The various steps involved in
the research process can be summarised as follows ;
Step 1 : Identifying the Gap
in Knowledge The researcher, on the
basis of experience and observation realises that some students in the class do
not perform well in the examination. So he / she poses an unanswered question :
―Which factors are associated with students‘ academic performance?
Step 2 : Identifying the
Antecedent / Causes On the basis of
experience, observation and a review of related literature, he / she realises
that students who are either very anxious or not at all anxious do not perform
well in the examination. Thus he / she identifies anxiety as one of the factors
that could be associated with students‘ academic performance.
Step 3 : Stating the Goals The
researcher now states the goals of the study :
1.
To ascertain the relationship of anxiety with academic performance of students.
2.
To ascertain the gender differences in the anxiety and academic performance of
students.
3. To ascertain the gender
difference in the relationship of anxiety with academic performance of
students.
Step 4 : Formulating Hypotheses
The researcher may state his / her
hypotheses as follows:
1.
There is a significant relationship between anxiety and academic performance of
students.
2. There is a significant
gender difference in the anxiety and academic performance of students.
3. There is a significant
gender difference in the relationship of anxiety with academic performance of
students.
Step 5 : Collecting Relevant
Information The researcher uses
appropriate tools and techniques to measure anxiety and academic performance of
students, selects a sample of students and collects data from them.
Step 6 : Testing the
Hypotheses He / she now uses
appropriate statistical techniques to verify and test the hypotheses of the
study stated in Step 4. Step 7 : Interpreting the Findings He / she
interprets the findings in terms of whether the relationship between anxiety
and academic performance is positive or negative, linear or curvilinear. He /
she finds that this relationship is curvilinear i.e. when a student‘s anxiety
is either very low or very high, his / her academic performance is found to be
low. But when a student‘s anxiety is moderate, his / her academic performance
is found to be high. He / she now tries to explain this finding based on logic
and creativity.
Step 8 : Comparing the Findings with Prior
researchers’ Findings At this step, the researcher tries to find out
whether his / her conclusions match those of the prior researches or not. If
not, then the researcher attempts to find out why conclusions do not match with
other researches by analysing prior studies further.
Step 9 : Modifying Theory
On the basis
of steps 7 and 8, the researcher speculates that anxiety alone cannot influence
academic performance of students. There could be a third factor which
influences the relationship between anxiety and academic performance of
students. This third factor could be study habits of students. For instance,
students who have very low level of anxiety may have neglected their studies
through out the year and hence their academic performance is poor. On the other
hand, students who have very high level of anxiety may not be able to remember
what they have learnt or cannot concentrate on studies due to stress or may
fall sick very often and hence cannot study properly. Hence their academic
performance is poor. However, students with a moderate level of anxiety are
motivated enough to study regularly and systematically all through the year and
hence their academic performance is high. Thus, the loosely structured theory
on students‘ academic performance needs to incorporate one more variable,
namely, study habits of students. In other words, it needs to be modified. Step
10 : Asking New Questions Do study habits and anxiety interact with each
other and influence academic performance of students? i.e. we can now start
with a fresh topic of research involving three variables rather than two.
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