Chapter III

This chapter includes the research methods, respondents of the study, research locale,
materials and instruments and the gathering procedures.

Research Methods

This study is used qualitative method. Qualitative research involves collecting and
analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or
experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for
research (Bhandari, P, 2020).

This qualitative study will determine the linguistic landscape among food establishment
in Iloilo City.

Respondents

The respondents of this study were the food establishments in Iloilo City. They were
purposively selected for this study. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the respondents.

The Research Locale

This study was conducted at Iloilo City. Iloilo City is the capital of Iloilo Province. It is
strategically located at the heart of the Philippine archipelago and serves as a gateway to Panay
Island. It is a highly urbanized metropolis and is the center of commerce, trade, finance,
education and governance in the region. Iloilo City beckons to all investors. With its stable
economic growth and improved business-investment environment, the city is now the ideal
investment destination of the South.

Iloilo City is very rich in natural resources, competent human resources, cultural and
heritage attractions, and is strategically located, making the City the preferred destination for
meetings, incentive travel, conventions, and events (MICE) and for investment as well. The
investment climate is very conductive for business opportunities (LCP Secretariat, 2015).
Materials and Instruments

To gather data, the researchers come up with open-ended questions for the interview.
They also determined the interview schedule. Furthermore, the researchers used audio recorded
in recording the open ended interview and video recorded for the observation and documentation
needed for this study. The respondents answered a questionnaire prepared and provided of the
researcher.

These instruments were suited to the study for it can gather all necessary data needed to
support the study.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher will conduct the study after the approval of the city mayor of Iloilo City.
Once approve the researcher started to conduct the study. The researcher personally administered
the interview with the respondents. The directions of the questionnaire in the conduct of the
interview was clearly stated and explained to the respondents. Open – ended question were used
in consideration to the interview guide. The researcher assured the respondent that all responses
and answer should be kept confidential and would be used only for the purpose of the study.

After the desired data was gathered, the researcher transcribed and encode the
information’s using coding and further towards analysis and interpretation. Essential categories
were identified giving rise to themes as answer to the question asked in investigation. All would
lead towards the language or linguistic landscape among food establishment in Iloilo City.

Data Processing Techniques

Interview, Observation, Conversation Analysis and Theme Identification was used as

methods of the study.

Interview involves asking question and getting answer from participants in the study.
Asking question and answering of question can be mediated by the recorder or cellphone or other
electronic devices (e.g. computers) for recording and storage. Interviewing has a variety form
including: individual, face to face interview. Interviews can be structured, semi-structured or
unstructured.
 Observation is a systematic data collection approach. Researcher used all of their senses
to examine people in natural setting or naturally occurring situation. Non- participant’s
observation is observation with limited interaction with people. Some observational data can be
collected unobtrusively. In participation observation the observer participates in ongoing
activities and records observation.

Conversation analysis on the other hand, is the study of the talk produced in ordinary
human interactions. Furthermore according to Principe (2022), is a qualitative methodology that
centers on the study of talk-in-interaction or, more specifically, the sequential order of talk. It
aims to understand the hidden rules, structures, or meanings that create these sequences in a
discussion. Conversational analysts are particularly interested in exploring everyday interactions.

Theme identification is one of the most fundamental tasks in qualitative research. It is a

method of analyzing qualitative data. It is usually applied to a set of texts, such as an
interview or transcripts. The researcher closely examines the data to identify common themes –
topics, ideas and patterns of meaning that come up repeatedly.

There are various approaches to conducting thematic analysis, but the most common
form follows a six-step process: familiarization, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes,
defining and naming themes, and writing up. Following this process can also help you
avoid confirmation bias when formulating your analysis (Caulfield, 2019).

All information had been carefully collected and stored from the series of interviews and
observation. Transcription was made out from the audio- recorded interviews while from memos
and field notes that observation analysis will ensue. The transcription also had undergo careful
scrutiny using conversation analysis.

These tools were all appropriate in this endeavor since through these, answer of the
respondents clearly made to surface and leading to the emergence of reasons answering the
language or linguistic landscape among food establishment in Iloilo City.
Validation

The test of validity of any measuring instrument, according to Middleton (2019) depends
to a great extend upon the fidelity with which it measures what it supposed to measure.
Validity tells you how accurately a method measures something. If a method measures what it
claims to measure, and the results closely correspond to real-world values, then it can be
considered valid. Validity refers to the soundness and effectiveness of the research instruments.
To establish the content validity, which will determine the selection of items to be included in
the test of the research instrument, the questionnaire was submitted to a panel of expert who are
considered experts in their own field. The suggestion of these panel of expert was used to
improve items and determine its soundness.

Reliability Testing

The term reliability in psychological research refers to the consistency of a quantitative

research study or measuring test. It further contends that the result of the test is considered
reliable only when there are reasons for believing that the result is accurate and trustworthy.