ESM641 Research Methods in Education PAGE NUMBER 1

Semester 1

ASSIGNMENT

JANUARY 2020 SEMESTER

SUBJECT CODE : ESM641

SUBJECT TITLE : RESEARCH METHODS IN EDUCATION

PROGRAMME : MASTER OF EDUCATION

STUDENT’S NAME : Alexander Ngu Huong Hang

MATRIC NO. : E60101200007

ACADEMIC FACILITATOR : Mr Sim Kah Ching

LEARNING CENTRE : Sibu

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PART 1 (Mark 15%):

In the Research Report, Chapter 3 focuses on discussing the methodology of the study.
Discuss any THREE (3) elements you will include in Chapter 3.
In a research paper, the research methodology chapter is one of the most important chapter.
The purpose of this research methodology chapter is to give other researcher information
about the research done so that it can be replicate by another researcher. Thus, the research
methodology chapter must consist of research design, setting and participants,
instrumentation, procedure, data processing and analysis, ethical considerations, internal and
external validity and lastly a short conclusion on the research done.

The three elements of methodology of study that will be discussed in this essay is the
research design and structure, setting and participants and instrumentation.

Research Design and structure.

A researcher needs to decide and prepare a suitable research design for their research. In
order to do so, they will have to state the conceptual structure on the research that will be
conducted. Ensuring a good research design will ensure that a research could be effective in
helping a research to obtain the correct data for their research. According to (Kuada, 2012),
there are two types of research methods which are the qualitative research methods and the
quantitative research methods

Qualitative research method.

(Strauss & Corbin, 1998) define qualitative research as “any type of research that produces
findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other means of quantification”. Another
definition of qualitative research methods by (Neuman, 2006) which state that such types of
research are described as emphasising “cases and contexts”; that is, they engage in detailed
examination of cases that are related to their chosen topics and present “authentic
interpretations that are sensitive to specific social-historical contexts” (Neuman 2006: 151).
To sum this up, qualitative research method needs a researcher to use qualitative data
collection methods like interview and observation which are widely used by researcher to
obtain the data which normally in the form of description. Through this method, a participant
will have the chance to raise topics and issues which might be important to the research and
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also allow them to express their feelings and offer their perspectives in their own words. In
other words, if your study is concerned with gaining newer insights into the phenomenon that
you are investigating rather than finding confirmation for existing theories, you must strongly
consider using qualitative methods to collect your data.

Quantitative research method.

Another research design and structure are the quantitative research method. Quantitative
research is defined as a type of investigation on a phenomenon by gathering data which are
normally in the form of numeral. These data can able a researcher to perform statistical,
mathematical, or computational analysis of the data they obtain. (Punch, D.F. & Punch, K.,
2005) define quantitative research as a research involves around formal objective information
gathering about the world through the use of measurement tools such as validated
questionnaires, to statistically quantify the phenomenon being studied. It can be used to
describe and test relationships between various factors in order to examine cause-effect
relationship. To sum this up, this method enables a researcher to test specific hypotheses or
find numerical answers to specific elements in their research questions.

Settings and participants

In this part, a researcher needs to state the place the research takes place and the participants
that will participate in the research.

A suitable place to conduct a research needs to be choose according to the type of the
research and the type of data collected. For example, if the research conducted is about the
field of education, the participants that will be taking part in the research must be working in
the field of education. So, the setting that will be suitable for the research should be an
institute of learning.

Choosing the participants for a research is important to ensure the data of a research is valid.
There are many ways a researcher can use to choose their participants. (Barrat, 2018) stated
that the sampling methods used by a researcher to choose the participants can be categorized
into two which are the probability sampling methods and the non-probability sampling
methods. The sampling methods under the probability sampling are simple random sampling,
systematic sampling, stratified sampling and the clustered sampling. The sampling methods
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under the non-probability methods are the convenience sampling, quota sampling, judgement
sampling and the snowball sampling.

The most popular sampling methods used by the researcher is the simple random sampling
method. (Kumar, 2011) state that for a design to be called random sampling or probability
sampling, it is imperative that each element in the population has an equal and independent
chance of selection in the sample. Which means that the probability of selection of the
participants should be fair and the individuals in a population selected should have the chance
of being selected as the participants.

According to a website by (Lund Research, 2012), there are six steps to create a simple
random sample. The first step is defining the population, the second step is to choose the
sample size, the third step is listing the population, the fourth step is assigning number to the
units, the fifth step is to find random numbers and the last step is to select the sample.

The advantages of simple random sampling methods are the participants selected can
generalised to the total sampling population as during the selection of the participants,
sampling bias can be eliminated. While the disadvantages of the sampling method are it is
difficult to carry out as a lot of time, effort and money is needed to ensure that sample
selected can represent the whole population. Although simple random sampling is intended to
be an unbiased approach, sometimes sample selection bias can occur when the research
conducted on a larger population. It will cause the sample to be not inclusive enough and
thus, the representation of the full population is skewed. The researcher needs to choose other
sampling methods.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation is a part where the researcher states their data collection method used in their
research in a research report. Choosing a suitable data collection method is very important for
a researcher. The data collection method should suite the research design chosen by the
researcher. For example, if a researcher choose a qualitative research method, the data
collection method that the research choose are observation, interview and other data
collection method which enables the researcher to obtain data which are normally in the form
of description while for a quantitative research, the data collection method that can a
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researcher choose is questionnaire where they obtain the numerical data which can be analyse
mathematically.

Qualitative data collection method.

The most common qualitative data collection method is observation. (Kumar, 2011) define
observation as a purposeful, systematic and selective way of watching and listening to an
interaction or phenomenon as it takes place. (Kawulich, 2012) state that observation is used
in the social sciences as a method for collecting data about people, processes, and cultures.
Thus, observation is used by a researcher to collect data about the behaviour of a participants
more that their perception about a research topic. There are two types of observation. The
first is participant observation and the other is the non-participant observation. Participant
observation occurs when a researcher involved in the activities of the group of participants
that the researcher observes with or without the participant knowing that they are being
observed. The non-participant observation occurs when the researcher does not get involved
in the activities that the researcher observes but the role of the researcher is as a passive
observer which will watch and listen to obtain the data about the activity.

Quantitative data collection method.

The quantitative data collection method that is most common in a quantitative research is the
questionnaire. (Kumar, 2011) define questionnaire as a written list of questions, that the
participants need to provide the answers. (Kabir, Syed Muhammad, 2016) states that there
are 4 types of question that can be used in a questionnaire. The 4 types are dichotomous
questions, nominal-polytomous questions, ordinal-polytomous questions and continuous
questions. While using this data collection method, a participant needs to read the questions
and give their answer for the question that they read. Thus, it is important to make sure that
the questions in the questionnaire is clear and easy to understand. Questionnaire is a good
data collection method because it is cheap, quick and efficient to be carry out.
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Part 2 (10%) – 5 pages

What is the review of literature? Evaluate the purpose and role of the review of related
literature in a study.

Before starting a research, researcher will first choose a research topic. After that, they will
search for information about the research topic that they will be researching on. The
information obtain can be in the form of research report, journals of other researcher that are
related to the research topic or even published books. This step is known as the review of
literature or literature review. According to (Dawidowicz, 2010), a literature is a review of
what’s known, not suspected or assumed, about a specific subject and its goal is to create a
complete, accurate representation of the knowledge and research-based theory available on a
topic. (Aveyard, 2007) state that a literature review is the comprehensive study and
interpretation of literature that relates to a particular topic. To sum this up, a literature review
is an important step for a researcher to know more and also to gain more information about
the topic of their research. In one’s research report, there must be a section for literature
review.

There are many types of literature review. (Dawidowicz, 2010) categorized literature review
into three types of literature review. The first type is the simple literature review, the second
is the applied literature review while the third is the academic literature review. The simple
literature review is done to help a person to gain brief information about the topic they want
to know about. the second type of literature review is the applied literature review. This type
of literature review is often used to find information in helping an organization to make
decisions or planning of doing something. Lastly, the academic literature review is a review
that are most commonly used in books writing and in doing literature review in research. All
of the three types of literature required a researcher to find information from sources like
books, internets, journals, research paper, internet and other more reliable and valid sources
to either gain information of a topic of to help support their research.

Producing a literature is important. (Arshed, Norin & Danson,Mike, 2015) stated that there
are four methods to do a literature review. The first is the summary method where the
researcher briefly state the argument and main points of relevant research, the second is
synthesis method where the researcher combine ideas in order to form an integrated theory or
system through critical evaluation, comparing and contrasting. The third is analysis method
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where the research closely examines the elements or structure of the research and interpret
through the lens of field. Lastly is the evaluation method, where the researcher accesses the
research based on criteria they choose, state and explain. After that they will use a research to
support their evaluation.

Producing a good literature review is very important because a literature describes how the
proposed research is related to older research that was carried out. Furthermore, a good
literature is important because it shows the originality and relevance of your research
problem to the society. One of the importance of a good literature review is that it helps to
differentiate a researcher’s research from another research that are related. A literature review
also helps to justifies your proposed methodology. Lastly, a literature review also
demonstrates your preparedness to complete the research as through literature review, it will
show that a researcher has read a lot of literature regarding their research topic to prove that
the student is aware of the wide range of research that are related to the research topic.

There are some steps in writing a literature review. The first step is to decide on an area of
research. The research area chosen is the field of education. Too narrow it down, the research
topic that will be chosen for the writing of the literature review is Pedagogy of the Twenty-
First Century: Game Based Learning.

In order to start the research on the research topic, a researcher needs to search for the
literature that are related to the research topic.

(Rich, 2010) state that the term "21st-century skills" is generally used to refer to certain core
competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving
that advocates believe schools need to teach to help students thrive in today's world.

The objective of this paragraph is to give the definition of 21 st century learning. Through this,
we can also identify some of the characteristics of the 21st century learning.

The world in the 21st century is now seen as a place of constant change. The relative stability
that characterised much of the 20th century has been replaced with near perpetual flux. In
addition, technology has re-shaped how most of us live, work and learn (Siemens, G, 2005).
In the realization of the 21st century learning, schools are urged to adopt pedagogies that
promote the development of critical thinking and problem-solving, communication and
collaboration, creativity and innovation, and digital technologies skills (Kay. K, 2010)
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(Thomas, D. & Seely Brown, 2011) state that, learning is now “a cultural phenomenon that
takes place without books, without teachers and without classrooms” supported by a
“massive information network that provides almost unlimited access and resources to learn
about anything”. To sum this up, (Thomas, D. & Seely Brown, 2011) said that the challenge
for education is to marry the structure of institutional or formal education with the freedom
that characterises informal learning in the 21st century to make something new.

In this paragraph, the researcher discusses about some of the issue that happens while the
applying of 21st century learning. The main point of this paragraph is about the flexibility of
education in the 21st century and the use of technology in class.

Games are often associated with play. Play based learning has often been recognized.
Criticized and debated by educators from Piaget to Vygotsky to Plato over many centuries
(Hunnicutt, B., 1990). Play is central to the learning theories of Dewey, Piaget, and
Vygotsky, each of whom considers play as fundamental to the development of thinking and
higher mental faculties (Dewey, J., 1998). In conjunction to that, game-based learning is a
type of learning that refers to the use of computer or digital games to support learning in a
classroom setting (Simões, J, Redondob, R, & Vilasb, A. F., 2014). (Beavis C., 2004)
concluded that the use of games, and specifically computer-based games, as educational tools
has been a part of educators’ and educational researchers’ sphere for some time.

In this paragraph, the writers introduce the theory by Jean Piaget and Vygotsky. After that,
the write introduces the research topic which is the Game based learning and relate it to the
theory by Jean Piaget and Vygotsky about play.

(Beavis C., 2004) explains that the attraction of games to young people and the sustained
engagement and motivation that digital games engender is seductive to educators who would
like their students to be as engaged in their lessons as they appear to be in digital games.
What drives people to continued engagement in an activity has been a point of focus for
educators and researchers alike for more than a decade. Games and game mechanics have
long been identified as potentially effective in motivating student engagement. The statement
made by Beavis C. explains that the use of digital games in classroom can increase the
effectiveness of learning abilities in leaners.

This paragraph uses the research of other researcher to support the research topic of the write
which is about the effectiveness of the game-based learning in increasing the learning ability
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of the learners. This paragraph also stated the reality of the 21 st century teens who likes to
engage themselves in game especially digital games.

In the next paragraph, the writer states the drawbacks of games to educator is the high levels
of engagement that a student shows while playing the game. This is affected by the
motivation of the student. There are two types of motivation which is the extrinsic motivation
and the intrinsic motivation. The write explains that the extrinsic motivation mechanic in
games like badges, levels and achievement boards might ensure a student is actively engage
with tasks and activities in order to unlock the next challenge or level. Extrinsic approaches
such as these can work in some learning contexts, but are not necessarily suitable for all
learners. While the intrinsic motivation is normally in the form of enjoyment and the increase
of self-determination within the activity. The writer uses the Flow theory by
(Csikszentmihalyi, M., 1975) which is about the exploring of intrinsically motivated
engagement as an optimal state “of absorption, focus and enjoyment” (Schmidt, J. A.,
Shernoff, D. J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M., 2014).

Characteristics of the optimal state are often described as:

1. Intense focus and concentration on the given task or activity

2. The merging of awareness and action as part of a deep sense of involvement
3. Sense of control over the way in which one can deal with or approach the task or
activity.
4. A level of enjoyment and interest in the task or activity.
5. Experiencing a distorted sense of time, often that time has passed quickly during the
task or activity

This paragraph explains about the two types of motivation and the characteristics of the two
types of motivation. The writer also uses the flow theory by (Csikszentmihalyi, M., 1975) to
support the research topic. The characteristic optimal state is stated to identify the
characteristics of a game that can motivate a player. The writer relates the research topic to a
theory to further increase the validity of the research.
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Another issue on game-based learning is that there are complicated links between digital
culture, game play, and young people’s identities (Stevens, Satwicz, & McCarthy, 2008) and
learning.

Through this part of literature review, the writer is able to collect different citation to support
his research on the game-base learning. In this literature review, not only the quotation of
different researcher and psychologist was used, the writer also used the other research that is
related to his research topic.

The research report not only contain literature review about game-based learning, there was
also a literature review on gamification which is the process of inserting elements and
characteristics of games in one daily life. The writer included a quotation from (Hanus, M.
D. & Fox, J., 2015) who stated that the theory of gamification is centred on concepts of
challenge, feedback, reward, personal and personalised stimulation, which can be as readily
applied to gaming itself as to education, marketing, as well as personal health and fitness.

Other quotation which explains the benefits of gamification is also included. For example,
Gamification theory, as described in The Gameful World (Walz, S. P. & Deterding, S., 2015),
seeks to promote ludic, or playful, approaches to everyday tasks and activities, achieving this
through the incorporation of game-mechanics such experience point systems, achievements
and achievement boards, challenges, and narrative structures.

In conclusion, a literature review is very important to a researcher while they are doing their
research. a literature can helps a researcher to gain more information about their research
topic. With this information, the researcher can ensure that their research can run smoothly
and their research can be recognised by another researcher who are doing research that are
related.
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Part 3 (10%) – 4 pages

What is a questionnaire? Discuss guidelines you will follow to produce a good
questionnaire. Provide examples to support your answer.

Questionnaire has been one of the most popular data collecting instrument for a researcher to
do research. A questionnaire consists of a series of question and answer that the respondent
needs to choose regarding certain topic. Questionnaire is normally used in quantitative
research where quantitative research require the researcher to gather quantifiable data for
analysis.

Types of question.

There are two types of questions that can be constructed in a questionnaire. First is the open-
ended question while the other is close-ended questions. According to (Kuada, 2012), Open-
ended questions normally demand long answers. Some of them require the respondent to
think and reflect on specific situations or events before answering them. Example of open-
ended questions is “What is the reason that people hate smokers?”. This type of questions
requires the respondents to give their answer in the form of phrase to express their opinion on
the question.

Another type of question is the close-ended questions. (Kuada, 2012) define close-ended
questions as ne that can be answered with either a single word or a short phrase. Example of
close-ended questions is “Do you agree that smoking should be ban in public areas?”. This
type of question only required the respondent to give their respond by stating “Yes” or “No”.
The answer for the close-ended questions is often given in a questionnaire.

Question response choices.

There are different types of question response choices that a research can choose from while
creating their questionnaire.
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The first type of question is binary/dichotomous scale. This type of response choice gave the
respondent two option as their response to the question asked. For example, for the question
“Do you think smoking is bad?” the response option given is “YES” or “NO”. Another types
of question response choice are multiple-choice scales. The difference between this type of
question response choice with the binary scale is that more option will be given for the
respondent to choose. For example, for the question “Do you think smoking is bad?” the
multiple response option for the question can be “YES”, “NO”, “NOT SURE”.

Another question response choice that is widely used is the Likert scales. (Phillips, Phillips,
& Aaron, 2013) explains that the descriptive scale uses a continuum of descriptor as the
responses choices for a given item or question. An example of questions with the descriptive
scale response choice is “Smoking should be banned” “STRONGLY DISAGREE”,
“DISAGREE”, “NEITHER DISAGREE OR AGREE”, “AGREE”, “STRONGLY AGREE”.

Besides Likert scale, there are also some other scales that can be used for example, the staple
scale which is a unipolar 10-point rating scale who was developed by Jan Stapel (Phillips,
Phillips, & Aaron, 2013). Unlike other scale, this type of scale only uses one word or phrases.

Lastly is the question response choice that needs a respondent to state their own opinion. This
means that there are no predefined answers for the question. Question with this type of
question response choice are open-ended questions.

Questionnaire administration mode.

Questionnaire can be administrated through different modes. The first ways of administration
of questionnaire is through computerized questionnaire administration which is also known
as computer questionnaire where respondents are required to answer the questionnaire that
was sent through mails. This type of questionnaire is not costly, time efficiency and it does
not assert pressure to the respondent.

Other modes of administration of questionnaire is through telephone which is also known as

telephone questionnaire. This type of questionnaire enables the questionnaire to be asked
through the phone line. The telephone questionnaire enables a researcher to obtain the data
from the respondent using a short amount of time. The drawbacks of this questionnaire are
the cost to run it as charges are given by telco according to the duration of call. This type of
questionnaire also makes the respondent to feel uncomfortable and the researcher would face
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problems in getting a sample group to answer the questionnaire as the identity of the
respondent is unknown.

The in-house survey is also one of the forms of questionnaire. This type of questionnaire
required the researcher to visit the respondents house and have a face-to-face questionnaire
administration. In-house questionnaire is time consuming and very expensive to run. It will
also cause discomfort to the respondents as some respondents do not wish to be disturbed.

Guidelines for writing a questionnaire

The topic of the questionnaire that will be “The Ban on Smoking in Public areas”. To create
an effective questionnaire about the topic, a researcher needs to ensure that the questionnaire
that they administrated have the following characteristics.

First, the questions in the questionnaire should be short, simple and easy to understand. This
could avoid the respondents to stress out while answering the questionnaire given.
Furthermore, the questions should be described precisely and correctly to avoid confusion
when the respondents read the questions. A question should also be logical and also in
analytical form for easy analysis. For example, the question that can be asked is “Do you
smoke?”. This question is straightforward, easy, simple and short. The question asked is
precise and correct so that will not cause confusion to the respondents.

Another important matter while making questions in a questionnaire is that a researcher

should avoid double-barrelled questions. A double-barrelled question is the type that requires
the respondent to address more than one issue at a time. This kind of questions not only will
cause stress to the respondent but will also cause inaccuracies in attitudes being measure for
the question. Example of double-barrelled question is “Do you think the government should
ban smoking or set up smoking zone?”. This question required the respondent to give respond
on two opinion. Avoid leading or loaded questions. A leading or loaded question is the type
that directs the respondent to give a specific answer. This kind of questions will also cause
the data obtained to be tainted by the researcher and could cause bias. Example of loaded
question is “Have you smoked in eating premises?” by asking this question, an assumption
can be made to assume that the person being questioned is likely to disagree with the
question. While example of leading question is “Majority of smokers are made up of what
gender?”. The question can cause the respondent to be bias while giving their respond to the
question.
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Another important aspect in a questionnaire is arrangement of the questions. The question in

the questionnaire should be arranged in a properly manner which is from easy questions to
hard questions. Thus, the initial questions should be able to motivate the respondent to take
part in the questionnaire and the difficult questions should be placed last in the questionnaire.
This type of arrangement can be shown in the questionnaire below. In addition, the researcher
should also pay attention to the grouping of questions in the questionnaire. Questions should
be grouped together according to the theme or topics. In the questionnaire below, question 1
to 3 asked about the habits of the respondent. Question 4 to question 10 are about the opinion
of respondents about the ban of smoking. Controversial, embarrassing or emotionally should
be avoided. As these types of questions will cause the respondent to be irritated. If this kind
of questions are necessary, the questions should be placed last in the questionnaire. For
example, questions like question 11 to question 12 in the questionnaire below are questions
that are personal to the respondents and could embarrass the respondents. So, the questions
were placed at the at the last section of the questionnaire as respondents will find it to be
uncomfortable with such questions. Question 13 to question 14 in the questionnaire below are
demographic question that plays the role of obtaining some personal information about the
respondents.

Below is an example of questionnaire with the characteristics stated above.

1. Do you smoke?
Yes
No, I have NEVER smoked
No, But I used to smoke
2. If you are currently a smoker or used to be a smoker, how long have you/did you
smoke?
Less than 2 years
3 to 10 years
More than 10 years
I do not or have never smoked
3. If you are currently a smoker or used to be a smoker, how much do you/did you
smoke on an average day?
Less than a pack a day
On average, a pack a day
Two or more packs a day
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I do not have never smoked

4. If you are currently a smoker, do you think a smoking ban would encourage you to
quit?
Yes
No
I do not smoke
5. Would you support laws making all indoor areas of restaurants smoke-free?
Yes
No
6. Would you support laws making all indoor areas of bars smoke-free?
Yes
No
7. Do you think that a smoking ban within the City of Osage Beach would harm the
Osage
Beach's restaurant/bar owners' revenues?
Yes
No
8. Would you go to restaurants less or more often if a smoking ban occurred?
Less Often
More Often
No change
9. Would you go to bars less or more often if a smoking ban occurred?
Less Often
More Often
No change
10. Do you think a smoking ban helps protect the health of non-smokers?
Yes
No
11. Do you personally know anyone who has passed away as a direct result of smoking?
Yes
No
12. What is your personal feeling about smoking in public places?
It bothers me
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It does NOT bother me

13. What is your gender
Male
Female
14. What is your age group?
Under 29 years of age
Between 20 and 30 years of age
Between 40 and 49 years of age
Over 50 years of age

Part 4 (15%)
What is the focus and purpose of the research?

The title of the research paper is “Knowledge of Effective Educational Leadership Practices”
by Leigh T. Barton from the California State University, Fullerton. The purpose of the
research is to evaluate the impact of preservice school leader candidates’ completion of the
administrative credential program inclusive of fieldwork on their level of knowledge of
leadership practices based on a pre post self-assessment.

What are the research questions(s) and / or hypotheses that guided the research?

First is the “What degree of change occurred in candidates’ pre and post self-assessment of
their level of knowledge on each of the CPSELs, and how similar or different were the
changes from pre to post self-assessment among the six standards?”.
The second question is “did the degree of reported gain/loss in knowledge of leadership
competencies vary among individual candidates?”,
While the third question is “How similar or different were the changes in level of knowledge
from pre to post self-assessment according to the total years of professional work experience
(TYE) of the candidates”.
The research question asked by the researcher are clear and focused. For example, by
reading question 2 one can knows that the researcher wants his research to focus on the
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relationship between the gain or loss of knowledge of leadership competencies and the
individual candidates. Moreover, the research questions are analytical. Those research
questions enable the researcher to produce an analysis of the research problem.

What are the variables that are investigated?

The independent variables that are the six standards of the California Professional Standards
for Educational Leadership (CPSELs). The dependent variables are the degree of change
occurred in candidates’ pre and post self-assessment of their level of knowledge on each of
the CPSELs.

What is the theoretical perspective that underpins the study?

A theory can help a researcher to understand the phenomenon which in this case is the effect
of real-life practice to help instil the knowledge of leadership competencies in school’s
leader. However, in this research, there is no clear theoretical perspective that underpin this
study as the research is about the evaluation of the the impact of preservice school leader
candidates’ completion of the administrative credential program inclusive of fieldwork on
their level of knowledge of leadership practices based on a pre post self-assessment. But the
researcher included the six standards of the California Professional Standards for
Educational Leaders (CPSELs). The six standards of the California Professional Standards
for Educational Leaders (CPSELs) was adopted by the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing to ensure the well-being of the students and the educators. It also provides a
reference for what an administrator must know and be able to do in order to move into
sustainable, effective practice. The set of broad policy standards that are the foundation for a
better administrator preparation, induction, development, professional learning and
evaluation.

Methodology.
What is the research method employed for the study?

The research method used for the study is the qualitative survey. Barton builds a list of
questionnaires “The Candidate Inventory of Personnel Leadership Competence” which
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contain 58 items that are constructed around the six parts of California Professional
Standards for Educational Leaders (CPSEL). The questionnaire uses the 4-points Likert scale
to enable the candidates to rate themselves on their knowledge of leadership skills.

How is the sample selected?

The sample also known as the candidates are selected among the preservice school leader
enrolled in the administrative credential program at the California State University Fullerton
between 2008 and 2012. The candidates are selected also based on their workplace where 35
candidates are worked in high school and 30 work in elementary schools. 5 were district
employees or teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA), 12 were on middle school campuses.
Experience of the candidate in their workplace is also one of the criteria in sample selection
where forty percent of the population had less than five total years of experience and twenty
five percent had ten or more years of experience in their workplace.
Choosing the candidates to take part in the research is an important step to ensure the external
validity of the research. The ways of choosing the candidates to take part in this research
should be more careful. A way to avoid the threat to external validity is to consider to
include the criteria of gender, cultural and ethnicity while choosing the candidates. Gender
and ethnicity could also be a factor which will affect the level of knowledge in leadership
competencies.

What are the data collection instruments used in the study?

The data collection instruments used in the study is the questionnaire which is called “The
Candidate Inventory of Personal Leadership Competence”. The questionnaire consists of 58
items divided into six parts. Each part is related to of the six California Professional
Standards for Educational Leaders (CPSEL). The reason the candidates was chosen according
to their workplace, year of experience was to obtain an answer for the second question is “did
the degree of reported gain/loss in knowledge of leadership competencies vary among
individual candidates?”, and the third question which is “How similar or different were the
changes in level of knowledge from pre to post self-assessment according to the total years of
professional work experience (TYE) of the candidates”.
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What, if anything relating to the methodology would you do differently and why?

There is a weakness in the data collection instrument used in this research. Using of
questionnaire could affect the validity of the data collected in this research. To increase the
accuracy of the result of the research, the researcher should include interview as the ways to
collect data from the candidates. Interview is known to help the researcher to gain a more
accurate data to answer the research question stated in the research than using of
questionnaire. Furthermore, through interview, the researcher could obtain a better qualitative
data to answer the research question stated by the researcher compare to the questionnaire
method used especially on question 2 and question 3 which the data collected to accurately
answer the question is heavily dependent on the background of a candidates.

Findings and Discussion.

What are the conclusions drawn by the researcher? Are they supported by the data?

There is a clear conclusion drawn by the researcher as the data of the research obtained
clearly provide the answer for each of the question asked by the researcher.
After the analysis of the data, the result shows there is a significant gain of knowledge across
the six criteria stated in CPSELs after the candidates go through the program. The result
clearly provides the answer for question 1.
However, there was no clear answer for question 2 and question 3 as the researcher did not
elaborate on the variation of degree of changes in knowledge of leadership among individual
candidates and the degree of sameness and differences of the changes in level of knowledge
from the pre and post self-assessment according to the years of professional work experience.
In order to obtain a more valid data to answer these questions, the researcher should take in
account the gender of the candidates, the background of the candidates, the race of the
candidates and the cultural background of the candidates.
The researcher should design a research which can obtain the data for question number 2 and
number three which is about the degree of reported gain or loss in knowledge of leadership
competencies vary among the candidates while question three is about how similar or
different were the changes in level of knowledge from pre to post self-assessment according
to the total years of professional work experience of the candidates. This can be done by
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Semester 1

using more than one data collection methods. The suggested data collection methods that can
be used is the observation using checklist and interview the candidates.
The conclusion drawn by the researcher should be improvise as there is no quotation from
other researcher on the related topic. Quotation from other researchers is important to help to
support the research.

Is there congruence between the research questions, the methodology and the
findings of the study?

The research question, the methodology and the findings of the study are congruent. As the
data of the research obtained provides the answer for the research questions stated to pilot the
research. but the study need to be improvise so that the data of the research obtained can be
used to provide the data for all the questions stated in the research.