

constantly evolve with time. One of the quickest ways to be adapted in this ever-

changing world is the mobile phone. Mobile phone functionality over the years is also

evolving. Before, it is just made for telecommunication, but mobile phone nowadays

already has applications that render a good platform not just for entertainment, but for

education as well. With this, learning materials form textbooks can now be accessed

anytime and anywhere through e-books. The handiness and portability of mobile

phones made this possible, thus, making people gradually shift to utilizing it as a

medium for learning considering the up to date resource materials it has.

In this new learning platform and environment, students are provided with

valuable and new experience that helps them in their notes, lectures, reports, reviewers

and examinations. Examination is widely used to determine the accumulated knowledge

of a person. One of the commonly used methods in preparing an examination is through

multiple choice questions, where an examinee can choose the best possible answer

among the given choices under each question. Multiple choice questions, or items, can

lead the way to assess learning outcomes effectively and efficiently (Brame, 2013).
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The Bachelor of Science in Criminology is a four-year degree program generally

offered to students who are interested to pursue a career in law enforcement,

correctional administration, security, and crime prevention. Students in this program will

be able to learn different practices and theories of laws related to criminal behavior

which leads to effective law enforcement. A graduate of this program is required to take

and pass the Criminologist Licensure Examination to be considered a Criminologist.

Licensure exam passing rates of state universities and colleges may determine the

institution’s credibility and performance (Santos T. U., 2008). PRC is the government

body that is responsible on the supervision of professional examination proper and the

result of it. School’s image is at risk on this passing rate whether if it will be an asset

that may improve the school’s image or will be a weak point that may damage it.

Being prepared for an exam boosts confidence and having the right attitude

towards studying is very important as an examination requires knowledge and skills

(Greig, 2016). Reviewing lectures notes is the most common approach in this practice.

The Criminology Department of Cristal e-College is learning the hard way. This is due to

not finding good quality study resources. Especially with the current pandemic that we

are experiencing, not everyone is privileged to access resources easily. In order to

address this concern, the Researchers would like to propose a way that can maximize

the utilization of mobile phones as a tool for learning, specifically designed for the

incoming board-exam takers in the Criminology Department. This is through a Mobile

Board Exam Reviewer application that will help the students have easier access in

reviewing for their exam, at the same time, it will also incorporate features that will
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measure their know-how through a series of challenging questions that will be

integrated in the said mobile application.

Project Context

Examinations have always been present in the course of student’s life. They are

the ways to test how much a learner knows about the subject/s that the exam covers.

Examinations can be administered orally, on paper, on a computer, or in a confined

area that requires an examinee to perform a set of skills physically. Most degree

courses required students to take and pass board examinations or licensure

examinations. These tests are administered using the standardized test. In addition,

adopting a standardized test will help determine the strengths and weaknesses of a

person, for this will provide a general overview of his capabilities

Today’s world is constantly changing. People tend to modernize the old ways to

more innovative methods of learning things. With the aid of technology, review materials

have been shifted from an ordinary textbook to an electronic document that can be

viewed over the Internet. As the technology becomes ubiquitous, more people tend to

use it rather than using the traditional way for the purpose of making the output faster

and better. A number of software has been developed recently to incorporate the latest

technological trends in review materials.

Licensure Examination for Criminology is a type of exam taken by those who

want to pursue their career to become a Criminologist. One of the most common
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problem a student encounters in the preparation process of taking the board exam is

the fact that there are not much review centres available for the students to enrol in.

That is why, schools offering the said program are the ones who facilitate a review for

their own students. With this, students need to buy review materials, text books,

manuals that usually leads to additional expenses.

To maximize the learning experience of these students, at the same time,

minimize possible additional expenses, the Researchers will propose a Criminology

Board Exam Reviewer through mobile application. Through this application, reviewing

will just be right in the tip of their fingers, thus, helping them easily prepare for the

licensure’s examination. This application will contain sample question sets that can aid

the students’ review through their mobile phones.

The above reasons drove the Researchers to design and create a much

accessible means of reviewing in a user-friendly interface, handy and on the go

resources that will guide them through a self-paced learning, and enable for them to

pass the LEC Exam.

Thus, the above reasons drove the researcher to implement a mobile application

that will help the BS Criminology students LEC reviewers to possess an individual

review material which are friendly, handy, and on-the-go resources, and self-paced

learning in able for them to pass the LEC exam.

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Description of the Study

The Criminology Board Exam Review is an application that will help the

Criminology students in the preparation for taking their licensure’s exam. The goal is

to provide an effective and convenient way for students to maximize their learning and

get better results for their exams. The application will cover 6 Major Areas from the

Criminology Program that will further be subdivided into different sub-topics.

The Mobile Reviewer is a free interactive review application intended to help

students enhance their testmanship and assist them in studying the topics requisite

for their board exam. This application will enable them to do these tasks anywhere

and anytime, at their own pace as they prepare for their actual examination.

The researchers aim to make an application for the Criminology students in

CEC. It has many features that will test a student to be ready in the board exam The

mobile application will contain information that is crucial for preparing students to pass

the Criminology Board Licensure exam. The mobile application reviewer will be based

on the lessons on the criminology exam reviewer in any popular websites in web. It

will also have practice test that will help in measuring the students’ knowledge and boost

their speed in taking the test. samples and a countdown timer. Moreover, the

researchers will make sure that the application can be accessed offline due to slower

internet connection in the Philippines. According to the Akamai’s 4 th quarter state of

the internet report (2017), Philippines ranked lowest among 15 Asia Pacific countries,

and 108th in the world, with an internet speed of 4.5 mbps. With this mobile

application, they can be prepared for any college entrance exam in the Philippines

and have the chance to pass the exam without spending money, and can be
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accessed anytime and anywhere.

Significance of the study

This study can benefit the following individuals in the development of the

proposed Mobile Board Exam Reviewer:

Teachers. The teachers can gather information in this application that may be

used as a reference material in teaching. And the additional feature of this app which is

the “Challenge Mode” when the app is used online can be used as an interactive way of

learning.

Students. It being handy and mobile, one can access it at any ease of time. This

will also help students on their current study of the course for it covers 6 major areas of

the Criminology curriculum.

Future Researcher. The project would serve as their training and a learning

experience as well for the researchers to improve, apply, develop and widen their

knowledge and skills that they have learned through years of studying as an Information

Technology student. This project would also serve as a guide that they may find the

project helpful if ever they try to explore more about our studies. By using Mobile

Reviewer Application, they may learn and gain some insights and contribution to the

future project
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Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study is to design and develop a Mobile Board Exam

Reviewer for the Criminology Department. The specific objectives that has to be

achieved are as follows.

a. Create a mobile board exam that is handy, user-friendly and on the go.

b. Incorporate series of question sets that can challenge the know-how of the

students utilizing it.

c. Provide a more accessible, offline and free android review material for

Criminology Board Exam.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

Scope

This study will design and develop a mobile board exam reviewer and shall cover
the following features:

1. A mobile application that can be download through the app store.

2. The application shall cater 6 Major Areas (1) Law Enforcement
Administration, (2) Criminalistics, (3) Criminal Jurisprudence, Procedure and
Evidence, (4) Crime Detection and Investigation, (5) Correctional
Administration and (6) Sociology of Crimes and Ethics.
3. This mobile board exam reviewer app can be utilized online of offline.
4. The study focuses on the development of an Android-based mobile
application to improve the reviewing experience of Criminology students.
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Limitation

However, the study is limited to the following:

1. The application will only present solution on Review Mode only.

2. The android requirement for the study is limited to version of 4.4 (KitKat) up
to Android 10.
3. The researchers will provide at least 50 multiple type of questions each on
the six (6) major areas.
4. The study limits to be use in a LAN based scenario for Challenge Mode.

Research Methodology

This method focuses on where the researchers will collect the data and

information needed for the study. This section illustrates the process of data, research

design, research environment, research tools, procedures, and participants where the

study will be conducted.

Research Design

The Researchers will utilize an Experimental type of study by creating a new

system that can be utilized by the criminology department in the conduct of their

licensure’s exam review. It will integrate the utilization of a mobile application that can

replace their old practices in conducting review for their students.

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Research Environment

The researchers will conduct the study at Cristal e-College Criminology

Department in Tawala, Panglao, Bohol.

Research Participants

The research participants of this study are the Criminology students of Cristal e-

College. It will aid the participants on having a wider and deep understanding and

preparation on the different areas. To test the effectivity of the system to the user in

terms of the review functions that it offers, the researchers, choose 6

participants/students (1 for each subject), wherein their scores were tracked and

recorded during the times that they used the application. The respondents were

encouraged to use the application, review in the Review Mode, then take the 100-item

exam in Quiz Mode

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Research Instrument

In this study, the researchers aim to develop a Criminology Board Exam reviewer

application for Criminology students of Cristal-e College as preparation for the licensure

examination of the said course. By doing this, Criminology students could experience

the actual licensure examination.

The researchers will use Java programming to provide a user-friendly software

application. Likert Scale method was utilized by the researchers to determine the level

of agreement of the respondents on the statement on each criterion. The researchers

will use weighted mean to interpret the data gathered that provides the acceptability and

feasibility of the study. The researchers will present at least fifty (50) multiple choice

type of questions for the four (6) subject area covered by the licensure exam.

The output of the study, which is the Criminology Board Exam Reviewer, is then

subjected to different kinds of tests to determine the functionality, reliability and

performance of the system. The application is then presented to the respective users of

the study, which are the Criminology students of Cristal-e College.

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Research Procedure

The very first step was to select the development environment. This decision was

preceded by a thorough follow-up and reading of user reviews. Then planning,

designing and coding of programs that will fit the application. The researchers will make

a testing of the application to know the runtime performance. Lastly, if the application

will be perfect it can be now deployed to the Criminology Department.

Terms and Definitions

This explains technical terms used in this research paper that may not be understood by

a non – technical person.

1. Licensure Examination – Serves as a practice or restriction of an individual

in applying for his/her professional ambition and in use for his/her

occupational title.

2. Testability- refers not only to methods used for the investigation but also the

constraints of the researcher.

3. Passing Rate – University’s performance rating after the licensure

examination and serves as the criteria of a student in determining which

university to enter in.

4. Academic Performance – Extent to which a student, teacher or institution

has achieved their short- or long-term educational goals.

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5. Android Application – Software application running on the Android platform.

It is built for mobile devices; a typical android app is designed for a

smartphone or a tablet PC running on the Android OS.

6. Android Platform – Google Inc.’s open and free software stack that includes

an operating system, middleware and also key applications for use on mobile

devices, including smartphones.

7. Review Materials – Tools need for the preparation for an examination.

Review materials are used as a medium of learning of examinees to

somehow increase their chance of passing the licensure examination.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE RELATED SYSTEM

In the past decades, computers have been widely used in many industries,

companies, government units, hospitals, schools, and also used by many individuals.

Computers have been a big help to everyone for daily transactions and operations.

The power of computer has changed the world through the years that it can connect

people to each other and makes life easier. However, without computer software,

computer is useless, it cannot make life easier. To these reasons, computer software

was created. (https://www.lopol.org/article/computers-and-our-life-how-have-

computers-changed-our-life)

Computer software is an application or program in a computer that is used for

different operations and transactions. This software has different usage and is created

by computer programmers. These programs are exclusive only for computers and

cannot be installed or used to other devices.(https://www.lopol.org/article/computers-

and-our-life-how-have-computers-changed-our-life)

As the time passed by, technology has evolved and computers become more

portable, lightweight, and can fit into your pocket. These small computers are one of

the very useful devices nowadays, these are smartphones. Smartphones are gadgets

that inherit the behavior of a computer. It can save files and documents, has

multimedia tools (music, camera, videos, and photo gallery), can create word
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documents, presentations, photo editing, and video editing, can be used in daily

transaction and communications, and many other uses. Behind these functions were

mobile applications that powers smartphones to become a mini

computer.(https://www.lopol.org/article/computers-and-our-life-how-have-computers-

changed-our-life)

A mobile application or mobile app is a software application. It is a computer-

generated program designed and developed to run and are used in gaming, social

media, multimedia, and in education. Mobile applications are available in app store;

users can buy it or install it for free.

Nowadays, the credibility of school is generally related to the student’s

performance based on academics, curricular or non-curricular activities (Santos T.

U.,2008). Also, the students’ performance may determine through the licensure

examinations under the supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Licensure examination gives a huge impact for the credibility of school, taking the board

exam is like going to a battle with your knowledge as your weapon. Knowing your

strength and weaknesses as to what extent of knowledge that you have acquired is the

best tool to be so-called mentally prepared.

In this study, researchers would like to develop a mobile application that can

help students to prepare for college board examination. Taking practice exams is an

additional way to study for these types of tests, as they will help you become familiar

with the types of questions asked, the format of the questions and the timing

necessary to finish each section.

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CHAPTER III

Technical Background

In this chapter, the technicality of the project by which it describes the type of the

project to be developed and its functionality is discussed. It also represents the type of

application development of the project

1. The Criminology students of Cristal-e College will be the ones to use the

application.

2. The Criminology students of Cristal-e College will answer the set of questions

provided by the application

How the project will work?

The application will be access through smartphones and tablets. The user will

create username account and after creating the username account there will be set of

questions given. The user will choose the correct answer on the questions provided

then after completing answering the provided questions the result will come out.

Software

Android. It refers to a platform or operating system used in android phones

Android Application Package. The file format used to distribute and install application

software and middleware onto Google’s Android operating system.

User. In this study, the term means the one will use the program. Java Eclipse. A multi-

language software development environment comprising an integrated development

environment (IDE) and an extensible plug-in system. Software Development Kit (SDK).

A development tools, an emulator, and required libraries to build the software.

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Hardware

Smartphone and tablet. Mobile phone and tablet with more advanced computing

capability and connectivity than basic feature phones that can be used to access the

application. Computer. Technology used to develop the software

Figure 1 shows the agile software development life cycle model.

Figure 2. Agile Software Development Life Cycle Model

The agile software development life cycle (SDLC) model is a combination of iterative

process that focuses on adjustments based on user’s needs through the rapid

development of the system. The iteration follows the requirements, design, development

and testing stages. At the end of the iteration, the working system will be introduced to

the user for recommendations, suggestions or approval of its release. The model served
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as the researcher’s guide in developing the mobile applications entitled Criminology

Reviewer App for Cristal e-College

The agile SDLC model is the best fit for projects with frequent modifications. The

model is very flexible and can adapt easily to the user’s needs, compare to non-agile

models which are tough to accommodate changes in the system. Some of the benefits

of using the agile approach are the rapid delivery of system’s features, can change

requirements during the development process, efficient cost control and better project

handling and risk management. The agile model empowers to continuously improve a

system to optimize its value throughout the development, allowing the system to be

adaptive to the changing needs of the users.

The sequential stages or phases of the agile SDLC model are:

Requirements Stage. In this stage, the researchers gathered all the necessary data

and information that will be needed in the development of the system. The information’s

gathered were analyzed and documented. The researchers conducted interviews from

the Criminology students of Cristal-e College regarding their academic practices. The

researchers also interviewed faculties and personnel from the Criminology department

of the institution regarding its performance in the licensure examination. The

researchers also collected related information from various references like books, news

articles, articles from the internet, and other valid sources.

Design Stage. In this stage, all the information from the requirement analysis stage

were studied. It is used for the preparation of the overall design of the system. The
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researchers considered the details of the system’s operation flow and specified the

software and software development tools needed to develop the system. The

researchers also designed the system flow chart that served as the basis for the

structure and flow of the system to be developed.

Development Stage. Using the input from the design stage, the programming code is

generated in this stage. The researchers used Java and PHP, a high-level programming

language for coding. This stage is considered to be the main focus of the whole system

and requires the longest period of time. The researchers applied all the necessary

requirements and followed the operation flow of the system during this process.

Testing Stage. In this stage, the researchers tested the system and any system defect

found are tracked, fixed and retested to ensure that the system provides the desired

functionality and operation.

Deployment Stage. Since the system is tested and ready to be deployed, the

researchers introduced the output to the faculties and students of the Criminology

department of Cristal-e College. They distributed evaluation forms to the respective

personnel to test the acceptability and feasibility of the developed system. The

suggestions, recommendations and comments from the respondents are highly

accepted by the researchers to further improve the performance and efficiency of the

system.
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CHAPTER IV

METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN

Analysis

In this chapter, the researchers will discuss the entire description of the Android

based Criminology Reviewer for Cristal e – College. To show what are the system

capabilities and the particular steps required to be taken by the user’s interaction with

the system. This also includes the design, capabilities, and other unique functionalities

that the system has and will be able to offer.

The Use Case Diagram is being used to represent the process in the interactions

of the users to the system. By doing so, identifying every detailed use case would be

made possible. This enables the researchers to identify, clarify and organize system

requirements. The Use Case will also help summarize the relationship between the

users and the system.

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Use Case Diagram

The diagram below represents the user’s interaction with the Android based

Criminology Reviewer for Cristal e – College.

Figure no. 1 (Use Case Diagram)

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Use Case Narrative

The tables below signify the narrative that is being represented by the use case diagram

above (figure no. 1).

Table 1. Review Mode

Use Case Name Review Mode

Actor User

Precondition Click review mode

Description The user can view information

Course of Action User Action System Response

Step 1. Choose a subject Step 1. Display subtopics

Step 2. Choose subtopics Step 2. Display review

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Table 2. Quiz Mode

Use Case Name Quiz Mode

Actor User

Precondition Click quiz mode

Description Questionnaires

Course of Action User Action System Response

Step 1. Choose a subject Step 1. Display quiz

Step 2. Choose records Step 2. Display records

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Table 3. Challenge Mode

Use Case Name Challenge Mode

Actor User

Precondition Login existing account if not , then make one

Description User to user challenge

Course of Action User Action System Response

Step 1. Waiting for

Step 1. Login account
confirmations

Step 2. Waiting for an

Step 2. Create Battle
Opponent

Step 3. Choose subject Step 3. Take battle

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Program Flowchart

The figure below shows the process flowchart for the review mode of the system.
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This process flowchart shows the quiz mode of the application.

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This shows the process of flowchart for the challenge mode (challenger) of the system.
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This process of flowchart shows the challenge mode (opponent) of the system.
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Figure 1 shows the challenge mode conceptual system layout of the

system.

Figure 2. shows the review and quiz mode conceptual layout of the

system.
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Prototype

Figure no. 3 Actual Project Appearance

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Figure no. Review Mode

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Figure no. Quiz Mode

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Figure no. Challenge Mode

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