CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0       Introduction
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between generic skills and academic achievement among students in PTPL College, Ampang, Selangor. This chapter will discuss in detail methodology that will be employed such as, research design, sample, instruments that were used and data analysis.

 

 3.1       Research Design

This study will utilize a survey method and is descriptive in nature, which is intended to investigate the generic skills of the students of higher education in PTPL College, Ampang, Selangor. It also endeavors to determine the relationship between students’ academic achievement and their generic skills based seven traits categorized by MoHE, 2006. Descriptive research (survey research) is found to be more economical in examining the generic skills possess by undergraduate students in PTPL College. Louis, Lawrence and Keith in (2000) stated that survey is a systematic method of collecting data from a population of interest. It tends to be quantitative in nature and aims to collect information from a sample of the population so that the results will be representing the population within a certain degree of error. The purpose of a survey is to collect quantitative information, usually through the use of a structured and standardized questionnaire. With the used of Statistical Software Package (SPSS), the interpretation of the result could be processed. It was further described that survey research were found as quantifiable and generalizable to an entire population if the population is sampled appropriately, standardized, structured questionnaire minimizes interviewer bias, tremendous volume of information can be collected in short period of time and it can take less time to analyze than qualitative data.

 

 3.2       Population

The study will be conducted in PTPL College Ampang, Selangor, which will be treated as a subset of the population that researcher is trying to represent. This is accessible population because it is cheaper, faster and easier.  There were 280 undergraduates students were identified in PTPL College, Ampang. Those students belong to Faculty of Business Management, Faculty of Mass Communication and Faculty of Information Technology.

3.3       Sample of the Study

When descriptive research was employed, simple random sampling is concerned. As stated by Louis et al. (2000), simple random sampling was found to be the least complicated compared to all sampling. Simple random sampling is a sample where everyone in the population has equal opportunities to be surveyed. Besides, sampling error can be calculated fairly easy for this type of sampling. In fact, confidence ranges for the variability in responses due to sampling have been calculated and put into a table for simple random samples.  A representative sample drawn from the accessible population will allow researchers to generalize from the sample results to the accessible population. The survey questionnaires will be distributed to undergraduate students from three faculties which are Faculty of Business Management, Faculty of Mass Communication and Faculty of Information Technology. The students who are currently in semester three and above were selected as respondents for this study.

 

3.4  Instruments of Measurement  

3.4.1    Academic Achievement

Academic achievement of students is measured by their Cumulated Grade Point Average (CGPA), the average of all their Grade Point Average (GPA) for every semester that they have completed.

Credit for Graduation - the total number of credits hours required to pass a certain course, as determined by the Senate.

Credit Counted - the credit hours calculated towards obtaining the GPA and CGPA.

GPA (Grade Point Average) - the average grade point earned in a semester.

CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) - the average cumulative point obtained for all semesters.

 Academic Standing

            A student’s performance is assessed using both GPA and CGPA.

                      GPA = Total point value of a semester
                                  Total credit counted of a semester

                                              and

         CGPA = Total point value of all semesters

                                     Total credit counted of all semesters

 The relationship involving marks, grades and point value is shown in Table I.

Percentage score	Letter Grade	Quality Points Equivalent	Remark	Hours Earned
85 - 100	A	4.00	Pass	Yes
80 - 84	A-	3.67	Pass	Yes
75 - 79	B+	3.33	Pass	Yes
70 - 74	B	3.00	Pass	Yes
65 - 69	B-	2.67	Conditional Pass	Yes
60 - 64	C+	2.33	Conditional Pass	Yes
55 - 59	C	2.00	Conditional Pass	Yes
50 - 54	C-	1.67	Fail	No
40 - 49	D	1.00	Fail	No
0 - 39	F	0.00	Fail	No

 The grade obtained for each course is based on the overall performance in the course work including assignments, tests and end-of-semester examination.

KCDIs: 

3.4.2      Generic Skills

The students’ generic skills are measured through seven traits of generic skills that categorized by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE), 2006.  The items used intend to measure the degree of generic skills that they have which include (1) communications skills; (2) critical thinking and problem solving skills, (3) team work, (4) lifelong learning and information management skills, (5) entrepreneurship skills, (6) ethics and professional moral, and (7) leadership skills. The distribution of the items according to the seven generic skills is presented in Table II.

 

Table II: Components of Seven Generic Skills

Seven Generic Skills		Item number
Communication skills	Written Communication Oral Communication	1 2
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving	Problem Solving Skill Critical Thinking Skill	3 4
Teamwork	Group Decision Making & Planning Adaptability & Flexibility Interpersonal Relations	5 6 7
Lifelong Learning & Information Management	Eager to Continuously Learn Something New Able to Effectively Manage Both Old and New Knowledge	8   9
Entrepreneurship	Business, Marketing & Branding Instinct & Knowledge	12
Ethics and Professional Moral	Personal Integrity Professional Ethics	10 11
Leadership	Exemplary Characteristics, Confidence & Management Skills	13

 

 

The five-point Likert Scale format will be used, with 1 being “the least important” and 5 being “the most important”. The respondents were asked to identify the scale that most accurately describes their perception of themselves by circling the number in the boxes provided according to the following scale in Table III:

 Table III: Likert Scale for the Normal-scored Items

Opinion	Scale
Least important	1
Less important	2
Not important	3
Somewhat important	4
Very important	5

 

3.5       Data Collection

The data will be collected by distributing a set of self-inventory questionnaire adapted from seven traits of generic skills that categorized by MoHE. The questionnaire will be distributed to undergraduate students, who are from semester three and above, from three different faculty, to measure the variables in the research. The data will be collected on the same day after the questionnaire was distributed. The researcher will take time to assist and explain in detail about the questions that were less understood. In order to get high return of the questionnaires, researcher will wait for the questionnaires to be completed by respondents by end of their learning session.

3.6       Data Analysis

In analyzing the data, descriptive statistics were used to measure the research questions, which were related to the level of academic achievement and the central tendency of the level of generic skills among the respondents. The frequency and percentage of the data were analyzed using statistical analysis software, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Then, the correlation between the variables will be measured using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient in order to determine the strength and direction of the relationship between generic skills and academic achievement.