CHAPTER III

RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains a discussion of the methodology that was used in the conduct of

this study. It describes and expounds on the research design, study participants, setting, and

research instruments.

Research Design

The researchers used a qualitative research design and a descriptive type of study to

describe the post-COVID mental health status of the selected sample. A self-constructed

questionnaire was formulated to gather data from the identified respondents.

Setting of the Study

Mat-i National High School is the setting of the study. It is one of the public secondary

schools in the municipality of Las Nieves established in 1994. It was formerly known as the

Las Nieves National High School-Mat-i Annex from the Las Nieves National High School.

The school was converted into an independent national high school on April 4, 2001. The

campus is located in Purok 1 Mat-i, Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte with an area of ___ hectares

and is about 2 kilometers away from the municipal hall of Las Nieves.

The school is composed of 28 rooms which include junior and senior high school

buildings, the principal office and faculty room, a clinic, a library, and computer rooms. It has

a total of 897 students who are from the different barangays nearby. Most of the students have

similar socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the students experienced distress coping with

academic demands while worrying about their health. This contributes to triggering mental
health problems among them. Thus, the locale is chosen as the research setting since its

students’ experiences can support access to the needed research sample and information about

the post-COVID-19 mental health status of students.

Research Instrument

This study used a self-constructed survey questionnaire as its research instrument to

gather data from the respondents. The questionnaire was structured based on the problem that

needs to be answered in the study. It focuses on COVID-19’s impact on the personal and

student life of the respondents, as well as the mental health issues they experienced during the

pandemic and how they cope with it. The data from the survey will be analyzed, results will be

used to draw recommendations.

Significance of the Study

Students. This research will help students know the suppressed effects of COVID-19 on

their mental health and guide them to cope with some problems relating to it.