METHODS AND PROCEDURE
This chapter shall discuss the research methods available for the study and what is applicable for it to use. Likewise, the chapter shall present how the research will be implemented and how to come up with pertinent findings.
Method of Research to be Used
This study shall use the descriptive research method which uses observation and surveys. In this method, it is possible that the study would be cheap and quick. It could also suggest unanticipated hypotheses. Nonetheless, it would be very hard to rule out alternative explanations and especially infer causations. This descriptive type of research will utilize observations in the study. To illustrate the descriptive type of research, Creswell (1994) will guide the researcher when he stated: Descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.
The research described in this document is based fundamentally on quantitative research methods. This permits a flexible and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allows investigation of important new issues and questions as they arise, and allows the investigators to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research plan.
This study basically intends to investigate the disparity in what is taught in Schools of Public Health using GIS (geographic information systems) and what employers, particularly in the Public Health sector both private and public expect these students to be able to do using spatial analysis in GIS. Specifically, this study shall discuss the state and local public health offices, public health research firms, and GIS educators in order to determine if their employees coming out of these schools possess the necessary skills or are they being taught on the job to use GIS.
The primary source of data will come from a researcher-made questionnaire and interviews conducted by the researcher among employees and personnel in the public health sector, students who have taken GIS courses in public health and educators in GIS.
The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from Health and Information Technology Journals, books and related studies on Public Health, GIS curriculum and instruction and GIS application in the public health setting.
For this research design, the researcher will gather data, collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from social science journals; and make a content analysis of the collected documentary and verbal material. Afterwards, the researcher will summarize all the information, make a conclusion based on the null hypotheses posited and provide insightful recommendations on the dealing with GIS in the public health sector.
Respondents of the Study The general population for this study will be composed of selected personnel in the public health sector, GIS students and GIS instructors numbering to 60 respondents. The researcher shall also provide interviews for public health managers whose function is directly related to the organisation and implementation of the GIS employed in the organization. Instruments to be Used
To determine the effects of GIS education in the public health sector, the researcher will prepare a questionnaire and a set of guide questions for the interview that will be asked to the intended respondents. The respondents will grade each statement in the survey-questionnaire using a Likert scale with a five-response scale wherein respondents will be given five response choices. The equivalent weights for the answers will be:
Range Interpretation
4.50 – 5.00 Strongly Agree
3.50 – 4.00 Agree
2.50 – 3.49 Uncertain
1.50 – 2.49 Disagree
0.00 – 1.49 Strongly Disagree
Validation of the Instrument
For validation purposes, the researcher will initially submit a sample of the set of survey questionnaires and after approval; the survey will be conducted to five respondents. After the questions were answered, the researcher will ask the respondents for any suggestions or any necessary corrections to ensure further improvement and validity of the instrument. The researcher will again examine the content of the interview questions to find out the reliability of the instrument. The researchers will exclude irrelevant questions and will change words that would be deemed difficult by the respondents, to much simpler terms.
Administration of the Instrument
The researcher will exclude the five respondents who will be initially used for the0 validation of the instrument. The researcher will also tally, score and tabulate all the responses in the provided interview questions. Moreover, the interview shall be using a structured interview. It shall consist of a list of specific questions and the interviewer will not deviate from the list or inject any extra remarks into the interview process. The interviewer may encourage the interviewee to clarify vague statements or to further elaborate on brief comments. Otherwise, the interviewer will be objective and not influence the interviewee’s statements. The interviewer will not share his/her own beliefs and opinions. The structured interview will mostly be a “question and answer” session.
Statistical Treatment of the Data
When all the survey questionnaire will have been collected, the researcher will use statistics to analyse all the data.
The statistical formulae to be used in the survey questionnaire will be the following:
1. Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.
n
% = ——– x 100 ; n – number of responses
N N – total number of respondents
2. Weighted Mean
f1x1 + f2x2 + f3x3 + f4x4 + f5x5
x= ——————————————— ;
xt
where: f – weight given to each response
x – number of responses
xt – total number of responses
The researcher will be assisted by the SPSS in coming up with the statistical analysis for this study.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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