CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
This chapter focused on the research
design and method, and in carrying out the study. The chapter is discussed
under the following headings:
· Design of Study
· Area of the Study
· Population of the Study
· Sample and Sampling Procedure
· Instrument for data collection validation of the instrument
· Reliability of the instrument
· Method of data collection
· Method of data analysis
Design of the Study
A survey research design is used in
carrying out this study/ it involved the use o questionnaire in seeking
information on the
role
of accountant in a business corporation specifically Ebonyi State Transport
Corporation.
Nwodu (2006) defines survey research
as a method which focuses on a research sample derived from the entire
population of the study/a researcher who employs the method therefore goes into
the field and selects samples out of the entire population of the study. A
researcher who employs the method therefore goes into the field and selects
samples out of the entire population. According to Odo (2002) in Olua (2006)
survey design is the one in which a group of people or items are studies by
collecting data and analysis from only a few people or items considered to be a
representative of the entire group survey design also explores semi-crude
relationship among phenomena and can be used to investigate the characteristics
of people, group or objects.
Area of the
Study
The study is carried out in
Ebonyi State, it covered only the head quarter of Ebonyi State Transport
Corporation in Abakaliki local government area of Ebonyi state. The place was
chosen because of its high concentration of business activities.
Population of
the Study
The population
of the study comprised of one hundred and twenty two (122) staff of Ebonyi
state transport corporation precisely the head quarter in Abakaliki local
government area of Ebonyi state. The staff comprises of the top, middle, senior
and junior management of Ebonyi state transport corporation, Head quarter
Abakaliki in Ebonyi state.
Sample and
Sampling Procedure
According to Nwodu (2006), a
sample is a part of the entire population that is selected for investigation.
Due to inconveniences that can be caused to the management, limited time and
prohibitive cost all the entire population therefore, can not be studied.
A simple random sampling technique
was adopted and one hundred (100) staff were selected out of the entire
population.
Instrument for Data
Collection
The collection of data for the study was
done through structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered face
to face and was collected from the respondents by hands, so as to ensure safety
of the questionnaire
According to Zactmad and Burgar self
administration process, where by the respondents himself or herself reads the
questions and records his answers the research questions and the without the
assistance of the researcher. The questionnaire items were suitably structured
to seek and provide relevant information that would be used collectively or
individually to answer the research question.
A four point rating scale was provided
and the respondents are received to rate as thus,
Strongly
Agreed (SA) - Very
Great Extent (VGE)
Agreed (A)
- Great Extent (GE)
Disagreed (D) - Little Extent (LE)
Strongly
disagreed (SD) - Very
Little Extent (VLE)
Thus, this questionnaire has only
one section “section A”. Consisting of questions that will seek answers to the
research questions.
Validation of
the Instrument
To ensure an effective validation of the
instrument, the questionnaire was validated by (3) lecturers in the department
of business education in Faculty of Education in Ebonyi State University,
Abakaliki.
Reliability of the Instrument
To ensure an effective reliability
of the used, the test method of determining the reliability of the instrument
was used. The same instrument was administered twice on the interval of two (2)
weeks to the respondents. The responses were co-related using the Peason product
movement of correlation and the co-efficient is 0.68 which indicate the
reliability of the instrument.
Method of Data Collection
The questionnaire was
administered by the researcher and two other research assistant. It was
distributed face to face by hand to the respondents and was also collected by
hand immediately.
Method of Data Analysis
In analyzing the data collected, the
raw score obtained from the respondents in the questionnaire was computed and
analyzed using statistical mean and standard deviation. The mean was computed
in respect to the response made by multiplying the frequency (f) of response
under each response category by the assigned value and dividing the sum of the
products (fx) by the number (N) of the response codes and their value as shown
above are used in calculating the mean using the formular.
Mean
(x) = EFx/N
Where
= mean rating
Σfn
= sum of values multiply by its scale
N
= Number of respondents
Considering
the rating scale of, 4, 3, 2, 1 the mean is calculated thus;
Mean
Also standard deviation response of the
respondents was calculated using the formular
Therefore, in taking decision, any
respondent response having a mean scale rating of above 2.50 and a standard
deviation of above 1.29 is considered as accepted. While and response having a
mean less than 2.50and a standard deviation of less than 1.29 is considered as
rejected.