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Introduction to Research Methodology & Statistics: A Guide for Students and

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ISBN: 978-978-960-045-8
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I express my sincere gratitude to Almighty God for His innite

mercy, kindness and protection.
My profound gratitude goes to my parents Arc. Muhammad Sani
Aliyu (Rector, Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi) and
Hajiya Fatima Muhammad Damana, my stepmothers Hajiya Murjanatu
Abubakar and Hajiya Fatima Abubakar, my grandmother Hajiya Fatima
Muhammad, my wife Aisha Sani Isah, my children Abba and Sadiq, my
brothers, sisters, friends and well-wishers for their tireless support,
understanding and cooperation morally and nancially.
My deep appreciation goes to my Master's Thesis supervisors Prof.
Mamman Musa, Dr. M. O. Ibrahim, Prof. I. Galadima, Prof. Y. K. Kajuru,
Prof. I. A. Usman and Dr. Binta Abdulkarim from whom I learnt so many
things concerning the practical and theoretical aspects of research. I wish
to give special recognition to the reviewers of this book Prof. Garba Bala
Muhammad, Prof. Shehu Aliyu Yaro, Dr. Ahmed Sani Alhaji, Arc.
Muhammad Sani Aliyu, Dr. Binta Abdulkarim, Engr. Dr. Yahaya
Muhammad Bande, Dr. Sani Aliyu, Dr. Yusuf Emmanuel, Dr. Aminu
Umar Yabo, Aliyu Bako (Ph.D. in view), Magaji Umar Faruk (Ph.D. in
view), Garba Sahabi Adamu, Mr. Sunday P. Oyelowo, Zainab Hassan
Baba, Isiyaku Abdullahi, Jalaludeen Ibrahim, Abubakar Umar Bashar,
Umar Muhammad Alkali, Sanusi Sani Maimagani, Ibrahim Musa Garba,
Faruk Abdullahi, Mukhtar Muhammad Sani, Abubakar Bashar, Musa
Suleiman (Koko), as well as my colleagues in the Department of
Mathematics, Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi for their
indefatigable support towards the successful completion of this book
despite their academic schedules. I am also indebted to all authors cited in
iii
Introduction to Research Methodology & Statistics
this book as duly acknowledged in the reference list.

Finally, my sincere appreciation goes to the Tertiary Education
Trust Fund (TETFund) for supporting and sponsoring the production of
this book. I thank you all for your inspiration.
Muhammad Abdurrahman Sani

January, 2017
iv
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my beloved family, friends and well-wishers

for their supports and encouragements throughout my life.
v
PREFACE
Starting a research is a challenging venture which is perceptually

over simplied by many researchers. A researcher may have the study
area, know all the research techniques and the statistical knowledge for
analysing a research problem, but due to inspirations of self-esteem,
he/she spends days, weeks, months and sometimes even years without
completing the research work. It is against this background that this book
gives a detailed guide on how to carry out the practical aspect of a research
as well as documenting its theoretical aspect with relevant examples.
The book “Introduction to Research Methodology and Statistics: A
Guide for Students and Supervisors” is organised into ten chapters. Chapter
one focuses on the meaning and nature of research, types of research,
scales of measurement, the procedures and steps for research process,
selecting a research topic as well as problems and ethics of research.
Chapter two gives a detailed explanation on how to document preliminary
pages of a research work. Writing introductory chapter of a research
project as well as testing of a research hypothesis and statistical decisions
on a research hypothesis are all discussed in chapter three. Literature
review, its importance, functions and sources as well as procedures and
suggestions for reporting literature review are discussed in chapter four.
Chapter ve focuses on research methodology, research design, research
variables, population, sampling and sampling techniques,
instrumentation, validity, reporting pilot testing, methods of estimating
reliability as well as procedure for data collection and data analysis.
Process of data presentations, data analyses and discussions are explained
in chapter six while chapter seven focuses on how to write concluding
chapter of a research work. Referencing, places of referencing, citation
vi
styles, subsequent referencing using Latin words and expressions,

bibliographies and appendices are discussed in chapter eight while
chapter nine pays attention to the format of writing a research proposal
and a research project. Finally, chapter ten gives a detailed step-by-step of
data presentation and statistical analyses used in analysing research data.
The chapters of this book are logically arranged in such a way that
the reader will understand the way a research project is carried out both
practically and theoretically. Therefore, this book is a clear and simplied
valuable document for the nal year students and supervisors in the
Colleges of Education, Polytechnics, Universities and most importantly
for postgraduate students.
Muhammad Abdurrahman Sani

Department of Mathematics
Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi
muhammadsaniabdurrahman@ yahoo.com
vii
FOREWORD
This book by Muhammad Abdurrahman Sani with a fascinating title

“Introduction to Research Methodology and Statistics: A Guide for Students and
Supervisors” is a guide for bridging the gaps between students and
supervisors on the dilemmas and apprehensions associated with research
that have mathematical signicance even when the methodological steps
appear easy.
Having read the book carefully, I nd the ten chapters containing the
best practices required in scientic researches, and covers the prospects of
valid outcomes on completion. The writer is also able to present the research
design, collection of data, the step-by-step data presentation and analyses in
a logical order and appropriate style within the text. There is no doubt
therefore, that the general order of the book will reduce the challenges of
conceptual and psychological differences that usually exist between students
and supervisors during research. The book is a gate towards understanding
the basic characteristics of research. It provides a window of improvement
and the satisfaction of conducting researches with minimal biases, to
supervisors and supervises.
As a postgraduate student of mine, the writer is zealous towards
improving discourses in mathematical related researches and methods. The
book is also a useful masterpiece and a prelude towards achieving various
research goals. I therefore strongly recommend the book not only to the nal
year students of tertiary institutions but students of all levels including
lecturers, supervisors and the entire academics.
Dr. Binta Abdulkarim

Department of Science Education
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
February, 2017
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tittle Page i
Acknowledgements iii
Dedication v
Preface vi
Foreword viii
Table of Contents ix
Chapter One:
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH 1
Introduction 1
Meaning and Nature of Research 1
Educational Research 2
Objective/Purpose of Educational Research 2
Characteristics of Research 3
Functions of Research 3
Types of Research 4
Historical Research 4
Descriptive Research 5
Types of Descriptive Research 5
Survey study 5
Scales of Measurement 6
Nominal Scale 6
Ordinal Scale 6
Interval Scale 7
Ratio Scale 7
Case study 7
Developmental study 8
ix
Types of Developmental Study 8

Longitudinal Study 8
Cross-Sectional Study 8
Ex-post Facto or Causal-Comparative Study 9
Correlation study 9
Experimental Research 9
Types of Experimental Research 10
True or Pure Experimental Research 10
Quasi-Experimental Research 12
The Research Process 13
Procedures and Steps for Research Process 14
Selecting a Research Topic 16
Features of a Good Research Topic 16
Things to Consider in Selecting a Research Topic 17
Sources of a Research Topics 17
Problems and Ethics of Research 17
Conclusion 18
Chapter Two:
PRELIMINARY PAGES 19
Introduction 19
Cover Page 19
Tittle Page 20
Declaration Page 21
Certication/Approval Page 21
Dedication Page 22
Acknowledgement(s) Page 23
Table of Contents Pages 24
List of Tables 27
List of Figures 27
List of Appendices 27
Abstract 27
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Characteristics of a Good Abstract 28

Operational Denition of Terms 29
List of Abbreviations and Symbols 30
Conclusion 30
Chapter Three:
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 31
Introduction 31
Background to the Study 31
Statement of the Problem 34
Objectives of the Study 36
Research Questions 36
Techniques for Narrowing a Topic into Research Questions 36
Research Hypothesis 38
Characteristics of a Good Research Hypothesis 38
Functions of a Research Hypothesis 39
Importance of a Research Hypothesis 39
Types of Research Hypothesis 39
Research or Substantive hypothesis 39
Statistical hypothesis 40
Null hypothesis 40
Alternative Hypothesis 40
Testing of a Research Hypothesis 40
Relevant and Related Terms in Testing of a Research Hypothesis 41
Level of Signicance 41
Condence Intervals 41
Degree of Freedom (df) 41
P-value 41
Critical Value or Table Value of a Test Statistic 42
One-Tailed or Directional Test 42
Two-Tailed or Non-Directional Test 42
Steps Involved in Testing of a Research Hypothesis 43
xi
Statistical Decisions on a Research Hypothesis 44

Errors Committed during Statistical Decisions 44
Type I Error 44
Type II Error 44
Signicance of the Study 45
Scope/Delimitation 47
Basic Assumptions 48
Conclusion 48
Chapter Four:
LITERATURE REVIEW 49
Introduction 49
Meaning of Literature Review 49
Nature of Literature Review 50
Approaches to Literature Review 51
Thematic Approach 51
Convergence Approach 51
Functional Approach 51
Chronological Approach 52
Goals of Literature Review 52
Types of Review 53
Self-Study Review 53
Context Review 53
Historical Review 53
Theoretical Review 53
Integrative Review 54
Methodological Review 54
Types of Literature Review 54
Traditional or Narrative Literature Review 54
Systematic Literature Review 55
Types of Systematic Literature Review 55
Meta-Analysis 55
xii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Meta-Synthesis 55
Need for Literature Review 56
Objectives of Literature Review 57
Importance of Literature Review 57
Functions of Literature Review 58
Sources of Literature Review 59
Published Sources 59
Unpublished Sources 61
Procedures for Reporting Literature Review 61
Suggestions for Reporting Literature Review 62
Conclusion 64
Chapter Five:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 65
Introduction 65
Meaning of Research Methodology 65
Research Design 66
Components of a Research Design 66
Characteristics of a Good Research Design 66
Potential Problems in Research Design 67
Functions of a Research Design 67
Operationalisation 67
Research Variables 67
Types of Research Variables 68
Independent Variable 68
Dependent Variable 68
Types of Research Design 68
Population of a Study 70
Sample and Sample Size 71
Sampling and Sampling Techniques 72
Meaning of Sampling 72
Reasons for Sampling 72
xiii
Sampling Terminologies 73
Elements 73
Population 73
Sampling Unit 73
Sampling Frame 73
Sampling Ratio 73
Sampling Error 74
Sampling Techniques 74
Types of Sampling Technique 74
Probability Sampling 74
Simple Random Sampling 74
Systematic Sampling 74
Stratied Random Sampling 75
Cluster or Area Random Sampling 75
Multi-Stage Sampling 76
Non-probability Sampling 76
Accidental or Haphazard Sampling 76
Purposive Sampling 76
Model Instance Sampling 76
Expert Sampling 76
Heterogeneity Sampling 76
Snowball Sampling 77
Quota Sampling 77
Proportional Quota Sampling 77
Non-proportional Quota Sampling 77
Reporting Research Instrumentation 78
Parameters to Consider in Selecting Research Instrument(s) 78
Reporting Validity of Research Instrument(s) 80
Types of Validity 80
Validity of Measurement 80
Types of Validity of Measurement 80
Face Validity 80
xiv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content Validity 80
Criterion-Related Validity 81
Construct Validity 81
Validity of Findings 81
Types of Validity of Findings 81
Internal Validity 81
Threats to Internal Validity 82
External Validity 84
Threats to External Validity 84
Validity Test Blue Print (Table of Specication) 85
Reporting Pilot Testing 87
Reporting Reliability of a Research Instrument(s) 88
Methods of Estimating Reliability 88
Test-Retest Method 88
Split Half Method 88
Equivalent Form Method 89
Kuder-Richardson Method 89
Cronbach Coefcient Alpha (α) 89
Rulon's Method 90
Procedure for Data Collection and Data Analysis 91
Meaning of Data 91
Classication of Data 91
Quantitative Data 91
Qualitative Data 91
Types of Data 91
Time Series Data 91
Cross Section Data 91
Pooled Data 92
Sources of Data 92
Primary Source 92
Secondary Source 92
Procedure for Data Collection 92
xv
Need for Data Collection 93

Methods of Data Collection 93
Standardized Tests Method 93
Objective Test Items 94
Multiple Choice Item Test 94
Alternative Response Item Test 94
Matching Item Test 94
Completion Item Test or Fill in the Blank Test 94
Rank-order Item Test 95
Pictorial Item Test 95
Essay Items Test 95
Restricted Response Essay Item Test 95
Extended Response Essay Item Test 95
Personal Interview Method 95
Direct Observation Method 95
Questionnaire Method 95
Open-Ended Questionnaire 96
Close-Ended Questionnaire 96
Procedure for Data Analysis 96
Functions of Data Analysis 96
Approaches Employed in Data Analysis 97
Parametric Statistical Analysis 97
Considerations for Parametric Statistical Analysis 97
Non-parametric Statistical Analysis 97
Descriptive Statistical Analysis 97
Inferential Statistical Analysis 98
Considerations for Non-parametric Statistical Analysis 98
Conclusion 99
xvi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Six:
PROCESS OF DATA PRESENTATIONS, ANALYSES AND
DISCUSSIONS 101
Introduction 101
Sequential Steps for Data Presentation and Analysis 101
Answering Research Questions 103
Testing Null Hypotheses 105
Summary of Major Findings 107
Discussion of Research Findings 108
Conclusion 109
Chapter Seven:
CONCLUDING CHAPTER 111
Introduction 111
Research Summary 111
Study Implications 113
Study Conclusion 114
Contributions to Knowledge 115
Study Recommendations 116
Limitations of the Study 117
Suggestions for Further Studies 118
Conclusion 118
Chapter Eight:
REFERENCES, BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND APPENDICES 119
Introduction 119
Referencing in Research Work 119
Meaning of Referencing 119
What to Reference 120
When to Reference 120
Importance of Referencing 121
Steps Involved in Referencing 121
xvii
Places of Referencing 122

Within the Text or In-text Citation 122
Reference List or Bibliography or Footnotes 122
Citation Styles/Types of Referencing 122
American Psychological Association (APA style) 123
Modern Language Association (MLA style) 140
Oxford Referencing Style 151
Harvard Referencing Style 161
Kate Turabian Style 176
Subsequent Referencing using Latin Words and Expressions 182
Bibliographies 184
Appendices of a Research Work 185
Conclusion 188
Chapter Nine:
FORMAT OF WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND A
RESEARCH PROJECT 189
Introduction 189
Format of Writing Research Proposal or Research Synopsis 189
Criteria for Evaluating a Research Proposal or Synopsis 191
Research Proposal Timetable 191
Format of Writing a Research Project/Dissertation/Thesis 193
Relationship between Research Proposal and Final Project Report 193
Need for a Research Report 194
Conclusion 197
Chapter Ten:
DATA REPRESENTATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES 199
Introduction 199
Graphical/Diagrammatic Representations of Research Data 199
Types of Graphs 200
Pictogram 200
xviii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Histogram 201
Bar-Chart 202
Simple bar-chart 202
Multiple bar-chart 203
Component bar-chart 203
Pie-Chart 204
Frequency Polygon Line-Graph 206
Cumulative Frequency Curve (Ogive Curve) 207
Relative Frequency 208
The XY Plots-Scatter Diagrams 209
Statistical Analysis of Research Data 210
Measures of Central Tendency 210
The Mean 211
Assumed Mean 212
Geometric Mean 212
Quadratic Mean 212
Harmonic Mean 213
The Median 213
The Mode 213
Measures of Dispersion/Variability 217
Mean Absolute Deviation 217
The Range 218
Semi-Inter-Quartile Range 218
Percentile 219
Variance (S2) and Standard Deviation(S.D.) 219
Measures of Association/Correlation/Relationship 222
Degree of relationship/correlation 222
Positive Linear Correlation 222
Negative Linear Correlation 223
Zero Linear Correlation 223
Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefcient (rho) 224
Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefcient (r) 226
xix
Kendall's Coefcient of Concordance (w) 227

Regression Analysis 229
Parametric and Non-Parametric Statistics 231
T-Test 231
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) 234
Covariance (COCXY) 237
Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) 239
Sign Test (Z-Test) 240
Chi-Square Test 241
Mann-Whitney U-Test 244
Wilcoxon's Matched Pairs Rank Test 247
Kruskal-Wallis Test 249
Friedman's Two-Way ANOVA Test 251
Cochran Q-Test 253
Runs Test of Randomness 255
Conclusion 256
References 257
Index 264
xx
CHAPTER ONE
1
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
Introduction
Starting a research is a challenging venture which is perceptually
over simplied by many researchers. A researcher may have the study
area, know all research techniques and the statistical knowledge for
analysing a research problem but due to inspirations of self-esteem,
researchers spend days, weeks, months and sometimes even years
without completing a research project. Research topics to be chosen are
very much dependent on the ultimate goal and presentation coverage of
the research work. This chapter is presented under the following sub-
headings: meaning and nature of research, objectives/purpose of
research, types of research, research process, sources of topic, choosing a
research topic and ethics of educational research.
Meaning and Nature of Research

The term 'Research' consists of two words: “Re” means again and
again; while “Search” means to nd out something. Therefore, research
means to observe a phenomena again and again from different
dimensions, collect data and draw conclusions on the basis of the data
collected. Abdullahi (2011) denes research as the process of arriving at
dependable solution to problems through a planned and systematic
collection, analysis and interpretation of data. In other words, research is a
1
logical way of nding solution to an identied problem. Therefore,

research may be considered as an organised, systematic, data based,
critical, objective, scientic inquiry or investigation into a specic
problem, undertaken with the purpose of nding answers or solutions to
it. It can also be refers to as the manner in which we solve knotty problems
in an attempt to advance the frontiers of human knowledge in terms of
unresolved issues and controversial matters.
Educational Research: Entails a systematic and careful approach

employed in providing answers to educational problems by the process of
logical operations. Educational research in Nigeria has helped in nding
solutions to the multi-various educational issues, the problems pervading
teaching and learning ranging from educational objectives, curriculum
planning, methodologies, administrative and evaluative practices as well
as the relevance of educational products (Abdullahi, 2011).
Objective/Purpose of Educational Research

When one commits his time, money and energy into a research work, an
onlooker may ask why? The basic needs for conducting researches have
been outlined by Abdullahi (2011) as follows:
i. To push backwards the frontiers of ignorance on educational
issues.
ii. To break new grounds and broaden human knowledge on
specic areas of human endeavour.
iii. To attempt at solving prevalent educational problems as they
affect our education.
iv. To proffer ways of bringing to focus areas of deciencies of a
given educational problem.
v. To complement the efforts of government and policy makers in
their efforts to make reliable policies.
2
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
vi. To act as a guide for educational innovations on policy and other

matters.
vii. To form a base line for education services.
viii. To seek ways of giving empirical support for the improvement of
educational programmes and policies.
Characteristics of Research
The general characteristics of a research are gathered from the denitions
of research as outlined by Yogesh (2006), these include:
i. It gathers new knowledge or data from primary rsthand source.
ii. It places emphases upon the discovery of general principles.
iii. It is an exact, systematic and accurate investigation.
iv. It uses certain valid data gathering devices.
v. It is logical and objective.
vi. It endeavours to organise data in quantitative terms.
vii. Research is a patient and an unhurried activity.
viii. Research is carefully recorded and reported.
ix. Conclusions and generalisations are arrived at carefully and
cautiously.
Functions of Research
Yogesh (2006) posits that the main functions of research are to:
i. Improve making decision concerning the renement or extension
of the existing knowledge. The renement of the existing
knowledge or the acquisition of new knowledge is essentially an
intermediate step towards the improvement of the social process.
ii. Improve students' learning by developing more effective
techniques for teaching.
iii. Aid social administrators to improve social systems.
3
Types of Research
In actual practice, research is conducted at different levels and for different
purposes. The level at which a person operates in the eld depends on the
objectives he/she intends to accomplish. Generally, the following gure
classies research based on its roles:
Types of Research
Historical Descriptive Experimental
True or Pure Quasi-

Experimental Experimental
Survey Case Study Developmental Correlation
Longitudinal Cross-Sectional Ex-post Facto or

Causal-Comparative Study
Fig. 1.1
Historical Research
It is a systematic research process that deals with the determination,
evaluation and explanation of past events, essentially for the purpose of
giving a better and clearer understanding of the present and making
prediction of the future (Abdullahi, 2011). Historical research discusses on
“what was” and it is aimed at predicting the future based on the past or
4
from the analysis of present. Historical research has the following

characteristics:
· Determination of past events
· Evaluation of past events
· Examination of past events
· Understanding the present
· Predicting the future
Descriptive Research
It is a systematic research process that is concerned with the
collection of relevant data for the purpose of describing and interpreting
existing conditions, prevailing practices, opinions, beliefs, attitudes etc.
(Abdullahi, 2011). Descriptive research is concerned with “what is” and it
generally focuses on a given population in an attempt to explain the issues
that lead to educational problems identied for such population. The use
of descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, variance,
percentages is paramount in descriptive research. They make description
of the information obtained more concrete.
Types of Descriptive Research

The following are the types of descriptive research:
i. Survey Study
ii. Case Study
iii. Developmental Study
iv. Correlation Study
Survey Study
Survey means to take a general view of something or somewhere
and critically examine its general conditions. Survey research is a
technique where the desired characteristics of a given population is
5
systematically examined (Abdullahi, 2011). For an instrument to give

general view of the population, survey research involves a large number of
what is the sample unit. The emphasis in survey research is the entire
population, therefore a good sampling technique must be used in order to
select a sample. Generally, a large representative sample which should be
unbiased must be obtained. Such sample should consist of the sample
characteristics in such a way that any description of such a sample will be a
description of the entire population. This type of research deals with data
that are essentially quantitative. They are quantitative in the sense that
they can be measured. Such measurement can fall into any of the following
classes or scales.
i. Nominal Scale: This is a level of measurement that classies objects
using numbers or symbols e.g. Yes or No, boys or girls, level of
students in a department, car plate numbers etc. The only
arithmetical operation possible with nominal data is counting. This
means that ranking, addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division are not possible in a nominal scale. The appropriate
measure of central tendency of a nominal scale is mode while the
2
permissible statistics are chi-square (x ) frequency distribution,
percentages and contingency coefcients of correlation.
ii. Ordinal Scale: This scale expresses the measurement in relation to
the order according to the stated criteria e.g. class of degree: rst
class upper, second class lower, third class, pass etc. The
arithmetical operations possible with data generated at the ordinal
scale level are counting and ranking (showing greater than or less
than). Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are
therefore not possible in an ordinal scale. The appropriate measure
of central tendency of an ordinal scale are median and mode while
the permissible statistics are percentile, non-parametric statistics
like Spearman's rank order correlation, Kendal Tau etc.
6
iii. Interval Scale: Observations are said to be measured in interval

scale when the distance between any two measurements is
constant. The observations here are numerical in nature like;
temperature scale such as Celsius and Fahrenheit. The arithmetical
operations possible with data generated at the interval scale level
are counting, ranking, addition and subtraction (i.e. multiplication
and division are not possible in an interval scale). The appropriate
measure of central tendency of an interval scale are mean, median
and mode. The permissible statistics include all those allowed in
both nominal and ordinal scales, correlation, regression, ANOVA
etc.
iv. Ratio Scale: Observations are said to be measured in ratio scale
when the distance between any two measurements has a constant
interval size and a true zero point e.g. height and weight of
students, number of leaves on a mango tree etc. The arithmetical
operations possible with data generated at the ratio scale level are
counting, ranking, addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division. Ratio measurements can be statistically analysed in many
ways. According to Emmanuel (2013) ratio scale is the most
powerful scale in research because it can be used in all statistical
data analyses.
Case Study
Case study is a detailed observation of individuals, groups,
institutions or a community where they are usually limited in their
operations for the purpose of understanding what goes on in each section
identied (Abdullahi, 2011). In a case study, there is no need for the use of
sampling technique or representatives in selecting the samples. Samples
are purposively drawn from the population (and can likely be bias). They
are selected because they are of interest to a given situation. The case study
cannot be used to make generalisations, but just to describe the state of
affairs in that population.
7
Developmental Study
Developmental study attempts to nd out patterns of growth,
development or change as a function of time (Abdullahi, 2011). Most
educational issues deal with growth or progress that may be of interest to
educational researcher. Such problems attract developmental research as
they deal with problems that may still exist in a given population.
Types of Developmental Study

The following are the types of developmental research:
i. Longitudinal Study
ii. Cross-Sectional Study
iii. Ex-post Facto or Causal-Comparative Study
Longitudinal Study
This is a type of study that takes a fairly long period of time to
complete. In nding out appropriate teaching method, the use of
longitudinal developmental studies is the best because it takes longer
period. For example, if the researcher is interested in nding the
relationship between students' performance in mathematics and physics
at senior secondary school level in longitudinal study, the researcher is
expected to examine the relationship between the two subjects from the
students at SS1 level, then follow the students to SS2 level and also
examine the relationship and nally follow the same set of students to SS3
level making the study to be for a period of three years.
Cross-Sectional Study
This type of research follows the same pattern of longitudinal study
but with a shorter period of time. For example using SS1, SS2 and SS3 at the
same time to do the research thereby completing the research within one
year.
8
Ex-post Facto or Causal-Comparative Study

This is very similar to the longitudinal study in the sense that it
seeks to establish cause-effect relationships but differs from it in such a
way that the researcher cannot manipulate the variables. This type of
study is also called “after the facts” i.e. the researcher can only study what
has occurred. In other words, data is collected after the event has taken
place that is why it is called ex-post facto. Therefore, in this type of study,
the researcher deals with non-manipulable independent variables like sex,
location, socio-economic status among others. For example if the
researcher is interested in studying the effect of use of alcohol on drivers
and road accidents, here the researcher cannot manipulate the use of
alcohol by drivers i.e. the researcher cannot ask the driver to drink and
then crash the car, rather the researcher will look at the previous road
accidents that have occurred.
Correlation Study
Correlation study is designed to compare two or more variables.
The design is to compare characteristics of given population. Correlation
study is to measure the degree of relationship between two or more
variables for the purpose of describing or comparing such variables
(Abdullahi, 2011). The researcher's interest here is to determine levels of
relationship or similarities between two or more variables but the
relationship is non casual i.e. even though the two or more variables are
related, that does not mean that one causes or affects the other.
Experimental Research
This attempts to determine causes and effects of relationship i.e.
whether one factor causes a change in another by manipulating some
variables and observing what effects they will have on the other variable.
In experimental research, the researcher manipulates at least one of the
variables in an attempt to determine the effects on the others. It is the only
direct way to measure cause-effect relationships among variables. Gay
9
(1992) asserts that experimental research is the only type of research that
can truly test hypothesis concerning cause and effect relationship. This
type of research is similar to the methods practiced in research laboratories
for pure and applied sciences and psychology. The major difference
between educational research and other scientic research is the nature of
the phenomena studied. Experimental research generally requires certain
conditions or criteria to be met. These conditions or criteria according to
Emmanuel (2013) are:
· There should be at least two groups called the treatment group and
control group.
· There should be at least one independent variable and one
dependent variable.
· There should be random selection and random assignment of the
sample to the treatment group and control group.
Types of Experimental Research

The following are the types of experimental research:
i. True or Pure Experimental Research
ii. Quasi Experimental Research
True or Pure Experimental Research

In true experimental research, groups participating in the
experiment are randomly selected and assigned. Kolo (2003) asserts that
true experimental designs always include random assignment of subjects
to conditions, manipulations of independent variables and comparison
between and among groups. When selecting and assigning the group, no
bias or subjectivity should be introduced. This should be done objectively.
Four common forms of true experimental research design with their
conceptual models are outlined below:
Ÿ Posttest only control group design

R X 0 1 (Treatment group)
R 0 2 (Control group)
10
Where R= Random assignment of subjects into both groups

X= Treatment administered to experimental group
0 1 and 0 2 = Posttest administered to both groups
Note that, the appropriate statistical analyses of this design are t-est
for the difference between the groups (01 and 0 2 ) and analysis of
variance (ANOVA) when the groups are more than two.
Ÿ Pretest-posttest only control group design

R 01 X 0 2 (Treatment group)
R 03 0 4 (Control group)
Where R= Random assignment of subjects into both groups
0 1 and 0 3 = Pretest administered to both groups
0 2 and 0 4 = Posttest administered to both groups
Note that, the appropriate statistical analyses of this design are also
t-test to test the signicant difference between scores of groups
(0 2 - 01, 04 - 03 and 02- 04) and simple analysis of variance (ANOVA).
· Solomon four group design

This design is the combination of pretest-posttest group design and
posttest only group design.
Group 1 R 01 X 02 (Treatment group)
Group 2 R 03 04 (Control group)
Group 3 R X 05 (Treatment group)
Group 4 R 06 (Control group)
Where R= Random assignment of subjects into groups
0 1 and 0 3 = Pretest administered to the rst two groups
02 , 04 , 0 5 and 06 = Posttest administered to all the four
groups
11
Note that, statistical analyses of this design are also t-test and one-
way ANOVA. The effects of the pretest can be analysed using t-test
to the means of (04 and 0 6 ), so also effects of the treatment can be
analysed by applying t-test to the means of (0 and 0 ); while one-
5 6
way ANOVA can be used to test the differences in the four posttest
mean scores (0 , 0 , 0 and 0 ).
2 4 5 6
· Factorial design
R X 11 0
R X 12 0
R X 21 0
R X 22 0
Where R= Random assignment of subjects into groups
X11, 12, 21, 22 = X are the treatment groups, while the subscripts
(i.e. 11, 12, 21 and 22) are the level of each factor
0 = Observation of the dependent variable
Quasi-Experimental Research
The word “quasi” means “almost”. Therefore, quasi experimental
research is just like experimental research but participant shere are not
randomly selected or assigned. According to Emmanuel (2013), most
educational researches use quasi experimental design, because a research
must be conducted on real students in real schools without disrupting the
educational process. There are four common quasi-experimental research
design as listed below:
Ÿ Non-equivalent group pretest-posttest design
Ÿ Non-equivalent group posttest only design
Ÿ Non-equivalent group pretest-posttest design and
non-equivalent group posttest only design
Ÿ Time series design
12
The Research Process

Wortman, Loffus and Weaver (1999) see research as like a detective
work, it begins with puzzling questions, proceeds to tentative conclusions
and involves imaginative suppositions, logical reasoning and carefully
conducted tests. Research process is a scientic process (i.e. systematic,
empirical and objective) that describes the process of carrying out a
research in a logically connected manner. From the point the researcher
came across a problem that require investigation, the researcher must
design appropriate procedures and steps of the investigation. These set of
procedures and steps are called research process. According to Creswell
(2012), the research process can be summarised through qualitative and
quantitative research using the gure below:
Research Process
Research Problem
Literature Review
Research Questions
Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
Research Designs
Quantitative Designs Combined Designs Qualitative Designs

· Experimental · Mixed Methods · Grounded Theory
· Correlational · Action Research · Ethnography
· Survey · Narrative
Sampling Instruments/Protocols Data Analysis Interpretation
Discussion, Conclusions, Limitations, Future Research
13
Procedures and Steps for Research Process

In research, you must design and follow step-by-step processes that
are logically inter connected. Though every institution has its own specic
design, generally such designs follow the following pattern with some
minor variations from institution to institution (Olaofe, 2010):
i. Identication of Research Problem: The rst thing the researcher
should do is to identify, select and dene the problem. This means
that the researcher should identify the variables embedded in the
topic and clearly describe all variables related aspects in detail.
ii. Review of Related Literature: The review of related literature

means that the researcher has to identify, select, read, evaluate and
document all related sources of information. The literature review
will give the researcher a clearer view of what has already been
done by others and what needs to be done.
iii. Formulation of Research Questions and Hypotheses: Research

questions are questions the researcher asks on the nature of the
variable or their relationship. Hypotheses are expected to answer
the questions. They are very important because they give focus and
structure to collection, analysis and interpretation of the data.
iv. Research Design: This is very critical in research. The research

design is the blue-print of a research i.e. a description of the research
plan.
v. Dene Population and Select a Sample: Population refers to the

total number or the entire persons, objects, subjects, events or
whatever the researcher wants to investigate. Selecting a sample
depends on an appropriate sampling technique. Sampling is the
process of selecting elements from the population in such a way
that the sample elements selected represent the population. The
choice of population and the sampling procedures must always be
14
fully justied to be convincing. The most common error is for

researchers to be sampling from unknown population. You can
only sample from a known population represented by a number.
vi. Develop Data Collection Instrument: Instrumentation involves

careful selection of adequate and appropriate tool(s) to be
administered in order to collect relevant data concerning the study.
Some instruments that can be used in a research include
questionnaires, tests, observations, audio and video recordings of
utterances, responses and reactions, conferencing and e-
conferencing clips, interviews, documentary and archival
evidences, specimen, and focus group discussions among others.
The constructed instrument has to be validated by experts and the
reliability coefcient of the instrument must be found in order to see
whether the instrument is reliable or not by the use of pilot study.
The reliability of the instrument can be known through the use of
Test-retest method, Split-half method, Cronbach-Alpha method
among others.
vii. Procedure for Data Collection: The researcher is required to give a

step-by-step account of the procedure to be used or already used for
data collection. If for instance the researcher is using survey
questionnaire, he/she must take note of how and when the
questionnaire was administered. The researcher is also required to
report how the data collection procedure conforms to best ethical
standards.
viii. Data Analysis and Interpretation: Data analysis means using

appropriate statistical tool(s) to analysed the data and make
meaning out of it. Data interpretation is the process of putting your
own meaning into the data you have collected and analysed.
15
ix. Reporting the Main Finding(s) in Form of Project: This entails

reporting the nding of the research work(s) which should be
nally submitted to the institution after being certied by the
project supervisor(s) and the members of the defense team.
Selecting a Research Topic

The researcher needs to rst of all identify a problem and then
frame a topic. This means that there must be a problem to warrant a
research, hence the framing of the research topic. A research topic is a brief
statement of one or two sentences that describe the research problem that
the researcher intends to investigate.
Features of a Good Research Topic

A good research topic must contain the following features:
i. At least two variables (one independent: cause and one dependent:
outcome, result, effect).
ii. The level (e.g. JSS, SS, ND, NCE, HND, Degree, PG etc.).
iii. The location (e.g. Zuru LGA; Kebbi State, Nigeria etc.).
Example of a Research Topic

Effect of Guided Discovery Strategy on Students'
Performance in Some Selected Senior Secondary
Schools Difficult Mathematics Concepts in Kebbi
State, Nigeria.
Analysis of the above example

Independent variable: Guided Discovery Strategy
Dependent variable: Students' Performance
Level: Senior Secondary Schools
Location: Kebbi State, Nigeria
16
Things to Consider in Selecting a Research Topic

The following are to be considered when a researcher is interested in
selecting a topic:
i. Interest: The researcher should select a topic in which he has
genuine interest. This means that a researcher can undertake a
research possibly because he/she is interested in nding out
something or solving a problem of high interest.
ii. Originality: When the problem raised in the research topic is
original, then at the end of the research, it is expected to generate
knowledge no matter how little the contribution will be.
iii. Researchability: The research topic must be researchable. That is,
data can be collected. Sometimes difculties are encountered
because topics may contain variables that cannot be measured or
deal with sensitive issues which respondents cannot cooperate.
iv. Feasibility: How possible will the researcher carry out the research
in terms of time, money, reference materials and expertise.
Sources of a Research Topic

The sources of a research topic include the following:
i. Academic Books
ii. Scholarly Journals
iii. Personal Experience
iv. Current Affairs
v. Previous Research
vi. Project Supervisor
Problems and Ethics of Research

Emmanuel (2013) denes ethics as a moral principle or a code of
conduct which governs what people do. It is concerned with the way
people act or behave. This means that ethics in educational research is the
moral distinction between right and wrong in educational process. He
17
emphasises that in educational research, it is important to follow the best

ethical standards especially as it relates to the subjects used to collect data.
Some of the expected code of ethical behaviour that are widely accepted
among researchers according to Emmanuel (2013) are:
i. Voluntary Participation: Prospective participants of a research study
must be informed in advance that their participation in the study is
voluntary and that they have the right to withdraw from the study at
any time without any unfavourable consequences.
ii. Informed Consent: Prospective participants of a research study must
be informed in advance of nature of the study, the duration and their
level of involvement. It is on the basis of this information that the
participants then willingly give their consent to participate. That is
why you need to obtain an ofcial introduction letter from your
department or institution.
iii. Risk of Harm: Prospective participants of a research study must be
assured that their participation or non-participation (for those who
opt not to participate) will not in any way harm them.
iv. Condentiality: Prospective participants of a research study must be
assured of the condentiality of their responses.
v. Anonymity: Prospective participants of a research study must be
assured that their responses will be treated as anonymous. That is to
mean that the researcher or readers of the nal research project, thesis
or dissertation cannot identify a given response with a specic
respondent.
Conclusion
This chapter has focused on some challenges that many researchers
tend to take lightly in carrying out a research study. It discussed the
meaning and nature of research, types of research, procedures and steps
for research process, how to choose and what to consider in choosing a
research topic, the sources of a research topic and the problems/ethics of
research.
18
CHAPTER T WO
2
PRELIMINARY PAGES
Introduction
Preliminary pages are the pages that normally come before chapter
one of a research project and the page numbers are usually written in
Roman Numbers. The preliminary pages start with the cover page and end
with list of abbreviations and symbols; also all the sub-headings in the
preliminary pages are capitalised, bolded, centralised and each sub-
heading takes a single page. The title of a research topic in most institutions
is limited to not more than 20 words. Each of the components of the
preliminary pages is briey explained with an example under the
following headings:
Cover Page
A cover page is the front page which contains information such as
title of the project, name and admission number of the researcher, name of
the department, faculty and the institution of the researcher, as well as
month and year in which the project is concluded and approved.
Example
EFFECT OF GUIDED DISCOVERY STRATEGY ON STUDENTS'

PERFORMANCE IN SOME SELECTED DIFFICULT MATHEMATICS
CONCEPTS IN KEBBI STATE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, NIGERIA
19
By
Abdurrahman MUHAMMAD SANI

B.Sc Ed. Mathematics (UDUS,2010)
M.Ed/Educ/12508/2011-2012
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA
NIGERIA.
DECEMBER, 2015
Title Page
This is the rst page immediately after the cover page which
contains all the information that is in the cover page, as well as the
certication in view.
Example
EFFECT OF GUIDED DISCOVERY STRATEGY ON STUDENTS'
PERFORMANCE IN SOME SELECTED DIFFICULT MATHEMATICS
CONCEPTS IN KEBBI STATE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, NIGERIA
By
Abdurrahman MUHAMMAD SANI

B.Sc Ed. Mathematics (UDUS,2010)
M.Ed/Educ/12508/2011-2012
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF

POST GRADUATE STUDIES AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD
OF MASTER DEGREE IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
20
CHAPTER 2: PRELIMINARY PAGES
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA
NIGERIA
DECEMBER, 2015
Declaration Page
This is the page in which the researcher states the topic of the project
and afrms that the work has been done by him/her under the supervision
of the researchers' supervisor(s). The name and signature of the researcher
as well as date are required on this page.
Example
I declare that this dissertation titled ''EFFECT OF GUIDED
DISCOVERY STRATEGY ON STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE IN SOME
SELECTED DIFFICULT MATHEMATICS CONCEPTS IN KEBBI STATE
SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, NIGERIA'' is the outcome of my
research work and has been written by me in the Department of
Science Education under the supervision of Dr. M. Musa and Dr. M.
O. Ibrahim. The information derived from the literature has been
duly acknowledged in the text and a list of references provided. No
part of this dissertation was previously been presented for another
degree or diploma at this or any other Institution.
Abdurrahman MUHAMMAD SANI Date
Certi cation/Approval Page

This is the page where the researcher's supervisor(s) certify that the
topic and the entire work met the requirement for the certication in view.
The names of the supervisor(s) with their corresponding signature and
date are indicated.
21
Example
This dissertation titled “EFFECT OF GUIDED DISCOVERY STRATEGY

ON STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE IN SOME SELECTED DIFFICULT
MATHEMATICS CONCEPTS IN KEBBI STATE SENIOR SECONDARY
SCHOOLS, NIGERIA ”by Abdurrahman MUHAMMAD SANI with
admission number MEd/Educ/12508/2011-2012 meets the
regulations governing the award of the degree of Masters in
Mathematics Education of Ahmadu Bello University and is
approved for its contribution to knowledge and literary
presentation.
Dr. M. Musa Date

Chairman, Supervisory Committee
Dr. M. O. Ibrahim Date

Member, Supervisory Committee
Dr. M. Musa Date

Head of Department
Prof. K. Bala Date

Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies
Dedication Page
This is the page where the researcher indicates to whom the work is
dedicated. A research project is often dedicated to either God or some
beloved persons.
22
Example
This research work is dedicated to my beloved family and friends

for the unlimited support and encouragement given to me
throughout my period of study. I am therefore highly indebted to
them and praying that Almighty God gives me the strength and
opportunity to pay them back in manifolds.
Acknowledgement(s) Page
This is the page where the researcher expresses his/her gratitude to
all those who have positively contributed to the success of the work in one
way or the other. They are usually the: supervisors, family members,
classmates, friends/colleagues, lecturers, organisations etc.
Example
It becomes necessary for me to start by expressing my sincere

gratitude to Almighty God for His in nite mercy, kindness and
protection. Peace and blessing be upon his beloved Prophet
Muhammad (SAW), his household and his companions.
My profound gratitude goes to my project supervisors Dr.
M. Musa and Dr. M. O. Ibrahim for their supervision and for always
being available to the nal draft of this project. I am also very
grateful to committee members, Prof. Y. K. Kajuru, Prof. I. A. Usman
and Dr. B. Abdulkarim for their valuable insight, assistance and
standards of excellence.
My deep appreciation goes to my parents, wife, children,
brothers, sisters, friends and well-wishers for their tireless support,
understanding and cooperation morally and nancially. I thank
you all for your support.
23
Table of Contents Pages

This is the page where the researcher lists all the main headings and
sub-headings of each chapter according to their respective pages. The
main aim of table of contents is to give a general overview of all the pages
in the project and facilitate quick location of any chapter, heading or sub-
heading.
Example
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certi cation iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
List of Appendices xi
Abstract xii
Operational De nition of Terms xiii
Abbreviations and Symbols xiv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study 5
1.4 Research Questions 5
1.5 Research Hypotheses 6
1.6 Signi cance of the Study 6
1.7 Scope/Delimitation of the Study 8
1.8 Basic Assumptions 8
24
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction 9
2.2 Theoretical Framework 9
2.3 Nature of Teaching Mathematics at Senior
Secondary School Level 13
2.3.1 Lecture Method 14
2.3.2 Expository Method 15
2.3.3 Cooperative Learning Strategy 18
2.3.4 Guided Discovery Strategy 19
2.3.5 Problem Solving Strategy 23
2.3.6 Guided Inquiry Strategy 25
2.4 Teaching Approaches and Academic
Performance in Mathematics 26
2.5 Difficult Mathematical Concepts in
Senior Secondary Schools Curriculum 30
2.6 Gender and Academic Performance
in Mathematics among Senior Secondary
School Students 31
2.7 Overview of Related Studies 33
2.8 Implication of Literature Reviewed
on the Present Study 39
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction 41
3.2 Research Design 41
3.3 Population of the Study 42
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques 43
3.5 Instrumentations 44
3.5.1 Mathematics Performance Test 1 (MPT1) 44
3.5.2 Mathematics Performance Test 2 (MPT2) 45
25
3.6 Validity of the Research Instruments 45

3.7 Pilot Testing 46
3.8 Reliability of the Instruments 47
3.9 Administration of Treatments 47
3.10 Procedure for Data Collection 48
3.11 Procedure for Data Analysis 48
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATIONS, ANALYSES AND

DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Introduction 49
4.2 Data Presentation 49
4.3 Hypotheses Testing 52
4.4 Summary of the Findings 58
4.5 Discussion 59
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction 64
5.2 Summary 64
5.3 Summary of Major Findings 65
5.4 Conclusion 66
5.5 Recommendations 67
5.6 Implications of the Study 67
5.7 Contributions to Knowledge 69
5.8 Limitations of the Study 69
5.7 Suggestions for Further Studies 70
REFERENCES 71
APPENDICES 78
26
Note that, this arrangement may not be applicable to all situations and at
all times. Please it is advisable that you adhere to the format being used in
your institution.
List of Tables
This page contains the serial numbering and list of all tables in the
main body of a research work. Every table is identied and numbered
according to the chapters in which they appeared e.g. Table 4.6 (meaning
the sixth table in chapter four) etc.
List of Figures
This page contains the serial numbering and list of all gures in the
main body of a project. Every gure is identied and numbered according
to the chapters in which they appeared e.g. Figure 3.1 (meaning the rst
gure in chapter three) etc.
List of Appendices
This page contains all materials that are too heavy or bulky (such as;
research instruments, actual raw data collected, tables that are beyond one
page etc.) to be placed in the body of the research work. All appendices
should be serially, properly and consistently numbered using notations
such as A, B, C, D or I, II, III, IV or any other acceptable numerical format.
The appendices are usually referred to in the body of the work by a phrase
like, see Appendix A or B, I or II or III and so on.
Abstract
An abstract is a brief and concise summary of the entire study. It is
normally a paragraph usually presented in single line spacing not more
than 250 words for a seminar paper, conference paper or a journal article;
and also not more than 500 words for a research project. For an abstract to
be enriched, it must contain the following:
27
i. The title of the study.

ii. Research design for the study.
iii. Population, sampling and sampling technique.
iv. Research instruments and data gathering procedures.
v. Procedures for data analysis.
vi. Overall ndings in about two to three sentences.
vii.Recommendations in one or two sentences.
Characteristics of a Good Abstract

Yogesh (2006) posits that a good abstract has the following characteristics:
i. It is an economical device that communicates the contributions
of a research work.
ii. A good abstract is written in simple and clear language.
iii. An abstract disseminates the new knowledge in eld studied.
iv. It avoids the repetition of research studies.
v. It helps the researcher to review related study in an economical
way from time, money and energy point of view.
vi. A good abstract provides the basis for preparing research papers.
vii. It is the medium and method to popularise research ontributions.
Example
This study investigated the effect of Guided Discovery Strategy
(GDS) on students' performance in some difficult senior secondary
school mathematical concepts in Kebbi State. Three null
hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A pre-test post-
test quasi experimental design was adopted. From a target
population of 228 public Senior Secondary Schools with 69,573
students (48,958 males and 20,615 females) random and
purposive sampling techniques were used to select the schools
and the class of the students respectively. 96 students were
selected for the study in accordance with Central Limit Theorem
28
that regarded a minimum of 30 sample size appropriate for

experimental research. Mathematics Performance Test 1 (MPT1)
and Mathematics Performance Test 2 (MPT2) were the instruments
used in collecting data as Pretest and Post-test respectively. A
Spearman-Brown property coefficient of r = 0.71 was found. The
data were analysed using frequency distribution, mean, standard
deviation, t-test and chi-square at 5 level of signi cance. Results
indicated that students taught using Guided Discovery Strategy
performed better than those exposed to expository method. This
signi es that guided discovery instruction was relatively more
effective in facilitating students' performance in difficult
mathematics concepts than the expository method. The result
also revealed a signi cant difference between the performance of
male and female students exposed to both instructional methods.
The study recommends among others that Mathematics teachers
should endeavor to use Guided Discovery Strategy where some
concepts appeared difficult for students to comprehend.
Operational De nition of Terms

Words that may be too complex to understand or expressions that
are used in the study in the way that is different from the ordinary usage
must be dened. The reason behind the denition of some words or
expressions is to reduce abstract terminologies to concrete tangible
parameters. If this is not done, the reader may be confused and the ow or
trend of argument of the investigator may be completely blurred.
Example
Guided Discovery Strategy (GDS): Is a method that can enable
learners to construct valid knowledge and also enable them to
transmit it in different contexts or at least interpret it based on
their perceptions of experiences.
Expository Method: Is a process whereby teachers provide facts,

ideas, and other essential information to learners.
29
List of Abbreviations and Symbols

This contains the listing of all the abbreviations used in the main
body of the project and their full meanings. All abbreviations used within
the body of the work must rst of all be written in full and subsequently be
abbreviated. All abbreviations must be fully spelt out immediately after
denitions of operational terms.
Example
MPT1 - Mathematics Performance Test 1
MPT2 - Mathematics Performance Test 2
EG - Experimental Group
CG - Control Group
O1 - Pretest
O2 - Posttest
X1 - Treatment using Guided Discover y
Strategy
X2 - Treatment using Expository Method
GDS - Guided Discovery Strategy
A.F.D.S.S - Abdullahi Fodiyo Day Sec. School
G. S. S. - Government Secondary School Jega
W.U.F.P. - Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic
etc. - et cetera/and so on
e.g. - example
& - and
Conclusion
Preliminary pages do not form the main body of the research work
but rather, they normally come before chapter one of a research project and
the page numbers are usually written in Roman Numbers. The
preliminary pages start with the cover page and end with list of
abbreviations and symbols; they are considered to be a guide for the
readers. A well written abstract usually motivates reader to want to read
the work further. The chapter has described (with relevant examples)how
to write each component of the preliminary pages.
30
CHAPTER THREE
3
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
Introduction
The introductory chapter is the bedrock to the research
project/dissertation/thesis upon which the remaining chapters are built.
Emmanuel (2013) posits that introductory chapter of any project gives the
direction of where the project is going and it indicates the expected end of
the project. It begins with a broad introduction of the topic, a careful
analysis of the background to the topic and an exposition of what might
have been previously done on the topic by other researchers. It contains
background to the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study,
research questions and hypotheses, signicance of the study,
scope/delimitation of the study. Each of the components of the
introductory chapter is briey discussed below with an example.
Background to the Study

Background to research project is to lead the reader to observe why
the researcher is interested in the chosen topic. This section introduces the
readers to the background issues surrounding the topic. It begins with a
broad introduction of the topic, a careful analysis of the background to the
topic and an exposition of what might have been previously done on the
topic by other researchers.
31
Example
Secondary education is an important sub-sector of the entire
education system. On one hand, it provides lower level workers for
the economy of a country and, on the other; it acts as a feeder for
higher levels of education. The quality of higher education, which
is expected to produce high quality professionals in different elds
of social, economic, and political lives of a country, depends upon
the quality of secondary education. Education at secondary
school level is also the bedrock and the foundation towards higher
knowledge in tertiary institutions. It is an investment as well as an
instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic,
social, political, technological, scienti c and cultural development
in a country. The National Policy on Education (FME, 2013)
stipulates that secondary education is an instrument for national
development that fosters the worth and development of
individual for further education and development, general
development of the society and equality of educational
opportunities to all Nigerian children, irrespective of any real or
marginal disabilities.
Mathematics serves in many science-related disciplines,
this relationship is explained by Herbert (1978) who views
Mathematics as the “Queen and Servant” of all sciences. The
importance of mathematical knowledge in understanding
engineering and technical education cannot be over emphasised.
It is common knowledge that Mathematics and Science are two of
the major requirements for admission into Engineering and
Technical Education programmes (Herbert, 1978). The classroom
practitioners, notably the professional teachers of science and
even non-science teachers believe that no student can progress in
science and technology without a basic knowledge of
Mathematics.
Guided Discovery Strategy is a method that can enable all
the learners to construct valid knowledge and also enable them to
transmit it in different contexts. Learning in the Guided Discovery
32
CHAPTER 3: INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
Strategy framework contributes to intellectual, social and

psychological developments of learners unlike other methods of
instruction. Guided Discovery Strategy in Mathematics believes
that learners can construct knowledge by active participation
rather than acquiring knowledge by watching teachers'
demonstration in the classroom and, to learn to speak and act
mathematically participating in mathematical discussion and
solving new or unfamiliar problems (Richards, 2006). Winter,
Lemons, Bookman & Hoese (2006) indicate that although students
gain meaningful learning when presented with a material in a
Guided Discovery format, speci cally in regulating their own
learning process. That is, the students are required to plan and
monitor their activities at a more sophisticated level than required
for the more traditional expository approach. In essence, students
may need better meta-cognitive skills in order to gain the desired
outcomes from a lesson designed with the Guided Discovery
Strategy. However, those who embrace a Guided Discovery
Strategy view of learning believe that a child doesn't need rote
memorisation to learn mathematical skills. If children are given
time and the proper guidance, then they will be able to formulate
the answer on their own. Students will be able to come up with
ideas on how to solve problems by themselves or with groups with
guidance instead of pre-teaching from the teacher. Guided
Discovery Strategy builds on the student's existing knowledge
base, extends the individuals repertoire of cognitive and meta-
cognitive strategies, and corrects speci c learning problems
(Gales & Yan, 2008). Much of the current researches dedicated to
the development of teaching techniques and learning strategies
suggest employment of Guided Discovery Strategy to promote
meaningful learning and student success (Jungst, Licklider &
Wiersema, 2007). The advantage of Guided Discovery Strategy in
Mathematics is that it allows students to develop critical thinking
skills.
Expository method attempts to present information to
33
learners in a form they can easily access and understand.

Expository methods include demonstrating, lecturing, explaining,
narrating, requiring students to read a textbook or manual,
showing students an instructional video, or asking students to
work through a computer program presenting information. In
expository approach, it is assumed that learners will process new
information thoughtfully, and that it will link the information in an
organized manner with their prior knowledge. Ormrod (2005)
remarks; perhaps the major advantage of expository instruction is
that of enabling students to explore a topic in an organized and
relatively time efficient manner. Expository pedagogy in
Mathematics believes that the teacher will have a rm grasp of the
subject and an organized approach to revealing it in a logical
sequence for students, and will encourage questioning and
stimulate discussion. The value of constructing one's knowledge
has become more evident as instructional strategies move away
from rote memorization and to actively engaging students in the
learning process (Ormrod, 2008). In line with this background, the
study therefore investigates the effect of Guided Discovery
Strategy on students' performance in some selected difficult
mathematics concepts in Kebbi state senior secondary schools,
Nigeria.
Statement of the Problem

A statement of the problem is a short description of an issue that
need to be addressed by a researcher which should be created or presented
to the researcher before trying to solve the problem. It may be a categorical
statement about what one is looking for in the study which can be derived
from the background to the study. Casteller and Heisler (1982) dene the
statement of the problem as what the investigator proposed to do.
According to them it claries, outlines, limits and brings into being a
district image of the problem to be investigated. This is an area of conict,
concern, or controversy (a gap between what the researcher wanted and
observed) which must include the most relevant reference that supports
34
the claim. After reviewing relevant aspects of background to the study,

statement of the problem follows and sometimes leads directly to research
objectives and questions.
Example
Mathematics is a compulsory subject at primary and secondary
levels of Nigerian educational system as stated in the National
Policy on Education (FME, 2015) in section 4 number 19 and section
5 number 24 and 25. It has been a subject that many people
considered difficult to learn and understand, hence many students
have developed negative attitude towards it. Poor academic
performance observed in Mathematics among secondary school
students was justi ed by the dismal results exhibited by students in
West African Examinations Council (WAEC, 2015). Aremu (2005)
reported that academic failure is not only frustrating to the
students and the parents, its effects are equally grave on the society
in terms of death of manpower in all spheres of the economy and
the politics. Carnine (2006) posits that students' failure in
Mathematics can be ascribed to problems associated with the
curriculum, teachers, students and a combination of other factors.
Jones, Wilson and Bhaswani (2007) stated that even though
students fail in Mathematics, the reasons for that could be linked to
curriculum and methods of teaching rather than the students' lack
of capacity to learn. Kajuru (2006) also reported additional
challenges from the learners and poor learning environment. For
learning in general, Granström (2006) shows that different teaching
approaches in classrooms in uence the outcomes for students in
different ways. Therefore, the problem of this study was to
investigate the effect of guided discovery strategy on students'
performance in some selected difficult mathematics concepts in
Kebbi state senior secondary schools, Nigeria.
35
Objectives of the Study

Objectives of the study are simply what the study intends to
achieve. The objectives are to be listed and numbered depending on the
level and the requirement of the institution. Each objective must be stated
in clear, measurable and achievable terms. Objectives are usually derived
from the statement of the problem. Terms used include: describe, explain,
determine, compare, explore, evolve, design etc.
Example
The objectives of this study were to:
1. Determine the effect of guided discovery strategy and
expository method on the performance of students in some
selected difficult mathematics concepts.
2. Compare the effect of guided discovery strategy and
expository method on male and female students in some
selected difficult mathematics concepts.
3. Determine the effect of guided discovery strategy and
expository method in identifying which concept is more
difficult among the selected difficult mathematics concepts.
Research Questions
The research questions should comprise all the key operational terms
in the research topic and should be stated in a form of a question(s).
Research questions are directly derived from the objectives of the study
and their answers must be provided at the end of the data analysis.
Techniques for Narrowing a Topic into a Research Question(s)

The following are to be taken into consideration in order to narrow down
the topic of a research into a research question(s):
1. Examine the Literature
i. Explore unexpected ndings discovered in previous research.
ii. Follow the suggestions that an author gives for future research at
36
the end of an article.

iii. Extend an existing explanation or theory to a new topic or setting.
iv. Challenge ndings or attempt to refute a relationship.
v. Specify the intervening process and consider linking relations.
2. Talk Over Ideas with Others

i. Ask people who are knowledgeable about the topic for questions
about it that they have thought of.
ii. Seek out those who hold opinions that differ from yours on the
topic and discuss possible research questions with them.
3. Apply to a Specic Context

i. Focus the topic onto a specic historical period or time period.
ii. Narrow the topic to a specic society or geographic unit.
iii. Consider which subgroups or categories of people/units are
involved and whether there are differences among them.
4. Dene the Aim or Desired Outcome of the Study

i. Will the research question be for an exploratory, explanatory, or
descriptive study?
ii. Will the study involve applied or basic research?
Example
Based on the objectives of the study, the following questions were
formulated for answering:
1. What is the difference between the mean scores of
students exposed to guided discovery strategy and
expository method in some selected difficult mathematics
concepts in Kebbi state senior secondary schools?
2. What is the difference in the mean scores of male and
female students exposed to guided discovery strategy and
37
expository method in some selected difficult mathematics

concepts in Kebbi state senior secondary schools?
3. Will the use of guided discovery strategy and expository
method result in identifying which concept is more
difficult among the selected difficult mathematics
concepts?
Research Hypothesis
Asika (1991) asserts that a hypothesis is a tentative statement about
relationships that exist between two or more variables. Olayiwola (2007)
denes hypothesis as a prediction on solution to a problem or anticipated
outcome of research. Musa (2011) opines that research hypothesis could be
theories or tentative explanations or declarative statements that serve as a
basis for investigation. The number of hypothesis should correspond to
the number of the research questions stated. Therefore, hypothesis is the
testing and measuring of the variables stated in the research questions at a
particular probability level using inferential statistics.
Characteristics of a Good Research Hypothesis

Musa (2011) outlined the following as the characteristics of a good research
hypothesis:
i. It should have at least one independent and one dependent
variables.
ii. It should be a declarative statement that identies the predicted
type of relationship or association that exist between two or more
variables.
iii. It should be empirically testable (i.e. the variables can be observed,
measured and statistically analysed).
iv. It should be consistent with existing body of knowledge.
v. It should be stated in clear, simple and concise terms.
38
Functions of a Research Hypothesis

The functions of a research hypothesis are to:
i. Delimit the eld of the investigation.
ii. Sensitise the researcher so as to work selectively and have very
realistic approach to the problem.
iii. Offer the simple means for collecting evidences to the verication.
Importance of a Research Hypothesis

Van-Dalen (1979) outlined the following as the importance of a research
hypothesis:
i. Provide direction to research and prevent the review of irrelevant
literature and the collection of useful or excess data.
ii. Sensitise the investigator with certain aspects of situation which
are irrelevant from the standpoint of the problem at hand.
iii. Enable the investigator to understand his problem with greater
clarity and its ramication.
iv. Serve as a framework for the conclusion.
Types of Hypotheses
Nworgu (2015) outlined the following classication of hypothesis:
i. Research or Substantive Hypothesis
ii. Statistical Hypothesis
Research or Substantive Hypothesis: These are postulations about the

relationships between two or more variables that are of critical interest in
the solution of a research problem (Nworgu, 2015). It is not statistically
testable directly because it does not express the variables in measurable
terms. Example of this type of research hypothesis is: Students poor
attitude towards mathematics is due to the use of inadequate methods in
teaching the subject.
39
Statistical Hypothesis: This is a proposition about population parameters

which are to be veried on the basis of data (or information) collected from
a sample of that population (Nworgu, 2015). It is statistically testable
because they express the relationship between variables in statistical and
measurable terms. There are two types of statistical hypothesis, null
hypothesis and alternative hypothesis:
i. Null Hypothesis: A null hypothesis is a statement of expectation

usually stated in null form beginning with the phrase “there is no
signicant difference(s) or relationship(s) or association(s) or
effect(s) …….” It is usually denoted as as H0: μ=x. The H0
normally states the opposite of what the experimenter would
expect or predict. The nal conclusion of the investigator will
either retain a null hypothesis or reject a null hypothesis in favour
of an alternative hypothesis.It is always preferable in educational
research to state the hypothesis in the null form.
ii. Alternative Hypothesis: Any hypothesis that differs from the null
hypothesis is called an alternative hypothesis. An alternative
hypothesis is a statement that suggests a potential outcome that
the researcher may expect. It is usually denoted as H1 or Ha: μ≠x.
Alternative hypothesis usually comes from prior literature or
studies and it is established only when the null hypothesis is
rejected.
Testing of a Research Hypothesis

Testing of a research hypothesis is the core part of any scientic
research. It is a process of determining whether or not you can reject your
null hypothesis with an acceptable level of condence. Hypothesis tests
are steps for making rational decisions about the reality of effects. The
purpose of testing a hypothesis is to make inferences about a population
parameter by analysing differences between observed sample statistics
40
and the results expected to be obtained if some underlying assumptions

are true.
Relevant and Related Terms in Testing of a Research Hypothesis

According to Emmanuel (2013), the following are the relevant and related
terms in testing of a research hypothesis:
i. Level of Signicance: A level of signicance or signicance level or

alpha level (∝) is computed by comparing the value of a statistic
computed from a sample with values predicted by the sampling
distribution under the assumption that the null hypothesis is true.
Tests are made at essentially arbitrary levels of signicance, usually
5% or 1%. The criterion is based on the probability of obtaining a
statistic measured in a sample if the value stated in the null
hypothesis are true. When the probability of obtaining a sample
mean is less than 5% or 1%, the null hypothesis is rejected.
ii. Condence Intervals: A condence interval is a numerical range of
values which the population parameter may be expected to fall
within, usually 95% or 99% of the time. Condence intervals are
standard way of expressing the statistical accuracy of a survey-
based estimate.
iii. Degree of Freedom (df): Degree of freedom refers to the number of
ways in which any set of scores is free to vary. Degree of freedom is
the number of observations minus the number of algebraically
independent linear restrictions placed upon them.
iv. P-value: P-value is the smallest level of signicance at which null
hypothesis can be rejected. Once the P-value has been determined,
the conclusion at any particular level of signicance (∝) results from
comparing the P-value to ∝. If the null hypothesis is less than or
equal to (≤) level of signicance, the null hypothesis is rejected
while on the other hand if the null hypothesis is greater than or
41
equal to (≥) level of signicance, the null hypothesis is retained.

v. Critical Value or Table Value of a Test Statistic: A critical value or
table value of a test statistic is that minimum value that is required
for the rejection of the null hypothesis at a given level of
signicance. It usually depends on the chosen level of signicance
(5% or 1%) and on whether the test is one-tailed (directional) or
two-tailed (non-directional).
i. One-Tailed or Directional Test: If the direction of differences
are specied in the statement of an alternative hypothesis, then
the test is said to be one-tailed or directional test. In other words,
if the hypothesis states that the sample mean does not differ
from the population mean in some specied direction, then a
one-tailed test is the right one to use. For one-tailed test, there is
only one rejection region (i.e. one of the tails of the normal
curve) and hence one critical value. The critical value is that
value that cut-off an area or region equal to ∝ (0.05) If the
alternative hypothesis states that one parameter is “greater
than” or “less than”the other parameter, the rejection region
falls on the area or region to the right or left of the normal curve
respectively. The critical values for one-tailed test are equal to
+1.645 and -1.645 for the z-test at 5% level of signicance as
shown in Figures 3.1 and 3.2 below:
ii. Two-Tailed or Non-Directional Test: If the direction of

differences are not specied in the statement of an alternative
hypothesis, then the test is said to be two-tailed or non-
42
directional test. In other words, if the hypothesis states that

there is no signicant difference between a sample and a
population mean without further qualication, then a two-
tailed test is the appropriate one to use. For two-tailed test, there
are two rejection regions (i.e. the two tails of the normal curve)
and hence have two critical values. The critical values are those
values that cut-off an area or region on both sides of the normal
curve that is equal to ∝2 = )0.05)
2
= 0.025 The critical values for two-
tailed test are equal to -1.96 and +1.96 on both sides for the z-test
at 0.05 level of signicance as shown in Figure 3.3 below:
Steps Involved in Testing of a Research Hypothesis

Bowerman, O'Connell and Hand (2001) outlined seven steps of hypothesis
testing, these are:
i. Determine the null and alternative hypotheses that are appropriate
for the hypothesis testing application being considered.
ii. Select the test statistic that will be used to decide whether to reject
the null hypothesis or not.
iii. Specify the level of signicance (α)
iv. Find the rejection point condition corresponding to the alternative
hypothesis.
v. Collect the sample data and compute the value of the test statistic.
vi. Use the rejection point condition to compare the value of the test
statistic with the value(s) of the rejection point(s) and decide
whether to reject the null hypothesis at level of signicance (α)
43
vii. Interpret your statistical result in managerial (real-world) terms.
Statistical Decisions on a Research Hypothesis

Statistical decisions on a research hypothesis involves making a
decision about a particular population on the basis of the sample
information. Nworgu (2015) posits that in testing a null hypothesis, one
approach is to compare the calculated value of the test statistic with the
critical or table value of the test statistic. The critical or table value serves as
the basis or benchmark for rejecting or not rejecting the null hypothesis. As
a rule, the decision to reject or not to reject the null hypothesis depends on
whether the calculated value of the test statistic is greater than or less than
the critical value. Therefore the probability of rejecting/retaining of a null
hypothesis is that:
i. If the calculated value is “greater than” the critical value, the
null hypothesis is rejected.
ii. If the calculated value is “less than” the critical value, the null
hypothesis is retained.
Note that statistical decisions are not always 100% correct, errors can and
do occur. The errors that normally occur are called Type I Error and Type II
Error. The statistical possibilities of such errors are explained bellow:
i. Type I Error: This type of error occurs when the researcher rejects a
null hypothesis that is supposed to be retained, type I error has been
made by the researcher. Type I error is symbolically represented as
alpha (α). This type of error leads to unwarranted changes if the
result of the study is implemented.
ii. Type II Error: This type of error occurs when the researcher retains a
null hypothesis that is supposed to be rejected, type II error has
been made by the researcher. Type II error is symbolically
represented as beta (β). This type of error leads to the maintenance
of a status quo when a change is warranted if the result of the study
is implemented.
44
Example
From the research questions, the following null hypotheses were
formulated and tested at 5% level of signi cance.
Ho1: There is no signi cant difference between the mean scores
of students exposed to guided discovery strategy and
those exposed to expository method in some selected
difficult mathematics concepts.
Ho2: There is no signi cant difference in the means scores of
male and female students exposed to guided discovery
strategy in some selected difficult mathematics concepts.
Ho3: There is no signi cant difference between the use of
guided discovery strategy in identifying which concept is
more difficult among the selected difficult mathematics
concepts.
Signi cance of the Study

Salawu (2010) posits that the signicance of the study enables the
reader to know and value how the research ndings will contribute to the
existing knowledge. Signicance of the study can be justied on the
following grounds. Firstly, it can be justied in terms of its capacity to
make theoretical contributions. Secondly, it can also be justied in terms of
its capacity to bridge gaps in the existing body of literature. Thirdly, it can
also be justied in terms of its capacity to solve a practical problem. In
educational research, the signicance of the study is discussed paragraph
by paragraph based on how it will benet teachers, students, professional
bodies, researchers, curriculum planners and school administrators
among others.
Example
The study investigated the effect of Guided Discovery Strategy on
students' performance in some selected difficult mathematics
concepts in Kebbi state senior secondary schools, Nigeria. The
45
ndings of this study are of bene t to students, Mathematics

teachers, curriculum planners, textbook publishers, school
administrators, researchers and professional bodies by means of
the following:
The outcome of this study provides insight into the factors
responsible for poor performance of students in difficult
mathematics concepts, which when effectively used by teachers,
would facilitate class control, students' interactive engagement
and motivation; and faster contents coverage by teachers and
students.
The outcome of this study would bene t students because their
varying differences and interest appears to enhance their
motivation and learning in the classroom.
Curriculum planners would bene t by knowing that the use of
general curriculum could no longer meet the need of the other
learners. The study shows that students perform better in learning
difficult mathematical concepts when exposed to guided
discovery strategy, therefore this provides necessary information
to curriculum planners in making good policies.
Text book publishers would be guided to reframe their books on
difficult mathematical concepts so that new text books would be
activity-based and more of work sheet that promote thinking and
de-emphasise rote learning.
The result of this study would also help the school administrators
and policy makers to encourage Mathematics teachers to adopt
guided discovery strategies when solving difficult mathematics
concepts.
Researchers in Mathematics education can bene t from the study
because it adds new information to the existing literature; hence
researchers can use the ndings of this study for further studies.
The ndings of this study would also help professional bodies
such as Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Science
Teachers Associations of Nigeria (STAN) to organize seminars and
workshops for Mathematics teachers on the use of guided
46
discovery strategy in solving difficult mathematics concepts.
Scope/Delimitation
Scope/delimitation are sometimes used interchangeably. To
delimit an investigation, rst you have to map out the area of operation
(i.e. scope) so as not to make the study wieldy and cumbersome to handle.
There are three ways of dening the scope of a study; i.e. it can be dened
in terms of the problem under investigation or in terms of period of the
study or in terms of place where the study is conducted. Sometimes
researchers do not distinguish between scope/delimitation and limitation
of the study. Scope/delimitation is done before the study, while study
limitation comes after the study. Limitation deals more with the
constraints experienced during the course of the study such as nance and
time, some of which might not be envisaged at the beginning of the
research.
Example
This study was delimited to 96 senior secondary school two (SS2)
students randomly drawn from two senior secondary schools in
two educational zones of Kebbi state. The researcher did not select
or deny any participants based on gender, ethnicity or any other
demographic categorisation. Multiple choice tests comprising 30
objective questions each were used as the research instruments
(MPT₁ and MPT₂). The contents covered during the research
treatments were some selected difficult mathematics concepts
which include algebraic expressions, factorisation and completing
the square method of quadratic equation, angles of elevation and
depression, height and distances, bearings and distances which
were all identi ed to be difficult in the literature review at senior
secondary school level.
47
Basic Assumptions
Assumptions are statements of what you believe to be facts in
relation to your study but which you cannot readily verify. Assumptions
are aimed at holding all other things being equal.
Example
The following assumptions were made towards the conduct of

this research.
1. The students involved in the study have similar learning
characteristics.
2. The secondary schools under this study were assumed to be
homogenous on regulations and syllabus used.
3. Mathematics teachers were assumed to be quali ed to teach
Mathematics at senior secondary schools.
Conclusion
The manner in which the introductory chapter of a research work
has been written provides desire for the readers to want to read the study.
The chapter shows that study with a well stated problems as well as well-
developed research questions provide solid foundation upon which all
other chapters are built as it introduces the entire work. To make the study
easy to handle, its scope and delimitation must carefully be stated.
48
CHAPTER FOUR
4
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Literature review is an essential aspect of research on a chosen
topic. It involves looking for relevant sources of information that may
throw or shed more light on the topic under investigation. It is an aspect
that is most poorly written because many researchers do not know the
reasons for reviewing literature, how to review literature and also lack the
language on how to review literature. This chapter explains the following
aspects in relation to literature review: meaning, nature, goals, types, need,
objectives, importance, functions, procedures, sources and also
suggestions for reporting literature review.
Meaning of Literature Review

The phrase “literature review” consists of two words: literature and
review. The word 'literature' has conveyed different meaning with
reference to the languages e.g. English literature, Hausa literature etc. It
includes a subject content: prose, poetry, drama. However, in research
methodology, the term 'literature' refers to the knowledge of a particular
area of investigation of any discipline which includes theoretical, practical
and its research studies. The term 'review' means to organise the
knowledge of the specic area of research to evolve an edice of
knowledge to justify how a study would be an addition to an existing
49
knowledge. The task of review of literature is highly creative and tedious

because the researcher has to synthesise the available knowledge of the
eld in a unique way to provide the rationale for his/her study. The phrase
“literaturereview” has been dened in the following ways:
Charter and Good (1963) dene literature review as the key to the
vast storehouse of published literature which may open doors to sources
of signicant problems and explanatory hypotheses and provide helpful
orientation for denition of the problem, background for selection of
procedure, and comparative data for interpretation of results. In order to
be creative and original, one must read extensively and critically as a
stimulus to thinking. Also literature review is an objective, thorough and
critical summary of the relevant available research and non-research
literature on the topic being studied (Hart, 1998).
A good literature review gathers information about a particular
subject from many sources. It should be well written and contains few if
any personal biases. It should contain a clear search and selection strategy
(Carnwell & Daly, 2001). Good structuring is essential to enhance the ow
and readability of the review. Accurate use of terminology is important
and jargons should be kept to a minimum. Referencing should be accurate
throughout the literature review (Colling, 2003). According to Yogesh
(2006), literature review forms the foundation upon which all future work
will be built. If we fail to build the foundation of knowledge provided by
the review of literature our work is likely to be shallow and naive and will
likely duplicate work that has already been done by someone else. Its goal
is to make the reader up-to-date with current issues on the topic and form
the basis for another goal, such as the justication for further research in
the area.
Nature of Literature Review

Basically literature review is meant to answer a number of
questions (Eboh, 2002). First, what has been done on the subject? In other
words, what have other scholars said about what the researcher intends to
50
CHAPTER 4: LITERATURE REVIEW
do? Second, is what has been done of relevance to what the researcher
intends to do? Meaning, is the information in the literature relevant to the
study in terms of problem denition, research design and empirical proof?
Third, what are the gaps in the existing body of literature and how can the
proposed research bridge these gaps? Fourth, what does the researcher
accept or reject from what has been done and why? Finally, how can the
proposed research build upon or add to what is known?
Approaches to Literature Review

Eboh (2002) also outlined four major approaches to literature review:
i. Thematic Approach: This approach brings together all the literature
relating to the same issue or area. Under such an approach, the
information that is pertinent to the sub-theme is carefully
synthesised and organised in a logical manner and related to the
problem under investigation. The signicance of thematic
approach lies in its capacity to enable the researcher to select what to
include and what not to include in the literature. The way themes
and sub-themes are arranged and presented makes for logical
sequence and easy comprehension of ideas, arguments and
scientic knowledge.
ii. Convergence Approach: This approach is presented on the basis of
similarity or commonality of knowledge, views, arguments and
propositions. This approach converges the literature, even though
scattered in various sources.
iii. Functional Approach: This approach involves the arrangement of
existing literature into the three facets of scientic knowledge (i.e.
conceptual and theoretical literature, methodological literature and
empirical studies literature). All the literature pertaining to the
same facet of scientic knowledge are collected and presented
under the same sub-heading.
51
iv. Chronological Approach: This approach presents literature in a

historical-evolutionary manner. It is a time-series approach to
literature, depicting the developments that have taken place in an
evolutionary context.
Goals of Literature Review

Different kinds of reviews are stronger at fullling different goals as
reviews vary in scope and depth. The goals of literature review are to:
i. Demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establish
credibility. A review tells the reader that the researcher knows the
major issues of the research work.
ii. Know the path of prior research and also know how a current
research project is linked to it. A good review places a research
project in a context and demonstrates its relevance by making
connections to a body of knowledge.
iii. Integrate and summarise what is known in an area. A good review
points out areas where prior studies agree, disagree and where
major question remains for future research.
iv. Learn from others and stimulate new ideas. A good review tells
what others have found so that a researcher can benet from the
efforts of others.
v. Identify variables. Important variables that are likely to inuence
the problem situation are not left out of the study.
vi. Help in developing theoretical framework. A theoretical
framework is conceptual model of how one theorises or makes
sense of the relationships among several factors that have been
identied as important to the problem under study. Theoretical
framework incorporates the following features:
i. Make an inventory of variables i.e. the variables considered
relevant to the study should be clearly identied and labeled in
the discussion.
52
ii. Specify the direction of relationship.

iii. Give a clear explanation of why the proposed relationship is
expected to exist.
iv. Make an inventory of propositions i.e. stipulation of logical
relationship between any two variables.
v. Arrange these proposition in a sequential order.
vi. Give a schematic diagram of the theoretical model so that the
reader can see and easily comprehend the theorised
relationship.
Types of Review
When beginning a review, researcher may decide on a topic or eld of
knowledge to examine how much depth to go into, and the kind of review
to conduct. The following are the six types of review (Review of Literature,
n. d.):
i. Self-Study Review: This type of review increases the reader's
condence. A review that only demonstrates familiarity with an
area is rarely published but it is often part of an educational
program.
ii. Context Review: One of the goals of review is creating a link to a
developing body of knowledge. This is a background or context
review. It introduces the rest of research and establishes the
signicance and relevance of research question.
iii. Historical Review: It traces the development of an idea or shows
how theory has evolved over time.
iv. Theoretical Review: It presents different theories that purport to
explain the same thing. In addition to examining the consistency of
predictions with ndings, a theoretical review may compare
theories for the soundness of their assumptions, logical consistency
and scope of explanation.
53
v. Integrative Review: It summarises what is known at a point in time.

This type of review presents the current state of knowledge and
pulls together disparate research reports in a fast growing area of
knowledge.
vi. Methodological Review: In this type of review, the researcher
evaluates the methodological strength of past studies. It describes
conicting results and shows how different research designs,
samples and measures account for different results.
Types of Literature Review

Coughlan, Cronin and Ryan (2007) outlined two main types of literature
review, these are:
i. Traditional or Narrative Literature Review
ii. Systematic Literature Review
Traditional or Narrative Literature Review

This type of review critiques and summarises a body of literature
and draws conclusions about the topic in question. The body of the
literature is made up of the relevant studies and knowledge that address
the subject area. It is typically selective in the material it uses, although the
criteria for selecting specic sources for review are not always apparent to
the reader. This type of literature review is useful in summarising and
synthesising the volume of literature gathered in a specic subject.
Its primary purpose is to provide the reader with a comprehensive
background for understanding current knowledge and highlighting the
signicance of new research. It can inspire research ideas by identifying
gaps and inconsistencies in a body of knowledge, thus helping the
researcher to determine or dene research questions or hypothesis.
Beecroft, Rees and Booth (2006) argue that a sufciently focused research
question is essential before undertaking a literature review. Equally,
however, it can help rene or focus a broad research question and is useful
54
for both topic selection and topic renement. It can also be helpful in
developing conceptual or theoretical framework (Coughlan, Cronin &
Ryan, 2007).
Systematic Literature Review

Systematic literature review uses a more rigorous and well dened
approach to reviewing the literature in a specic subject area. This means
that, systematic reviews use explicit and rigorous criteria to identify,
critically evaluate and synthesise all the literature on a particular topic.
Parahoo (2006) suggests that a systematic review should make the time
frame to be detailed within which the literature was selected, as well as the
methods used to evaluate and synthesise ndings of the study in question.
Coughlan, Cronin and Ryan (2007) posit that in order for the reader to
assess the reliability and validity of the review, the reviewer needs to
present the precise criteria used to:
Ÿ Formulate the research question.
Ÿ Set inclusion or exclusion criteria.
Ÿ Select and assess the literature.
Ÿ Access the quality of the literature included in the review.
Ÿ Analyse, synthesise and disseminate the ndings.
Types of Systematic Literature Review

Systematic literature review is divided into two, namely:
i. Meta-Analysis: This is the process of taking a large body of
quantitative ndings and conducting statistical analysis in order
to integrate those ndings and enhance understanding. It
involves taking the ndings from several studies on the same
subject and analysing them using standardised statistical
procedures. This helps to draw conclusions and detect patterns
and relationships between ndings (Polit & Beck, 2006).
ii. Meta-Synthesis: This is a non-statistical technique used to
integrate, evaluate and interpret the ndings of multiple
55
qualitative research studies. Such studies may be combined to

identify their common core elements and themes. Findings from
phenomenological, grounded theory or ethnographic studies
may be integrated and used. According to Polit and Beck (2006),
meta-synthesis is unlike meta-analysis, where the ultimate
intention is to reduce ndings, meta-synthesis involves analysis
and synthesising key elements in each study, with the aim of
transforming individual ndings into new conceptualisations
and interpretations.
Need for Literature Review

According to Yogesh (2006), literature review is essential due to the
following four (4) reasons:
i. One of the early steps in planning a research work is to review
research done previously in the particular area of interest and
relevant area. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of this research
usually give the worker an indication of the direction.
ii. It is very essential for every investigator to be up-to-date in his
information about the literature, related to his own problem
already done by others. It is considered the most important pre-
requisite to actual planning and conducting the study.
iii. It avoids the replication of the study of ndings to take an
advantage from similar or related literature as regards to
methodology, techniques of data collection, procedure adopted
and conclusions drawn. He can justify his own endeavour in the
eld.
iv. It provides source of problem of study, an analogy may be drawn
for identifying and selecting problem of research. The researcher
formulates his hypothesis on the basis of review of literature. It also
provides the rationale for the study. The results and ndings of the
study can also be discussed at length.
56
Objectives of Literature Review

Literature review according to Yogesh (2006) serves the following
purposes in conducting research work:
i. It provides theories, ideas, explanations or hypothesis which may
prove useful in the formulation of a new problem.
ii. It indicates whether the evidence already available solves the
problem adequately without requiring further investigation i.e. it
avoids replication.
iii. It provides the sources for hypothesis. The researcher can
formulate research hypothesis on the basis of available studies.
iv. It suggests method, procedure, sources of data and statistical
techniques appropriate to the solution of the problem.
v. It locates comparative data and ndings useful in the interpretation
and discussion of results. The conclusions drawn in the related
studies may be signicantly compared and may be used as the
subject for the ndings of the study.
vi. It helps in developing experts and general scholarship of the
investigator in the area investigated.
Importance of Literature Review

According to Yusuf (2006), the importance or usefulness of literature
review are many, some of which are given below:
i. It helps the researcher to identify gaps in current knowledge and
enable the researcher to be able to explain how his/her proposed
study will differ from previous works.
ii. It helps the researcher to avoid duplication. There is nothing wrong
with repeating a previous study if the intent is to challenge or verify
its ndings. This however, is on the condition that such intentions
are made known to the reader right from the onset.
57
iii. It assist the researcher to develop or improve his/her ability to

search, scan and synthesise existing literature.
iv. Allows the researcher to identify areas of agreement and areas of
controversy within the eld of his/her investigation.
v. It gives the researcher opportunity to weigh the strength or
weaknesses of earlier ndings.
vi. By looking at the references of the material under review, the
researcher would nd other sources of information that would be
of great help to him/her.
vii. It allows the researcher to make comparism between his/her
ndings with the past ndings and see if they tally with or deviate
from them, thereby identifying his/her contributions to
knowledge.
viii.It helps the researcher to theorise and conceptualise his/her ideas
so as to formulate further questions for further research.
ix. It increases the researchers' knowledge in the area of his/her
interest.
x. It helps the researcher to identify methods used by other
researchers that could be relevant to the problem at hand.
Functions of Literature Review

There are ve functions of literature review, these are:
i. The conceptual frame of reference for the contemplated research.
ii. An understanding of the status of research in problem area.
iii. Clues to the research approach, method, instrumentation and data
analysis.
iv. An estimate of the probability of success of the contemplated
research and the signicance or usefulness of the ndings
assuming the decision is made to continue.
58
v. Specic information required to interpret the denitions,

assumptions, limitations and hypotheses of research.
Sources of Literature Review

Literature review is almost based on secondary sources of data. According
to Yusuf (2006), the secondary sources of data could either be published or
unpublished:
Published Sources
The word “publication” means the act of making any printed or soft copies
available to the general public. Publication is dened as the distribution of
copies of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership.
Therefore, published sources are copies of work that are made available to
the general public with the consent of the author. The following published
sources are briey discussed:
i. Scholarly Journals: Scholarly journals are rich sources of well-
researched, peer-reviewed papers that are up-to-date information
on various elds of knowledge. Some of the features of a journal
include its regularity, vastness of contributors and the quality of
the papers it contains.
ii. Academic Books: Books are also important sources of literature in
the sense that they provide already synthesised data. It is
advisable to use a book that is up-to-date and also published by
reputable publisher. Books are in various formats, they include
texts books, handbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedia, biographies,
anthologies, thesaurus, and so on.
iii. The Internet: The internet provides a wealth of information on
almost all aspects of knowledge. It gives researchers opportunity
to have a variety of literature in many forms through the use of
search engines. The search engines are computer software that
compile list of documents, most commonly those on the World
59
Wide Web (www). Search engines respond to a user entry or query

by searching the lists and displaying a list of documents that
match the search entry or query (Encarta Encyclopedia, 2003).
Some search engines include www.google.com,
www.wikkipeadia.com, www.search.com, www.askjeeves.com,
and www.yahoo.com among others.
iv. Conference Proceedings: These are usually compiled papers
presented at conferences, seminars and workshops by
professionals, governments, NGOs and so on. Academic
departments and research centers also organise conferences and
publish proceedings which can be consulted and reviewed.
v. Newspapers, Magazines and Popular Media: Although
information from newspapers, magazines and popular media are
not taken seriously in academic research, they never the less
provide important reference points for literature review.
vi. CD-ROM: CD-ROMs are also important sources of information,
they are handy and give researchers access to a large amount of
information which would otherwise be very difcult to carry
about. Journals, encyclopedias and other forms of reports are now
produced on a CD-ROM.
vii. Monographs: These are books produced on a selected subject
usually bigger and more detailed than journal articles. They are
usually commissioned by government and private organisations
which can be used in literature review.
viii.Government and Corporate Bodies Publications: Federal and
State Governments publish periodicals which are also sources of
literature review. Examples include federal government gazettes,
decrees, state year book etc.
60
Unpublished Sources
A work that has not undergone publication and thus is not generally
available to the public or for citation in scholarly or legal contexts is called
an unpublished work. In some cases unpublished works are widely cited
or circulated via informal means. The following unpublished sources are
briey discussed:
i. Unpublished Research Projects, Essays, Dissertations and Theses:
These are mainly research works that have not been published
which include research projects, essays, dissertations and theses.
In almost all academic departments, ND, NCE, HND,
undergraduate and postgraduate students are usually expected
to conduct a research and submit a written report before being
awarded a diploma or degree. Research works are only accepted
and used as source of literature review when they are adjudged to
have contributed something new to the existing knowledge.
ii. Archival Materials: Encarta Encyclopedia (2003) denes archival
as a collection of historically valuable records, ranging from
papers, documents, photographs, lms, videotapes and sound
recordings. Archives provide access to old government and
private documents that provide a wealth of information. All
closed and declassied les of the government are stored in the
archives. Researchers can go through and study how and why
certain decisions were made at particular points in time.
Procedures for Reporting Literature Review

Yogesh (2006) posits the following steps or procedures which are to be
followed while reviewing the literature:
i. Read the portion of the literature that is related to a particular
aspect of your study or topic you are reviewing. Do not copy what
you do not understand because you will not be able to defend it.
Also make sure all reviews are in line with the research questions.
61
ii. Summarise as briey as possible the aspects of the review that are
related to the topic being reviewed.
iii. Critically analyse the view points you have summarised.
iv. Gather the viewpoints that you summarised together even in a
situation where many authors are saying the same thing.
v. Be sequential in your review. The review should be in
chronological order (the work of 2015 comes before that of 2016
and so on).
vi. Use the review as a basis for designing the methodology and the
instrument to be used in your study.
Suggestions for Reporting Literature Review

The following are some suggestions outlined for reporting literature
review:
i. The reviewing of literature is a continuous process. A researcher
begins the review of literature even before selecting a problem of
research. The review of literature generally helps in identifying
and selecting a research problem. If the researcher has selected a
problem on his own (or suggested by some expert), then he has to
review literature to justify that it is a novel problem. After
selecting and dening a problem, he has to formulate hypotheses
for the problem. The review of literature provides the rationale or
basis for these hypotheses. The results and ndings are discussed
at length with the help of review of literature. The ndings of
earlier studies may support his/her formulation or contradict it.
The review of literature is used from selecting a problem up to
reporting the ndings of a study.
ii. The second suggestion is that knowledge is increasing or
advancing rapidly and research studies are ongoing processes. A
research scholar should remain in touch with library literature or
62
the eld throughout the period of his research work. He should be

up-to-date at the time of reporting review of literature and
discussing his ndings.
iii. The reporting of literature review makes the research study very
scientic and up-to-date. It is not only useful in preparing and
writing a thesis but also in the mastery of the techniques of
literature review.
Example
This research work was designed to examine the effect of guided
discovery strategy on students' performance in some selected
difficult mathematics concepts in Kebbi State Senior Secondary
Schools, Nigeria. In this chapter, reviews of related literature were
presented in the following sub-headings:
2.2 Theoretical Framework
2.3 Nature of Teaching Mathematics at Senior Secondary
School Level
2.3.1 Lecture Method
2.3.2 Expository Method
2.3.3 Cooperative Learning Strategy
2.3.4 Guided Discovery Strategy
2.3.5 Problem Solving Strategy
2.3.6 Guided Inquiry Strategy
2.4 Teaching Approaches and Academic Performance in
Mathematics
2.5 Difficult Mathematical Concepts in Senior Secondary
Schools Curriculum
2.6 Gender and Academic Performance in Mathematics
among Senior Secondary School students
2.7 Overview of Related Studies
2.8 Implication of Literature Reviewed on the Present Study
63
Conclusion
The ultimate goal of a review is to bring out gaps that the new study
will ll and utilise some of the gains from the review of diverse literature
texts for the improvement of your own study. The chapter highlighted
some strategies that are required in literature review. Reading the
literature and summarising it, critical analysis of the summarised
literature, acceptance, rejection and or modication of reviewed items to
suite the current study are some of the review strategies suggested in this
chapter.
64
CHAPTER FIVE
5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter explains the procedures the researcher intends to
adopt in the conduct of the study. These include research design that will
be adopted in the study, population of the study, samples and sampling
techniques as well as the instrument to be used in collecting the data for the
study. It also explains whether the researcher will design his/her own
instrument, how he/she will get the psychometric properties of the
instrument i.e. validity, pilot study and reliability. The chapter further
explains whether the researcher will adopt or adapt an already validated
instrument for use and why, administration of the instrument, and the
statistical techniques that will be used to test the hypotheses.
Meaning of Research Methodology

Research methodology is the systematic and theoretical analysis of
the methods applied to a eld of study. While methodology is the general
research strategy that outlines the way in which research is to be
undertaken, it among other things, identies the methods to be used in a
study.
65
Research Design
This is a plan through which the researcher systematically and in a
controlled manner collects data for the research. It is the blue print or a
guide for carrying out a research. Research design therefore is a
framework for the identication of relevant variables as well as for the
analysis and interpretation of data collected in the course of the
investigation in order to answer the research questions. In other words,
research design is an outline or scheme that serves as a useful guide to the
researcher in an attempt to generate, analyse and interpret data for the
study. This shows that research design deals with the ways in which data
are gathered from the research subjects. The design gives a clear focus to
the direction of the research. It charts the course of the procedure to be
followed to arrive at objective and defensible conclusions or solutions to
the research problem. Good research design helps both the researcher and
readers in understanding and interpreting the results of the study. The
research design deals with conditions under which the subjects would be
studied, time/space consideration and the strategies for data collection.
Components of a Research Design

Yogesh (2006) stated that research design have the following components:
i. Research method or research strategy.
ii. Sampling design.
iii. Choice of research tools.
iv. Choice of statistical technique.
Characteristics of a Good Research Design

Yogesh (2006) outlined the following as the characteristics of a research
design:
i. It should be free from bias.
ii. It should be free from confounding effect. A good research design
eliminates confounding of variables or keeps it to a minimum level
66
CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
so that the results can be interpreted separately.

iii. There should be enough scope to impose the control over situation.
Potential Problems in Research Design
Yogesh (2006) posits the following as the potential problems which make a
poor research design:
i. Inadequately stating and testing of hypotheses.
ii. Missing or unusable data.
iii. Bias in sampling.
iv. Inadequate measurement.
v. Lack of precision in statistical technique or inappropriate statistical
devices.
Basically, research design is strongly based on two functions:

operationalisation of the construct and research variables which are both
involved in the study.
Operationalisation
Shuttleworth (2008) describes operationalisation as the process of
strictly dening variables into measurable factors. It also sets down exact
denitions of each variable, increasing the quality of the results, and
improving the robustness of the design. Operationalisation is essential in
determining how the research is going to measure arbitrary concepts such
as students' performance in geometry, trigonometry etc. The researcher
must develop the research questions, transform them into hypotheses, and
organise these in a logical and consistent way so that they form a
theoretical framework for the research. Key concepts will have to be
dened conceptually and operationally.
Research Variables
Variables refer to observable characteristics of an object or a person
that belongs to a group of objects or persons respectively (Olaitan &
67
Ndomi, 2000). In another perspective, Anikweze (2012) explains variable

as a property by which the members of a group differ from one another.
Examples include differences in gender, age, complexion, ethnic group,
locations and religion. There are many types of variables but in academic
research, two types of variables are reckoned with. These are: independent
and dependent variables.
Independent Variable: This is a factor that is selected and
manipulated by the researcher in order to study how it is related to, or
how it inuences the dependent variable. If the independent variable
is related to and inuences the dependent variable, it can be used to
predict the dependent variable. It is sometimes describes as active,
stimulus, input, treatment, predictors or the explanatory variables.
Some independent variables are sometimes controlled in order to
eliminate their effects on the dependent variable.
Dependent Variable: The dependent variable is what we are

studying, with respect to how it is related to or inuenced by the
independent variables or how it can be explained or predicted by the
independent variable, it is called target, respector criterion variables.
It refers to a measurable behavior exhibited by the participants in the
experiment. The behaviors vary as the independent variable is
manipulated. Thus any change in the independent variable results in
a corresponding change in the dependent variable. Dependent
variable is never manipulated as a part of the study.
Types of Research Design

Wikipedia (2013) provides the following six groups of research design:
i. Descriptive research design (e.g. case study, survey, naturalistic
observation).
ii. Correlational research design(e.g. observational study case-
controlled-study a type of observational study in which two
existing groups differing in outcome are identied and compared
68
on the basis of some supposed causal attributes).

iii. Semi-experimental research design (quasi-experiment and eld
experiment).
iv. Experimental research design (experimental with random
assignment).
v. Review research design (literature review, systematic review: A
literature review focused on a research question that tries to
identify, appraise, select and synthesise all high quality research
evidence relevant to that question).
vi. Meta-Analytic (meta–analysis): A type of study which surveys and
combines the results of a wide variety of other studies with similar
hypothesis.
Example of Quasi Experimental Design

A pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design was adopted in this
study. The experimental group were subjected to the treatment
(teaching using guided discovery strategy) while the control
group were subjected to the treatment (teaching using expository
method). Pre-test was administered at the beginning of the
research to determine the level of group equivalence while after
the treatment process post-test was also administered to
determine the effectiveness of the treatment. The research design
illustration is presented in th e Figure below
EG 01 X1 02
CG 01 X2 02
EG = Experimental group
CG = Control group
O1 = Pre-test
XI = Treatment using Guided Discovery Strategy
X2 = Treatment using Expository Method
O2 = Post-test
69
Example of Survey Design

This study adopted a descriptive survey design aimed at
investigating teachers' perception of the causes of students' poor
academic performance in Kebbi State Secondary Schools. This is
because the researchers are interested in determining the
in uence of the independent variables on the dependent variable
without manipulating any of the variables. Best and Kerlinger
(1985) have stressed that survey design is a useful scienti c tool to
employ when one is interested in the opinions and attitudes as
well as the relationship of these opinions to the respondents
behaviour.
Example of Ex-Post Facto Design

This study adopted a pure quantitative method using an ex-post
facto design in which the researcher does not have direct control
over independent variable because their manifestations have
already occurred or because they are inherently not manipulable.
Population of a Study
Population of a study is the total number that the research is
expected to cover. It is the complete collection of all elements or units that
are of interest in a particular investigation. Bhattacherjee (2012) denes
population as all people or items (units of analysis) with the characteristics
that one wishes to study. In other words, it is the totality of objects or
individuals, having one or more characteristics in common that are of
interest to the researcher. It is highly recommended for a researcher to
show the table of population of the study either below the explanation of
the population or in the appendix list if the table is more than a page.
Example
The target population of this study comprised of all the senior
secondary school two (SS2) students in two educational zones of
Kebbi State. The SS2 students were neither like SS1 students who
70
were new to the environment nor like SS3 students who were busy
preparing for their nal examination. There were two hundred and
twenty eight (228) secondary schools with a total of sixty nine
thousand ve hundred and seventy three (69,573) students in
which 48,958 were male and 20,615 were female students. The SS2
students of the two educational zones form the population of this
study comprising 7,109 students out of which 4,548 were male
and 2,561 were female. The state has six educational zones,
namely: Argungu, Bagudo, Birnin Kebbi, Jega, Yauri and Zuru. The
distribution of the population of the study is presented in table 3.1
below.
Table 3.1: Summary of the Population of the Study

S/N Educ. Zone No. of Sch. Males Females Total
1 Argungu 35 7,803 3,091 10,894
2 Bagudo 44 9,497 3,435 12,932
3 Birnin Kebbi 49 10,377 4,514 14,891
4 Jega 29 5,889 2,212 8,101
5 Yauri 33 7,615 3,723 11,338
6 Zuru 38 7,777 3,640 11,417
Total 228 48,958 20,615 69,573
Sample and Sample Size

According to Best and Kahn (1998), sample is a portion of the
population that the researcher selects for the purpose of data collection
and analysis. Trochim (2006) denes a sample as group of people whom
the researcher select to be in his/her study. Sample is also dene as the
smaller group of elements drawn through a denite procedure from a
specied population for the purpose of collecting and analysing data that
will be generalised upon the specied population (Nworgu, 2015). A
carefully selected sample should produce a result that reects the
71
characteristics of the study population. On the other hand, sample size is

the act of choosing the number of observations or replicates to include in a
statistical sample. The sample size is an important feature of any empirical
study in which the goal is to make inferences about a population from a
sample.
Sampling and Sampling Techniques

Meaning of Sampling
Sampling is the process of selecting elements from the population
in such a way that the sample elements selected will represent the
population (Amin, 2005). In other words, sampling is the systematic
process of selecting a sample from the population with a view to collecting
and analysing data from the sample with which to make generalisations
on the population. The systematic process involves dening the
theoretical population, choosing the sampling frame and choosing a
sample from the sampling frame using a well-dened sampling technique.
It would be practically impossible to study a whole population,
researchers make a selection from the population to be studied. This
process of selection is referred to as sampling.
Reasons for Sampling

Awogbemi and Oguntade (2010) outlined the following as the reasons for
sampling:
i. It reduces cost when compared with the amount required to study
a population.
ii. It saves time compared with the time that would have been spent
on a population.
iii. It enables an investigator to be precise on when the work is done.
iv. It also covers a wider scope.
72
Sampling Terminologies
Isma'il (2006) posits that in order to ensure the selection of a good sample, it
is important to take note of the following terminologies:
i. Elements.
ii. Population.
iii. Sampling Unit.
iv. Sampling Frame.
v. Sampling Ratio.
vi. Sampling Error.
Elements: An element is the unit about which information is collected and

that provides the unit of analysis. In other words, elements are the
individual members of the population whose characteristics can be
measured. The element can be a person, a group, an organisation, a written
document, a symbolic message or a social action (divorce, an arrest etc.)
that is being measured.
Population: A population is a theoretically specied aggregation of study

elements (is larger pool of cases or elements from which a researcher
selects). In other words, population of a study is the aggregation of
elements that the researcher actually focuses on and samples from.
Sampling Unit: This is the element or set of elements considered for

selection at some stages in the selection process.
Sampling Frame: This is the list of all elements in the target population i.e.
is the list of elements of units of a given population from which a sample is
selected.
Sampling Ratio: This is the ratio of the size of the sample to the size of the
target population.
73
Sample Error: This is the difference between the characteristics of a sample

and the characteristics of the population from which the sample is drawn.
The larger the sampling error, the less representative the sample and
therefore less generalisable the ndings are likely to be.
Sampling Techniques
Sampling techniques are the methods used in selecting a sample
from a population for the purpose of collecting and analysing data
(Emmanuel, 2013). The choice of population and the sampling technique
must always be fully justied to be convincing. The method which is used
to select the sample from a population is known as sampling technique.
Types of Sampling Technique

Awogbemi and Oguntade (2010) categorised sampling techniques into
two groups:
i. Probability Sampling Techniques.
ii. Non-probability Sampling Techniques.
Probability Sampling
This method makes use of some form of random selection by setting up a
process that assumes that different units in the population have equal
chance of being selected. There are various forms of probability sampling
techniques, these include:
i. Simple Random Sampling: In this sampling method, every
member has the same independent chance of being selected.
Selection is carried out using a table of random numbers or a
computer random number generator. Suppose a researcher
decides to carry out a study in
ii. Systematic Sampling: This sampling technique is similar to
simple random sampling except that the process of randomisation
occurs only once at the starting point. The following steps are
74
taken to carry out systematic random sampling:

a. Number the units in the population from 1 to N (i.e. list all the
population element).
b. Decide on the sample size (n) to be used
N
c. Obtain the interval size k =
n
d. Randomly select an integer between 1 to K.
e. Take every kth units.
If in the population of 40 people, we want to use a sample of size n=

80. To carry out systematic sampling, the population is listed in a
40
random order. The interval size k = = 5. A random integer from
8
1 to 5 is selected (i.e .3). We start selecting the sample with the 3th
th
unit in the list and then take every 5 unit (i.e. k=5). Thus, the
following 8 units will be sampled: 3,8,13,18,23,28,33,38.
iii. Stratied Random Sampling: This sampling technique involves

dividing the population into sub-group that are known, and then
taking a simple random sample for each. In a more formal way, we
divide the population into non-overlapping groups N1, N2……N,
such that N1+N2+...+Nt=N, and then carry out a simple random
n
sampling. Sample of sampling fraction f = N in each stratum. Note
that: the subgroups in the population are presented in proportion
to their number in the population.
iv. Cluster or Area Random Sampling: This sampling method is used

when it is difcult to get a complete listing of the element of a
particular target population. Thus, it is used where no sampling
frame exists and for a population distributed over some
geographical area. The following procedure can be used to carry
out cluster random sampling:
a. Divide the population into clusters (i.e. along geographic
75
boundaries).
b. Randomly sample the clusters.
c. Measure all units within the sampled clusters or areas.
v. Multi-Stage Sampling: This sampling method is employed when

different simpler sampling methods (i.e. four methods earlier
discussed) are combined to achieve a rich variety of probabilistic
sampling methods.
Non-probability Sampling
This method of sampling does not involve random selection as it does not
depend upon the rationale of probability theory. The techniques include:
i. Accidental or Haphazard Sampling
This method of sampling is referred to as “person on the street”
method of sampling. Any result generated when this method is
used may be biased, accidental or misleading.
ii. Purposive Sampling
This approach involves carrying out a sampling with a particular
purpose in mind. It is used in a situation where we need to reach a
targeted sample quickly and where sampling for proportionality is
not the main concern. The following are subcategories of
purposive sampling technique:
a. Model Instance Sampling: This sampling is only sensible for
informal sampling context.
b. Expert Sampling: This sampling is concerned with the
assembling of a sample having a known experience and
expertise in a particular area. It is used because it is the best
approach that brings to light the views of people with specic
expertise.
c. Heterogeneity Sampling: This sampling technique is used
when we want to include all views or opinions and also
represent them proportionately. The interest is in getting
76
broad spectrum of ideas. The sampling here is not about

people but about ideas. In order to get this achieved, we
include a broad and diverse range of participant.
d. Snowball Sampling: This sampling is employed by rst
identifying somebody who meets the criteria for inclusion in
the study. He often recommends others whom he knows also
meet the criteria. The approach is used when efforts are made
to reach inaccessible population that is difcult to nd.
e. Quota Sampling: In this sampling, people are selected non-
randomly based on some xed desired characteristics of the
population of interest. This sampling is of two categories:
i. Proportional Quota Sampling: The major characteristics
of the population are represented by sampling a
proportional amount of each of them. This implies that
we are concerned with the numbers that match the
proportions in the populations. The problem with this
sampling is that the type of sample to be used is
predetermined which suggests sampling biasness.
ii. Non-proportional Quota Sampling: The minimum
number of sampled units we want is satised in each
category. Thus, the numbers that match the proportions
in the population are not our concern. The interest in the
sampling is to ensure that even small groups are
adequately represented in the sample.
Example of a Simple Random Sampling Technique
From the population of the study, a sample size of 96 students (55

males and 41 females) were selected for the study as
recommended by Central Limit Theorem (Sambo, 2008 & Alice,
2011). In order to ensure that each school had an equal chance of
being chosen, a random sampling technique was used to select
two secondary schools from two educational zones of Kebbi State.
77
The schools are: Abdullahi Fodiyo Day Secondary School Birnin

Kebbi (A.F.D.S.S) from Birnin Kebbi educational zone as the
experimental group and Government Secondary School Jega
(G.S.S) from Jega educational zone as control group. A simple
random sampling technique was adopted in selecting one SS2
class in each school with more than three arms. Table 3.2 shows the
samples that are selected for the study.
Table 3.2: Sample Selected for the Study
Name of Sch. Group Males Females Total
A.F.D.S.S B/K Experimental 28 22 50
G.S.S. Jega Control 27 19 46
Total 55 41 96
Reporting Research Instrumentation

Instrumentation involves careful selection of adequate and
appropriate tool(s) which are administered in order to collect relevant data
concerning the study. The instruments that can be used in a research are
questionnaires, tests, observations, audio and video recording of
utterances, responses and reactions, interviews, specimens etc. It is
necessary to describe briey the data gathering instruments and apparatus
used in the study. Where the study involves a scientic experiment,
detailed descriptions and drawings as well as clear explanations on how
the instrument was used has to be provided in writing.
Parameters to Consider in Selecting Research Instrument(s)

The following are the parameters to be considered when selecting a
research instruments(s):
i. Topic of the research
ii. The research questions of the study
iii. The research design adopted
iv. Type of data to be collected
v. The depth of coverage
78
vi. Administrability of the instrument

vii. The scorability of the instrument
Example
Instrumentation is the process of selecting and developing of
measuring devices through appropriate methods to a given
evaluation or research problem. The research instruments that
were used for the purpose of this study are:
I. Mathematics Performance Test 1 (MPT1)
ii. Mathematics Performance Test 2 (MPT2)
Mathematics Performance Test 1 (MPT1)

Mathematics Performance Test 1 was designed to determine the
level of homogeneity between the experimental and control
groups. The test consisted of 30 multiple choice objective items
with options A-D which were based on the topics to be covered.
One correct answer and three distracters made up the options
which were all drawn from 2000-2010 WASSCE past question
papers. This was because the researcher believed WASSCE
questions to be standard.
Mathematics Performance Test 2 (MPT2)

The Mathematics Performance Test 2 was constructed to evaluate
the effectiveness of the treatment. This test also consisted of 30
multiple items with options A-D which were based on the topics
covered. The questions were also drawn from 2000-2010 WASSCE
past question papers. The answer scripts were collected and were
marked honestly by the researcher. The responses were scored
according to the key. The respondent that gives correct response
to an item, he/she earned one score (i.e. 1 mark) for that item while
zero score is earned by a blank or an incorrect response.
79
Reporting Validity of Research Instrument(s)

Okpala, Onocha and Oyedeji (1993) denes validity as the ability of
a research instrument to measure accurately and consistently what it is
designed to measure. It is an indication of the extent to which an
instrument gives a picture of the “true story” and rules out interpretations
other than the one you wish to make. Validity is usually described with
respect to results of test or evaluation of instrument. It does not refer to the
instrument itself. Evaluation results are not described as valid or invalid.
Rather, validity is a matter of degree of extent, such as high, moderate or
low with reference to a particular purpose.
Types of Validity
Types of validity shall be discussed from the perspective of the following:
i. Validity of Measurement.
ii. Validity of Findings.
Validity of Measurement
Validity of measurement is the ability of an instrument to measure
what it is supposed to measure. Validity of measurement focuses on how
well the idea of a theoretical construct is translated into or represented in
an operational measure (Emmanuel, 2013). The following types of validity
of measurement are discussed:
i. Face Validity: This type of validity is based on the appropriateness
of the research instrument “on the face of it” in relation to the
research topic. No statistics are involved.
ii. Content Validity: Content validity is a systematic examination of
items in an entire test to nd out whether it adequately covers a
representative sample of the universe of content and behaviour
domain intended to be measured. It is obtained through the use of
test blue print or table of specication which is showing the
distributions of the test items by process of objectives and content
areas (Gronlund, 1981).
80
iii. Criterion-Related Validity: Is the extent to which scores obtained

with an evaluation instrument are in agreement with current
criterion measures or predict future criterion measures. An
evaluator may be interested in using test scores to estimate present
status or predict students' future behaviour. Test scores obtained
with the instrument are compared with some independent
measures or criteria. When the evaluator compares test scores for
the new instrument with criterion scores obtained at a later date is
referred to as predictive validity. However, when the test scores
are compared with criterion measures obtained concurrently, the
evaluator is interested in estimating present status and the type of
validity is concurrent validity. The basic distinction between
concurrent and predictive validities is the time interval when the
criterion data are gathered.
iv. Construct Validity: Construct means a complex of mental images
and impressions systematically synthesised to aid the mind in
further speculation (Anikweze, 2012). It is a concept or trait that is
intangible but measurable. Construct validity indicates the extent
to which two instruments that measure conceptually related
properties agree with each other.
Validity of Findings
Validity of ndings is related to the appropriateness or adequacy of
a research design. It is used for identifying faulty designs that produce
ndings that are not valid or cannot be generalised (Emmanuel, 2013). Yu
and Ohlund (2010) discussed two aspects of validity in the context of
experimental designs: internal validity and external validity.
1. Internal Validity:
Internal validity attempts to answer the question: did the research
design actually elicit the appropriate responses for which it was designed
(Emmanuel, 2013). Internal validity is only relevant in studies that try to
81
establish a causal relationship. It is not relevant in most observational or

descriptive studies rather; it is perhaps the primary consideration in
studies that assess the effects of social programmes.
Threats to Internal Validity

Yu and Ohlund (2010) out lined the following factors that could jeopardise
the internal validity of a research if not controlled or carefully eliminated:
i. History: This refers to anything that happens between the interval
of pretest and posttest. For instance, take the case of an experiment
which takes 3 - 5 weeks in a school setting. Some of the students
may go beyond the lessons (treatment) being given, thus having
extra experience during the interval between pretest and posttest.
These events can be referred to as historical events.
ii. Maturation: This refers to the possibility that observed effects that
are caused by natural maturation of subjects rather than the
treatment. The natural process of human growth can result in
changes in posttest scores quite apart from the treatment.
iii. Testing: This refers to a situation whereby the same test is used for
pre-test and post-test; the possibility is that the students have
mastered the pretest to help their performance in the posttest. The
researcher here should try to give parallel tests and let the difculty
level be comparative.
iv. Instrumentation: This refers to using different tests for pretest and
posttest measurements, the change in pretest and posttest scores
may be due to differences between the tests rather than the
treatment. The best thing is to use randomisation and posttest-only-
design. If the researcher is interested in having pretest scores, then
intact groups must be used so as to know if the groups are
“homogeneous or equivalent”.
v. Statistical Regression: This refers to the statistical tendency of a
group's overall performance on a measure during a posttest to
regress toward the mean of that measure rather than in the
82
anticipated direction. Statistical regression in other words refers to

the tendency of extreme scores, whether low or high, to move
toward the average on a second testing.
vi. Selection Bias: This refers to selection of groups differently. The
results may be due to the differences between groups before
treatment and not as a result of the treatment. For instance, if a
researcher selects JSS 2 students from private and public schools as
experimental and control groups respectively, the differences in
scores obtain will be due to the differences in the type of school not
necessarily due to the effect of the treatment.
vii. Differential Loss: This refers to the loss of part of a sample from the
experiment. This means that there is a possibility that subjects may
drop out of the study at differential rates due to systematic reason,
such as low score on the pretest.
viii. Selection-Maturation Interaction: This refers to selecting
experimental group from one school and control group from
different school. If the two schools differ in the average age of their
students, they may respond to the treatment differently due to
maturational factors. The researcher should select all subjects from
a dened population so as to solve this problem.
ix. John Henry Effect: If subjects in a control group nd out that they
are competing with those in an experimental group, they tend to
work harder. When this occurs, differences between control and
experimental groups are minimised.
x. Experimental Mortality: When all subjects are selected from the
same school and control group perceives the treatment as very
desirable, they may try to nd out what's being done in
experimental group. Over time, the treatment of the experimental
group diffuses to the control group, minimising the treatment effect
because of the interaction between the subjects.
83
2. External Validity:
External validity attempts to answer the question: can the ndings
of a study be generalised to other people, in other places at other times?
(Emmanuel, 2013). This means that, external validity is the degree to which
the conclusions in a study would hold for other people, in other places and
at other times. It should be noted that internal validity is a prerequisite for
external validity.
Threats to External Validity

Yu and Ohlund (2010) also outlined the following factors that could
jeopardise the external validity of a research if not controlled or carefully
eliminated:
i. Reactive Effects of Experimental Arrangements: Subjects in your
sample may respond differently to experimental treatments merely
because they are being pretested. Since the population at large is
not tested, experimental effects may be due to the testing
procedures rather than the treatment itself which leads to the
reduction of generalisation.
ii. Interaction of Treatment and Subjects: Subjects in a sample may
react to the experimental treatment in ways that are hard to predict.
This limits the ability of the researcher to generalise ndings
outside the experiment itself. If there is a systematic bias in a
sample, then treatment effects may be different when applied to a
different sample.
iii. Interaction of Testing and Subjects: Also, subjects in a sample may
react to the process of testing in ways that are hard to predict. If
there is a systematic bias of test anxiety or a sample gets wiser with
the pattern of the tests, then treatment effects will be different when
applied to a different sample.
iv. Multiple Treatment Interference: Normally we nd a single
treatment in an experiment. If however, an experiment exposes
subjects to say three treatments (X,Y and Z) and test scores show
84
that treatment "X" produced the best results; the researcher cannot
declare treatment "X" the best. It might have been the combination
of the treatments that led to the results. Treatment "X" given alone
may produce different results.
Validity Test Blue-Print (Table of Specication)

A test blue-print or table of specication is a plan of a test that
ensures a systematically designed coverage of the whole subject content
and instructional objectives. It is a table where a researcher relates the
content of a course/subject to the instructional (behavioural) objectives to
be covered. In other words, it is a two-way table that species the objective
levels as they are related to the content of the subject matter. The
behavioural objectives are written at the horizontal (top) part of the table
while the topics to be covered are written at the vertical part of the table.
Then the researcher assigns the weights to each topic and behavioural
objective (in a cell) with respect to the importance attached to each topic
and objective. When you fail to use the table of specication as a guide in
test construction, you are likely to overload the test with items that cover
only a limited content area or objective levels and it will have a low content
validity.
In the test blue-print, each topic and instructional objectives are
weighted with regard to their relative importance. To make sure that the
items are valid in content, a list of the construct is made and submitted to
relevant experts for scrutiny. They will scrutinise the list thoroughly and
recommend important construct(s). Based on the topics or attributes of the
course content scrutinised, you can now construct items within the frame
of the blue-print. At this stage, the items are then submitted to experts in
measurement and evaluation and other relevant experts for more scrutiny.
To construct or prepare a table of specication, the following should be
properly considered:
i. List the various topics in the subject or content of your interest.
ii. The instructional objectives that the researcher wants to measure
85
should be stated. There are six levels of instructional objectives

which are usually known as cognitive domain. They are
knowledge, comprehension (understanding), application, analysis,
synthesis and evaluation.
iii. Choose the level or class for which the test is to be used. Note that
the class chosen determines the number of levels of objectives to be
considered. For primary and junior secondary school levels, the
rst three levels may be considered i.e. knowledge, comprehension
and application while for the senior secondary school and higher
levels of education, the six levels may be considered. The last three
objective levels i.e. analysis, synthesis and evaluation may be
regarded as critical thinking.
Example of Reporting Research Validity and Table of Specication

Validity simply implies a degree or extent to which a test measures
what it is expected to measure. For this purpose, the test questions
were all drawn from WASSCE past questions papers. Therefore, the
MPT1 and MPT2 were distributed to one Chief Lecturer and two
Senior Lecturers all holders of masters degree from Mathematics
Department, Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi,
Kebbi State, Nigeria for validation. The tests were further observed
by experts with the rank of Senior Lecturers with quali cation of a
PhD in Mathematics Education in the Department of Science
Education, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
After the validation exercise, the researcher made some
adjustments to the tests as suggested by the experts. The contents
covered are presented in table of speci cation below.
Table of Speci cation Based on Blooms' Taxonomy

Content Know Com App Ana Syn Eva Total %
Algebraic 5 3 4 0 0 0 12 20.0
Fractions
Quadratic 3 2 1 1 1 0 8 13.3
Equation
86
Angle of 4 1 3 1 0 0 9 15.0
Elevation
Angle of 3 2 1 2 1 0 9 15.0
Depression
Height and 2 2 2 0 1 1 8 13.3
Distances
Bearing and 5 5 2 0 0 2 14 23.3
Distances
Total 22 15 13 4 3 3 60 100
Percentages 35.0 26.7 20.0 8.3 6.7 3.3 100
Reporting Pilot Testing

A pilot study is a small scale preliminary study conducted in order
to evaluate the adequacy of the research instrument(s) (Hulley, 2007). Pilot
studies are frequently carried out before large-scale quantitative research,
in an attempt to avoid wasting of time and money in an inadequately
designed project. A pilot study is usually carried out on members of the
relevant population but not on those who will form part of the nal
sample. This is because, it may inuence the later behavior of research if
they have already been involved in the research (Haralambos & Holborn,
2000). A pilot study is often used to test the design of the full-scale
experiment which can be adjusted. It is potentially valuable insight and
should anything be missing in the pilot study, it can be added to the full-
scale experiment to improve the chances of a clear outcome of the
instrument(s).
Example
The instruments were pilot-tested in two (2) senior secondary
schools namely: Polytechnic Staff Academy Birnin Kebbi and
Bahago Gomo Day Secondary School Zuru. Forty (40) SS2
students were pilot-tested, who were not part of the sample but
part of the population of the study. The Mathematics Performance
Test 1 (MPT1) and Mathematics Performance Test 2 (MPT2) were
administered twice to the students using test-retest method, with
two weeks interval. The data obtained after pilot testing were
used to determine the reliability of the tests
87
Reporting Reliability of a Research Instrument(s)

Reliability refers to the degree of consistency between two set of
scores or observations obtained with the same instrument or equivalent
forms of the instrument. Correlation coefcient is an important statistical
procedure in the determination of the degree of reliability. A correlation
coefcient of +1.00 is a perfect positive relationship, -1.00 is a perfect
negative relationship while 0.00 indicates no relationship. The nearer a
correlation is to +1.00 the more reliable the results. It is fundamental to also
note that reliability refers to the results obtained from the instrument not
the instrument itself.
Methods of Estimating Reliability

There are several methods that are used in estimating the reliability of a
test results some of such include:
i. Test-Retest Method: This method involves administering the same
instrument to the same group of students on two different
occasions. Two weeks' time interval between the rst and the
second administration is recommended by Tuckman (1975); while
to some, the time interval could range from two hours to ve years.
∑ xy
r=
√∑ x ²y²
ii. Split Half Method: This method involves administering an
instrument to a group of students once and splitting the response
into two halves for the purpose of scoring. The splitting process
involves scoring even and odd numbered items separately so as to
generate two sets of scores for each student. When the scores are
correlated, the coefcient produced is a measure of internal
consistency of two halves of the instrument. The reliability
coefcient of split half method are computed using the spearman-
Brown formula:
88
1
2×Reliability on 2 test 2r
r∗∗ = 1 i.e. r∗∗ =
1×Reliability on 2 test 1+ r
Where r∗∗ = Estimated reliability of the whole test
iii. Equivalent Form Method: This method involves administering two

parallel or alternate forms of instrument concurrently to the same
students. The correlation coefcient computed using the two set of
scores is a measure of equivalence of the two tests. The two tests
should be equivalent in the sense that, they should have the same
level of difculty and validity indices. One way to ensure
equivalence is the use of the same table of specication for
developing the tests.
iv. Kuder-Richardson Method: Kuder and Richardson (1939)
developed several formulae for obtaining reliability estimates
using scores from one test administration. The correlation
coefcient computed with the scores is also a measure of internal
consistency. A basic assumption of the method is that items in the
test are homogeneous and therefore process inter-item consistency.
The Kuder Richardson formula 21 is widely applicable in research
and evaluation. The formula is:
v. Cronbach Coefcient Alpha (α): This is a method that is applicable

to instruments that are scored on multiple bases or polytomously
scored i.e. every response attracts score e.g. essay-type
achievement tests. It is computed using the formulae:
89
Where Reliability coefcient

Variance of rst half test
Variance of second half test
Variance of the whole instrument
vi. Rulon's Method: This is a method developed by Rulon, which only

uses the difference between the variances of the scores from the two
halves of the instrument against the variance of the scores from the
whole instrument. It is computed using the following formulae:
Where Reliability coefcient

Number of items
Variance of a single test
Variance of the total test
Other methods of estimating reliability are the Hoyts Analysis of Variance,

Scorer Reliability and Standard Error of Measurement.
Example
Reliability of an instrument is the consistency of an instrument
over time. The reliability of the research instruments was
determined by test-retest method. A Spearman Brown equal
length value reliability coefficient of 0.71 was achieved.
90
Procedure for Data Collection and Data Analysis

Meaning of Data: Data means observations or evidences. The scientic
educational research require the data by means of standardised research
tools or self-designed instrument (Awogbemi & Oguntade, 2010).
Classication of Data
According to Awogbemi and Oguntade (2010), data is classied into two
broad categories, these are:
i. Quantitative Data: This is a data in which numerical values can be
assigned e.g. scores of students in an examination, ages of students
in school, number of leaves on a tree, achievement, intelligent,
attitude, height, weight etc.
ii. Qualitative Data: This is a data in which numerical values cannot
be assigned. In other words, these are observations that are non-
numerical in nature. They are in alphabetical form e.g. marital
status, sex, religion, state of origin, motivation, condence, honesty,
integrity etc.
Types of Data
Awogbemi and Oguntade (2010) outlined the following as main types of
data:
i. Time Series Data: A time series is a sequence of observations
generated sequentially in time. The ordering is usually through
time, particularly in terms of some equal spaced time intervals
which could be every second, minute, hourly, daily, weekly,
monthly, quarterly, annually etc. e.g. weather reports, monthly
ination rates, daily closing stock price etc.
ii. Cross Section Data: These are data collected at the same point in
time e.g. Population census conducted by National Population
Commission every 10 years.
91
iii. Pooled Data: These data contain elements of both time series and
cross-section data. They are also known as combined data.
Sources of Data
Ravindra and Naurang (1996) outline the two main sources of data i.e.
primary and secondary sources:
i. Primary Source: First-hand data are generated internally by
researcher himself. Thus the data obtained from this source
originated from the investigator for the sole aim of meeting the
research objectives.
ii. Secondary Source: In secondary source, the data collected do not
originate from the researcher himself, but the researcher collects the
data from other sources or records. In essence, secondary source
deals with references, documents and bibliographies recorded by
someone else.
Procedure for Data Collection

Research tools are administered on the sample subjects for
collecting evidences or data. The researcher is required to give a step-by-
step account of the procedure to be used or already used for data collection
and also to report how the data collection procedure conforms to best
ethical standards. Most researches would lead to gathering of data by
means of some standardised test or self-constructed research tools. The
data may be obtained by administering test, questionnaire, interview,
personal observations etc. The data collection is the accumulation of
specic evidence that would enable the researcher to properly analyse the
results of all activities by the research design and procedure. The
researcher must know how much and what kind of data collection would
take place and when. One must also be sure that the types of data
obtainable from the selected instruments would be usable in whatever
statistical model that would be used to bring out the signicance of the
study.
92
Need for Data Collection

Yogesh (2006) stated that data are needed in a research work to serve the
following purposes:
i. To verify the research hypotheses.
ii. To provide a solid foundation for a research.
iii. It provides a denite direction and denite answer to a research
inquiry.
iv. To substantiate the various arguments in research ndings.
v. To ascertain the effectiveness of new device for its practical utility.
vi. Qualitative data are used to nd out the facts and quantitative data
are employed to formulate new theory or principle.
Methods of Data Collection

According to Awogbemi and Oguntade (2010), the common methods used
to collect data include the following:
i. Standardised Tests Method
ii. Personal Interview Method
iii. Direct Observation Method
iv. Questionnaire Method
Standardised Tests Method: A test is an instrument or procedure that

proposes a sequence of tasks to which participants are to respond. The
results are then used to form measures to dene the relative value of the
trait to which the test refers. Therefore, standardised tests are tests that are
given in a consistent or standard manner which are purposely designed to
have consistent questions, administration procedures and scoring
procedure (Emmanuel, 2013). According to Awogbemi and Oguntade
(2010) test is basically divided into objective test items and essay items
test which are briey discussed below:
93
i. Objective Test Items: This is a type of test whereby the testee selects
his answer from options supplied by the test constructor. Objective
test items may be constructed in the following forms:
a. Multiple Choice Item Test: A multiple choice item test is a
form of assessment in which respondents are asked to select
the best possible answer out of the choices from a given list.
The test constructor needs to be conversant with the
following four terminologies when preparing a multiple
choice item test:
i. Stem: This is the question given to the testee.
ii. Option: These are all the choices or possible answers
provided for the question.
iii. Key: This is the correct option or the answer to the
question.
iv. Distracters: These are the incorrect options or the
wrong answers to the question.
b. Alternative Response Item Test: It consists of a declarative
statement to which a respondent is required to choose only
between two alternatives: Yes or No, True or False, Correct
or Incorrect, Agree or Disagree etc.
c. Matching Item Test: Is a test that usually has two parallel
columns of items and a respondent is required to match each
item in one column (premise) to any item selected in the
other column (response).
d. Completion Item Test or Fill in the Blank Test: Is a test that
requires the respondent to provide an answer to a question.
The answer is usually very short (e.g. a symbol, number,
word, phrase etc.). The item could be an incomplete
statement or a direct question.
94
e. Rank-order Item Test: Is a test that demands a respondent to

arrange a list of materials, concepts etc. using certain
principles. The test developer must indicate the principle of
ordering (e.g. serial, alphabetical, chronological etc.) so that
the respondent can carry out the assignment properly.
f. Pictorial Item Test: A pictorial item test is such that makes
use of diagram, pictures, graphs as signicant part of the
item.
ii. Essay Items Test: This is a type of test which requires a response
composed by the examiner usually in the form of one or more
sentences. The accuracy and quality of which can be judged
subjectively using marking scheme. The essay items test may be
constructed in the following forms:
a. Restricted Response Essay Item Test: This type of test is
characterised by the tendency of the examiner to indicate (as
part of the instructions) the pattern and depth of the content
expected from a student's response.
b. Extended Response Essay Item Test: This type of test is
characterised by the absence of restrictions or limitations in
both pattern of response and scope of content expected from
students.
Personal Interview Method: This method of collecting data involves at

least two people (interviewer and interviewee) in an oral discussion with
the intention of getting information from the responses.
Direct Observation Method: In this method, items are sampled from the
source as investigators obtain or collect data and record them.
Questionnaire Method: Questionnaire is dened as a series of relevant

questions, sometimes statements which are usually used to elicit
95
information from the target population of a given study (Bello & Ajayi,
2000). There are two types of questionnaire, these are:
i. Open-Ended Questionnaire: This type of questionnaire enables
respondents to respond freely on how they answer a particular
question.
ii. Close-Ended Questionnaire: This type of questionnaire puts
restriction on the respondents in the way they express their
opinions. In other words, it allows the respondents to select one
possible answer from two or more options provided in the
questionnaire.
Procedure for Data Analysis

Data analysis entails what the researcher would do after collecting
the data or information. It is expected that when data is collected for a
research study, it would be subjected to statistical analysis, the results of
which may lead to appropriate conclusion. All collected data must be
interpreted in terms of all the variables used in the study. This will enable
the researcher to compare the results of the instrument and see the truth or
otherwise of the hypothesis. Accordingly, the researcher is required in this
section to enumerate the various statistical tests that would be or were
conducted (descriptive or inferential statistics are generally used). It is also
in this section that the researcher sets the level of signicance (alpha α ,
which is usually either 0.05 or 0.01) as well as decision rule upon which the
null hypothesis would be retained or rejected.
Functions of Data Analysis

Data analysis serves the following functions:
i. To make the raw data meaningful.
ii. To test null hypothesis.
iii. To obtain the signicant results.
iv. To draw some inferences or make generalisation.
96
v. To estimate parameters.
Approaches Employed in Data Analysis

There are two approaches which are employed in data analysis, these are:
i. Parametric Statistical Analysis
ii. Non-parametric Statistical Analysis
Parametric Statistical Analysis

This is a branch of statistics which assumes that sample data comes
from a population that follows a probability distribution based on a xed
set of parameters.
Considerations for Parametric Statistical Analysis

Yogesh (2006) stated that this type of statistical analysis may be employed
effectively in the following contributions if:
i. Probability sample has been employed in the investigation.
ii. Variables of the study can be qualied at interval scale.
iii. The obtained data are normally distributed or not free
distributed.
iv. The objective and population of the study are clearly dened.
Non-parametric Statistical Analysis

These are statistics that are not based on parameterised families of
distributions. They include both descriptive and inferential statistics.
Descriptive Statistical Analysis: This is concerned with numerical
description of a particular group observed and provides valuable
information about the nature of that particular group or class. In
other words, this statistics is concerned with the collection,
calculation and graphical display of results of a given group
without drawing any conclusion about a larger group.
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Inferential Statistical Analysis: This involves the process of

sampling, the selection for study of a small group that is assumed to
be related to the larger group from which it is drawn. The small
group is known as the sample while the large group is known as the
population. This statistics is basically concerned with making
general statements or inferences about a larger group or
population.
Considerations for Non-parametric Statistical Analysis

Yogesh (2006) also stated that this type of statistical analysis may be
employed effectively in the following contributions if:
i. Non-probability sample is selected in the research study.
ii. The variables of the study are quantied at any level of
measurement, mainly nominal and ordinal scale.
iii. No assumption is required for this approach.
iv. Free distribution of data, may be skewed or normally
distributed.
Example
Both the MPT1 and MPT2 were conducted during the school hours
in order to avoid absentism and improve respondents' control. The
MPT1 was administered to the students before the treatment while
the MPT2 was administered after the treatment. The purpose of
the MPT1 was to nd out the previous knowledge, abilities and
homogeneity of the students while the purpose of MPT2 was to
measure the performance of the students constituting the
sample. The students spent 45minutes for both the MPT1 and
MPT2. The answer scripts were immediately collected by the
research assistants and were marked fairly and honestly by the
researcher. Data analysis explained the procedures for statistical
analysis that enable the researcher to arrive at decision on each
hypothesis. Three research questions were answered using
98
descriptive statistics in form of mean, standard deviation and

frequency distribution. T-test statistic was used to compare the
mean performance scores of the students in all the three null
hypotheses (i.e. Ho1, Ho2 and Ho3).
Conclusion
Research design involves listing the essential considerations to be
followed in the research undertaking. It is in other words a general
arrangement or planning conducted. It is therefore appropriate that before
embarking on any eld study or investigations in laboratories, all the
necessary steps for a successful research must be clearly stated. The
methodology discussion in this chapter centered on a detailed account of
the research design, population, sampling and sampling technique,
instrumentation, validity, pilot testing, reliability of the research
instrument, administration of the research instrument, procedure for data
collection and data analysis.
99
100
CHAPTER SIX
6
PROCESS OF DATA PRESENTATIONS,
ANALYSES AND DISCUSSIONS
Introduction
Data analysis entails what the researcher will do after collecting the
data or information for the study. The data is expected to be grouped,
tabulated and statistically analysed using appropriate statistics. All
collected data must be interpreted in terms of all the variables used in the
study. This will enable the researcher to compare by treatment, so that the
truth or otherwise of the hypothesis can be seen. The chapter captures the
following headings; sequential steps for data presentation and analysis,
answering research questions, testing null hypotheses, summary of major
ndings; and discussion of major ndings.
Sequential Steps for Data Presentation and Analysis

Data presentation means presenting the data in a tabular form
while data analysis means interpreting the contents of the table for easier
comprehension usually written below the table. Olaofe (2010) outlined
some sequential steps to be taken in presenting and analysing data, these
include:
i. Specication of the category to be analysed. The rst category to be
analysed should normally correspond to the rst research question
asked and so also the second category to be analysed should
correspond to the second research questions and so on.
101
ii. The table number should be serially arranged. Tables should be

numbered in project according to the chapter(s). Example Table 1.1,
meaning the rst table in chapter one, table 2.3 meaning table three
in chapter two, table 3.4 meaning table four in chapter three, table
4.2 meaning table two in chapter four etc.
iii. The table numbers are immediately followed by a colon (:), then
followed by the title of the table.
iv. Capitalise the rst key operational words or content words of the
title of the table but initial letters of words with no dictionary
meaning but with grammatical meanings (e.g. words like 'and', 'or'
among others) are not capitalised.
v. Present the table with correct alignment i.e. two horizontal lines at
the top of the table and a horizontal line at the bottom of the table
with usually no lines vertically within the table.
vi. Present the data in the table under each category or item specied at
the top of the table.
vii. Interpret the table by the data analysed.
viii. There must be a space between the title of the table and the table
itself.
ix. Tables are supposed to be concise, brief and not cumbersome. They
are not to be too overloaded with too many facts and gures. Long
detailed tables that may disrupt the continuity of analysis are either
broken into two or more relevant tables or put in the appendix.
x. Words like shows, indicates, no signicant difference, effect or
relationship claimed to have, regarded, found and so on are
common analytical procedures while words like means, reveals,
implies, refers, suggests, among others are usually data
interpretation words.
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CHAPTER 6: PROCESS OF DATA PRESENTATIONS, ANALYSES AND DISCUSSIONS
In chapter four of a research project, data are presented in form of

tables and gures. The researcher is expected to provide explanation of the
data as data analysis. Data presentation and analysis comprises answering
of the research questions and testing the research hypotheses one after the
other so as to extract the major ndings of the study.
Answering Research Questions

Emmanuel (2013) opines that in order to get answers to research
questions, data are generated in chapter three where research design and
methodology are discussed. The data are analysed in chapter four with the
view of using the result to answer the research questions. Therefore, this
section provides answers to the research questions of a study based on the
data generated and analysed.
Example using Mean and Standard Deviations

Data obtained for the purpose of this study were analysed based
on certain variables. The data collected used descriptive statistics
of means and standard deviations as shown in the Table below to
answer research question one:
Means and Standard Deviations of Mathematics Performance

Test 2 (MPT2) Scores for Experimental and Control Groups
Group N Mean S. D. Mean Diff.
Experimental 50 20.06 3.17
1.06
Control 46 19.00 3.45
From the table above, the result reveals that there is mean
difference between the experimental and control groups score.
From their mean scores, the experimental and control groups
obtained 20.06 and 19.00 respectively with a mean difference of
1.06 which indicates that the experimental group outperformed
the control group. The spread of scores around the mean for the
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above groups' comparison were 3.17 and 3.45 respectively which

means that, the mean scores of control group is higher while the
mean scores of the experimental group are closer to each other.
This established the evidence that treatment of experimental
group affect students' performance in some difficult mathematics
concepts positively. From this result, research question one has
been answered.
Example using Frequency Distribution and Percentages Responses

The data collected to answer research question one was analysed
with frequency distribution and percentage responses as shown
in the table below:
Availability of ICT Facilities
S/N ICT Facilities No. Functional %

Avail
able
1 Computers 1600 1345 84. 2
2 Internet Services 32 05 15. 6
3 Scanners 32 29 90.6
4 Printers 32 30 93.8
5 Projectors 32 32 10 0
6 Calculators 100 95 95
7 Magnetic Boards 32 32 10 0
8 Television Sets 32 25 78.1
9 CD Rom. 100 78 78
10 Radio/Recorders 32 28 87. 5
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In order to answer the research question one above, the ICT check
list was used to nd out the extent of ICT facilities in Senior
Secondary Schools in Kebbi State. Out of the One Thousand Six
Hundred (1600) computers supplied to the institutions, One
Thousand Three Hundred and Forty Five (1345) representing
84.1% were functional. In the case of internet services out of the
Thirty Two (32) units supplied only Five (05) representing 15.6%
were functional. For the remaining ICT facilities in all the thirty two
(32) Senior Secondary Schools 78% and above were functional.
Testing Null Hypotheses

According to Emmanuel (2013) analyses of data would normally
produce results and the results are compared with the decision rule set.
You are to have separate sub-heading for each hypothesis; state the
hypothesis, state the test statistic used, make reference to the appropriate
table/gure and make a comprehensive description of the results of the
hypothesis tested at a given level of signicance. These results are to nally
form a basis for retaining or rejecting a hypothesis.
Example using t-test Statistic

To test whether there was a signi cant difference in the mean
scores of male and female students exposed to Guided Discovery
Strategy and Expository Method in some difficult mathematics
concepts as stated in Ho1:
Null Hypothesis One: There is no signi cant difference in the

mean scores of male and female students exposed to Guided
Discovery Strategy in some selected difficult mathematics
concepts. The hypothesis was analysed using t-test statistic. The
result is presented in table 4.5
105
Table 4.5: Summary of t-test Analysis of the Performance of

Male and Female Students in Difficult Mathematical Concepts
on Posttest for Experimental
Gender N Mean S. D. SED Df t P Remark

Males 28 19.93 2.85 0.91
48 2.19 0.02 S
Females 22 20.23 3.59 0.94
*Signi cant P ≤ 0.05, Df = 94
In table 4.5 The result showed that P value observed (0.02) is less
than P=0.005 at df=48. Since the P value observed was less than P
value of 0.05, the null hypothesis which says: there is no signi cant
difference in the means scores of male and female students
exposed to Guided Discovery Strategy in some selected difficult
mathematics concepts was rejected. This means that there is
signi cant difference in the means scores of male and female
students exposed to Guided Discovery Strategy in some selected
difficult mathematics concepts in Kebbi State.
Example using Chi-square Statistic

To test whether there is a signi cant difference in the mean scores
of students exposed to Guided Discovery Strategy in the
distribution of difficulty level among some selected mathematics
concepts as stated in Ho2:
Null Hypothesis Two: There is no signi cant difference between

the use of Guided Discovery Strategy in the distribution of
difficulty level among some selected mathematics concepts. The
hypothesis was analysed using chi-square statistic. The result is
presented in table 4.6 below.
106
Table 4.6: Summary of chi-square Analysis of Students'

Performance Scores in the Distribution of Difficulty level
among Some Selected Mathematics Concepts
Variables Observed Expected Df X2 X2 crit. Remark
Frequency Frequency cal.
Pass 729 750
1 0.59 3.842 *Sig.
Fail 771 750
From Table 4.6, the result of chi-square showed the students'

responses in the difficulty level in teaching Mathematics for the
experimental group. It appears from the table that X2 cal. value
observed (0.59) is less than X2 crit. at df=1. Thus the null hypothesis
which stated that; there is no signi cant difference between the
use of Guided Discovery Strategy in the distribution of difficulty
level among some selected mathematics concepts was retained.
This implies that there is no signi cant difference between the use
of Guided Discovery Strategy in the distribution of difficulty level
among some selected mathematics concepts.
Summary of Major Findings

From the answers to the research questions and result of the
hypotheses tested, the researcher is expected to outline the major ndings
of the research work paragraph by paragraph in not more than one page,
depending on the quantity of the ndings.
Example
The following are the summary of the major ndings from this
study.
Kebbi State government has 32 Senior Secondary Schools
that were well-equipped with ICT facilities and 172 schools
without ICT facilities which made a total of 204 schools. A total of
107
300 questionnaires ICT check list and observation scheduled were

distributed to the teachers of schools with ICT facilities and 278
questionnaires, observation scheduled and ICT check list were
returned to the researcher and all analysis was based on the
returned questionnaires, observation scheduled and ICT check
list. Majority of the teachers complained that the computers they
have were not adequate for students and not connected to
internet.
Majority of the teachers did not use computer to teach
Mathematics even though they reported that using computer
could improve teaching of Mathematics. Both school authorities
and the government were encouraging teachers to use computer
in their teaching through maintenance and by providing fuel for
generators when there is no Electricity supply by PHCN.
Discussion of Research Findings

Olaofe (2010) posits that full discussion of the results and ndings
of research work is an important component of research writing and
presentation. It is during discussion that the researcher is opportune to
display progress made in the study and how the study has been able to
move the eld forward. The discussion of the data analysis and ndings is
expected to place the present ndings side by side with earlier ndings in
the related eld. Discussions are to link the ndings with the earlier
ndings in the review of literature and show how the present study is an
improvement on the earlier study efforts. It is in the discussions that the
contributions of the research are shown.
Example
From the information gathered all the four (4) research questions
formulated were answered and it is important to note that many of
Senior Secondary Schools in Kebbi State have computers, but the
computers were not adequate for students. The computers
available were not connected to the internet and most of the
108
Public Senior Secondary Schools in the State have no functional

computer laboratory.
In the schools that have the computer laboratories, those
laboratories are not under Mathematics Department though
majority of the Mathematics teachers have access to them.
However, information collected from the teachers revealed that
students do not have access to computer laboratories. Another
problem reported by the majority is the lack of regular power
supply by PHCN.
On the adequate knowledge of computer by the teachers
of Senior Secondary Schools in Kebbi State, this can be ascertained
from the level of their usage of computer in teaching Mathematics.
From the information gathered, most of the teachers con rmed
that they have con dence in using computer to teach
Mathematics although they have never used computer to teach
Mathematics before. Also from the information collected from the
teachers, computers enhance the teaching of Mathematics to a
great extent when compared with the traditional methods being
used.
Conclusion
The presentation and analysis of the data constitute a vital part of
any research study. This chapter explains how the data collected can be
analysed in form of tables and gures with a view to answering the
research questions as well as testing the hypotheses. It uses the answers to
the research questions and results of the hypotheses to extract the major
ndings of the study.
109
110
CHAPTER SEVEN
7
CONCLUDING CHAPTER
Introduction
The nal chapter of a research report is normally dedicated to
summary, conclusion and recommendations. The chapter allows the
researcher to summarise the entire research report, make conclusions as
well as appropriate recommendations where necessary. The aspects that
are expected to be covered in the concluding chapter of a research work
include summary, study implications, conclusion, contributions to
knowledge, recommendations, limitations of the study and suggestions
for further studies. This chapter sets out to explain or discuss these aspects
of concluding chapter albeit in brief.
Research Summary
The summary component usually covers aspects such as the
research questions and hypotheses (if any) of the study, research
methodology and research instruments, analytical procedures and the
ndings in relation to the research questions and hypotheses.
Example
The study examined the effect of Guided Discovery Strategy on
students' performance in some difficult senior secondary school
mathematics concepts in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The aim of this
111
study was to determine the effect of each teaching method on

students' performance in difficult mathematics concepts. It also
aimed at highlighting the differences between Guided Discovery
Strategy and Expository Method in terms of academic
performance of male and female students.
The researcher adopted a pretest posttest quasi-
experimental design. Out of the 228 public schools, Abdullahi
Fodiyo Day Secondary School Birnin Kebbi and Government
Secondary School Jega were selected for the study as
experimental group and control group respectively. The two
schools have a representation of 50 and 46 students respectively
which were randomly selected from the intact arms of Senior
Secondary 2. Thus, a total of 96 students were used for the study.
This is in accordance with Central Limit Theorem that regarded a
minimum of 30 sample size as appropriate for experimental
research. The experimental group was subjected to the treatment
(teaching using guided discovery strategy) while the control
group was subjected to the treatment (teaching using expository
method). Pre-test was administered to both groups at the
beginning of the research to determine the level of homogeneity
between the groups while after the treatment process post-test
was also administered to determine the effectiveness of the
treatment.
The data collected from the tests were analysed using
frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation and t-test
statistics all at 5% level of signi cance. The result showed that
students taught using guided discovery strategy performed
better than those taught using expository method but the result
of the analysis does not show any signi cant difference between
the performance of male and female students. Recommendations
were made based on the result of this study.
112
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUDING CHAPTER
Study Implications
Study implications means how the study can be applied in diverse
situations. The implication may be for the teachers or pupils, economic or
political advancement, industrial growth or scientic and technological
advancement.
Example
Over the years, there has been a lot of public outcry at the
poor performance of students in Mathematics at senior secondary
school level. Parents and government are in total agreement that
their huge investment on education is not yielding the desired
dividend. Teachers also complain of students' low performance at
both internal and external examinations. The annual releases of
Senior Secondary Certi cate Examination results (SSCE)
conducted by West African Examinations Council (WAEC, 2002-
2006) justi ed the problematic nature and generalization of poor
secondary school students' performance in different school
subjects. A number of factors have been attributed to this
problem. Some people blame the students for not taking their
studies serious resulting into poor performance at SSCE level.
Others blame parents and government of the country for their
nonchalant attitudes towards the young generation performance
in school. Okereke (2006) attributed students' poor performance
to factors such as the societal view that Mathematics is difficult,
shortage of quali ed teachers, lack of Mathematics laboratory and
lack of attractiveness and novelty in teaching method. Whatever
the case may be, teachers cannot escape from this blame, because
many see teachers as the key holders towards achieving good
academic performance of students and can in uence students'
performance in all examinations. This is due to a number of factors
ranging from lack of interest in the job of some teachers, and some
of them are not also academically sound enough to teach. Most
Mathematics teachers in most parts of the state (Kebbi) have no or
113
low training, in that you nd somebody that read Business

Education teaching Mathematics.
The major problem of teachers in making students not to perform
up to expectation is the teachers' poor method of teaching. According to
Okoli (2006), many teachers' method of interaction with their students is
conventional lecture method and notes copying. The result is that students
are only oriented towards remembering what is taught to them which is
also easily forgotten. One notable solution to address the issue of problem
of poor teaching is seen in the ndings of this research work. The result has
con rmed that guided discovery approach can in uence students'
performance positively in difficult mathematics concepts. This is in
agreement with the ndings of Lerch and Hamilton (2000), Chang et al.
(2001), Steele (2005), Chung (2005), Luzmanuel (2005), Robertson and
Orlander (2006), Nuzum (2007) and Battista (2007) that students perform
better when taught with Guided Discovery Approach than the traditional
Expository Method. Hopefully, the result of this study will convince all
science teachers and Mathematics teachers in particular to adopt the
guided discovery teaching approach because the approach makes
students to learn better and be active participants in their learning process.
Therefore, for teachers to be free from the blame of poor teaching method,
they have to embrace a teaching method that will engage students in the
teaching and learning environment.
Study Conclusion
Conclusions are what can be gathered from the crucial ndings of
the study. In some studies, conclusions are more relevant before
recommendations because recommendations emanate from the
conclusions reached. There are different kinds of conclusions that can be
made at the end of a research work. Some conclusions are in form of
generalisations deducible from the study while some are strategic points
that emanate at the end of the study. Olaofe (2010) outlined some aspects
that must be covered in a conclusion to a study as follows:
i. The major ndings of the study
ii. The new grounds broken
114
iii. The accidental ndings, not initially sought for but that was found
in the course of the study
iv. A nal statement that gives the reader of the work a long-lasting
impression.
Example
On the basis of the ndings of this study, the following conclusions

were drawn:
Ÿ The guided discovery teaching strategy enhances higher level
of academic performances among students. Those taught
using guided discovery strategy performed signi cantly better
in the learning of difficult mathematics concepts than those
taught using expository method.
Ÿ There is signi cant difference between the performance of
male and female students, but both gender performed
signi cantly well when exposed to guided discovery strategy.
Ÿ There exists a signi cant difference among students' responses
in the difficulty level in teaching mathematical concepts and
also bearing and distances were found to be more difficult to
the students compared to the remaining topics reviewed to be
difficult.
Contributions to Knowledge
This is another section of concluding chapter that is very important
but which is often neglected by many researchers. It is written paragraph
by paragraph and usually comes immediately after the conclusion of the
study but before the study recommendations. It highlights the
contributions of the research work to the existing knowledge or to the
existing literature and the major gaps that were lled at the end of the
study.
115
Example
The contributions of this study to the existing knowledge are:
Ÿ The study establishes that students perform better in the
learning of difficult mathematical concepts when exposed to
guided discovery strategy than when exposed to expository
method of teaching.
Ÿ The ndings of the study has added new information to
existing mathematics education literature.
Ÿ The study provides information for teachers to use guided
discovery strategy when solving difficult mathematical
concepts.
Ÿ The research instruments used in this study (MPT1 and MPT2)
can be adapted by other researchers when investigating the
effect of teaching methods in some difficult mathematical
concepts in senior secondary school level
Study Recommendations
For a study to be useful, it must provide solid and concrete
recommendations. All recommendations are based on the areas covered
by the study and must be based on facts and gures explicated in the study.
The study recommendations has the following characteristics as outlined
by Olaofe (2010):
i. Related to the research areas.
ii. Emanated from the results and ndings of the study.
iii. Feasible and realistic.
iv. Logical, acceptable and precise.
Example
From the ndings of this study, the following recommendations

are made:
Ÿ It has been found in this study that students that were exposed
to Guided Discovery Strategy perform better in the learning of
116
difficult mathematical concepts than those exposed to

Expository Method. Therefore effort should be made by school
administrators to encourage the use of Guided Discovery
Strategy when solving difficult mathematical concepts.
Ÿ It has also been found that there is signi cant difference
between the performance of male and female students when
exposed to Guided Discovery Strategy. Therefore, curriculum
planners should develop instructions that will improve
students' knowledge in laying more emphasis on knowledge
constructions in mathematics.
Ÿ Also textbook publishers should publish books that will
promote students' performance in difficult mathematical
concepts.
Limitations of the Study

These are the shortcomings, conditions or inuences that cannot be
controlled by the researcher and also places restrictions on the
methodology and conditions of a research work.
Example
The following were the limitations of the study:
1. The study is supposed to cover all the seven educational zones
of Kebbi State but due to the time constraint, the study was
limited to only two senior secondary schools in two
educational zones of the state.
2. The study was also limited to government owned senior
secondary schools.
3. The study covers only 96 students out of 20,163 students from
the two selected educational zones.
4. The study was also limited to some selected difficult
mathematics concepts.
5. The time-frame given in both the MPT₁ and MPT₂ was also
another limitation because it is not enough for answering 30
mathematics questions in each test.
117
Suggestions for Further Studies

It is always advisable to a researcher to make suggestions for
further studies because this would help identify constructs and
relationships that are worthy of further research. Suggestions for further
studies also encouraged other researchers to carry out research on the
same or allied problems.
Example
Further research work on the use of Guided Discovery Strategy

could be carried out so as to provide detailed and thorough
investigation needed to understand the practices of effective
teaching. It could also enable researchers to observe how the use
of guided discovery could affect the learners' performance in
terms of understanding. The following suggestions are made by
the researcher for further study:
Ÿ The study should be repeated in another state so as to con rm
or disagree with the situation on ground in Kebbi State.
Ÿ Similar research may be conducted to cover Junior Secondary
Schools in Kebbi State.
Ÿ The research work serves as a blue print to other research
studies, as its ndings provide a good reference point for
researchers, curriculum planners and policy makers.
Conclusion
This chapter has dealt with how to conclude a research project i.e.
techniques of writing the concluding chapter. Basically the issues raised in
this chapter are on how to write the summary of the entire research work,
present study implications, conclusion, contributions to knowledge,
recommendations and suggestions for further research. Some of the
features needed in writing the concluding chapter are clarity, explicitness,
brevity and accuracy.
118
CHAPTER EIGHT
8
REFERENCES, BIBLIOGRAPHIES
AND APPENDICES
Introduction
This chapter highlights the meaning of referencing, importance of
referencing and steps involved in referencing. The chapter focuses on
American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language
Association (MLA), Oxford, Harvard, and Kate Turabian referencing
styles; and then further gives detailed examples of each referencing style
(i.e. both the in-text citation and reference list). Finally the chapter explains
and show how to write subsequent referencing using Latin
words/expressions, bibliography and appendices.
Referencing in Research Work

Meaning of Referencing
Referencing according to Emmanuel (2014) is a standardised
method of acknowledging and identifying the sources of the information
and the ideas that you have used in your write-up. Referencing does not
just mean direct quotations, but it refers to facts and gures, ideas and
theories drawn from both published and unpublished works. All areas
cited either by way of direct quotation or paraphrasing should be
adequately acknowledged and documented. Academic works (books,
journals articles etc.) are not just written from memory, but a number of
sources related to the relevant subject area are mostly read, identied and
cited to support what the author is trying to advance or argue (Umar,
119
2006). That is why when you read a book or article in a journal or other
kinds of scholarly work, you nd the author making references to other
works.
What to Reference
Emmanuel (2014) posits that all the works of those individuals
whose ideas, theories or research have directly inuenced your write-up
should be cited. They may provide key background information, support
or dispute your line of thought, or offer critical denitions and data.
When to Reference
Neville (2007) provides the following as a helpful guide on when you
provide references in your work:
i. When describing or discussing theory, model or practice associated
with a particular author or source.
ii. When giving emphasis to a particular theory, model or practice that
has found a certain measure or agreement and support within the
discipline.
iii. When there is the need to inform your reader of direct quotations or
denitions in your assignment.
iv. When using a source to give weight or credibility to an argument
presented by you in your write-up.
v. When using tables, statistics, diagrams, photographs and other
illustrations you need to indicate the source of the information.
vi. When paraphrasing another author's work, or summarising a
prevailing idea.
Always remember that each time you paraphrase or quote an
author directly or describe an idea that inuenced your work, you must
acknowledge the source in the text and also at the reference list so as to
avoid being charged of plagiarism (a form of academic theft). Olaofe (2010)
suggests that at least 50, 150 and 250 relevant and pertinent sources should
be consulted, reviewed and utilised in a research project, master's work
120
CHAPTER 8: REFERENCES, BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND APPENDICES
and doctoral work respectively.
Importance of Referencing
The following are the reasons why referencing is important:
i. To avoid plagiarism.
ii. To verify quotation.
iii. Referencing your work correctly ensures that you give appropriate
credit to the sources and authors that you have used to complete
your research work.
iv. Referencing the sources that you have used for your research work
demonstrates that you have undertaken wide-ranging research in
order to create your work.
v. Referencing your work enables the readers to consult for
themselves the same materials that you used.
Steps Involved in Referencing

The following are the steps involved in referencing:
i. In preparation for referencing, note the full bibliographic details
including the page number(s) from which the information is taken.
ii. When quoting directly or paraphrasing from a source, the source
must be acknowledged in the text by author name and year of
publication (this is called an in-text citation). If quoting directly, a
location reference such as page number(s) or paragraph number is
also required.
iii. Provide a reference list at the end of the write-up.
iv. When you have completed your reference list, make sure that each
entry appears in both the text and reference list and all entries
match exactly in spelling and year.
121
Places of Referencing
According to Umar (2006), there are two places where sources are cited
and documented in academic works. These places are as follows:
i. Within the Text or In-text Citation
ii. Reference List or Bibliography or Footnotes
Within the Text: As the researcher writes an article or book, he/she is

expected to acknowledge the contributions of others within the text of
his/her work. This process of acknowledging other people's work in your
own work is known as in-text citation. An in-text citation is cited in the text
with an author-date citation system and is listed in the reference list. The
in-text citation briey identies the sources for readers and enables them
to locate the source of information in the reference list at the end of the
work. Always remember that each reference cited within the text must
appear in the reference list and vice-versa.
Reference List or Bibliography or Footnotes: The reference list usually

appears at the last page of a research work or article. It provides the full
details necessary to identify and retrieve each source. The full
bibliographic data (names of the author(s) or editor, date of publication of
the item, title of the item, place of publication, publishers, page etc.) of all
the sources acknowledged within the text are expected to be listed as
reference list or footnotes. The arrangement and format of presenting the
reference depends on the citation style one used within the text which
could be alphabetically or serially arranged.
Citation Styles/Types of Referencing

There is a large number of citation styles that are used by publishers
and authors. Although some of them are constant, others keep on
changing from time to time. The following are some types of
referencing/citations styles that will be discussed in this chapter:
122
1. American Psychological Association (APA) Style

2. Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
3. Oxford Referencing Style
4. Harvard Referencing Style
5. Kate Turabian Style
1 American Psychological Association (APA) Style

The American Psychological Association (APA) is observed to be
one of the most popular citation styles used in Nigeria (Suleiman, 1998).
Bichi, (2004) also stresses that APA is the most extensively used style in
education and social science research. Unlike some other styles, APA
keeps on reviewing its format from time to time (i.e. it changes frequently
or often). The most recent and commonly used referencing style in Nigeria
th
is the APA 6 edition. The APA requires two elements: an in-text citation
and a reference list.
In-Text Citation: The researcher must have consulted a number of books,

journals, magazines, research projects etc. If the citation is within the body
of the research work, then the researcher must acknowledge the sources.
This acknowledgment in the body of the research work is called in-text
citation and is mainly done in two forms. The rst form is when the
authors' name appeared at the beginning of citation; the surname of the
author is written followed by date of publication in bracket then the
citation. But the second form is when the authors' name comes at the end of
the citation, both the name and the year separated by comma are written in
bracket then followed by a full stop.
Reference List: A reference list only includes the sources that are cited in
the text. References must be listed in alphabetical order, beginning with
author's surname, followed by the initials or other names. All references
citations are done in single line spacing with double line between each
citation. So also, the reference data at the end of the research work are
normally not numbered except otherwise stated by the awarding
123
institution or publishing house. If the APA style is adopted, the author's

surname, comma, author's initials with full-stops between and after the
initials, year of publication in bracket and full-stop. Then followed by the
title of the article (with only the rst letter capitalised) or book (with the
rst letter of the major words capitalised and italising the title) or the name
of the journal (with the rst letter of the major words capitalised and
italising the title). Moreover, place of publication (separated by colon), the
publisher, and the website (if the article is downloaded from the internet)
are also provided for full citations. Note that it is only names of textbooks
and journals that are italised in the APA reference list.
Advantages and Disadvantages of APA Style

Umar (2006) outlined advantages and disadvantages of APA referencing
style as follows:
Advantages
i. It is the most widely used style in Nigeria.
ii. Publication date of the item cited could easily be noted from the
text, thereby knowing its currency.
iii. The style is reviewed constantly and so takes care of new
developments.
iv. The reference list is alphabetically arranged.
v. The style is very exible, in that it allows addition or subtraction of
any cited work in the text without tempering with the sequence of
the subsequent cited works.
Disadvantages
I. It allows the use of initials on the reference list. This may create
confusion in an instance where two different authors share
common surnames and whose initial names start with common
letters.
ii. The style is reviewed constantly. So it is sometimes difcult for a
researcher to know the current one.
124
As In-Text Citation
(How it will appear
Sources at the beginning & As Reference List
at the end of a
sentence).
Book with Aliyu (2013)……… Aliyu, M. S. (2013). Introduction to the
one author History of Modern Architecture:
OR A Guide for Polytechnic
Students. Birnin Kebbi: Omo-
…... (Aliyu, 2013). Sa-Aja Prints
Books with Always cite both Muhammad, S. A. & Faruk, A.
two authors authors. (2016). Trigonometry and
Note that Analytical Geometry for
“and” and “&”are Technical Students. Birnin
used interchangeably Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja Prints
Muhammad and
Faruk (2016) ……….
OR
…. (Muhammad &
Faruk, 2016).
Book with Cite all the Okpala, P. N., Onocha, C. O. &

3-5 authors surnames of the Oyedeji, O. A. (1993).
authors at the rst Measurement and Evaluation in
time. Education. Jattu-Uzairue, Edo:
Stirling-Horden Publishers
Okpala, Onocha and (Nig.) Ltd.
Oyedeji (1993)..……
OR
……..… (Okpala,
Onocha & Oyedeji,
1993).
125
In subsequent
citations include the
surname of the rst
author followed by
“et al.” and year.
Note that don't
italise the Latin
word, it is also
followed by a full
stop after it. e.g.
et al.
Okpala, et al.
(1993)………..
OR
…. (Okpala, et al.,
1993).
Book with 6 Cite only the When a reference has up to six

or more surname of the rst authors, spell out all the authors'
authors author, followed by names in the reference list.
“et al.”
Muhammad et al. Muhammad, S. A., Abdullahi, F.,

(2016)……..….. Usman, Y., Mukhtar, M. S.,
Bashir, A, Hana, Z. & Ishaq, I.
OR (2016). Logic and Linear Algebra
for Technical Students. Birnin
…… (Muhammad Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja Prints
et al., 2016).
Note that when a reference has
more than seven authors, spell out
the rst six and the nal author's
name separating them with an
ellipsis (…)
126
Corporate If these are long, Mathematical Association of Nigeria

authors and they may be spelt (2010). MAN Primary School
corporate out in the rst Mathematics, Book Five (UBE
authors as citation and Ed.). Ibadan: University Press
publisher abbreviated PLC.
thereafter.
Mathematical
Association of
Nigeria [MAN]
(2010).
Subsequent
citations
….. (MAN,
2010).
Multiple List two or more Order alphabetically in the

works (when works by different reference list.
2 or more authors who are
references are cited within the Ibrahim, M. G. & Muhammad, S. A.
cited to make same parentheses (2014). The Impact of
the same in alphabetical Motivation on Students'
point) order by the rst Academic Achievement in
author's surname. Kebbi State Junior Secondary
Separate the School Mathematics.
citations with semi International Journal of
colons. Advancement in Management
Science, 4(1), 5-10
(Muhammad, 2014;
Madugu & Madugu, A. & Muhammad, S. A.
Muhammad, 2014; (2014). Parental Involvement
Ibrahim & and Interest on Senior
Muhammad 2014). Secondary School Students'
Mathematics Achievement in
Kebbi State, Nigeria.
International Journal of
Advancements in Research and
Technology, 3(12), 14-30
127
Muhammad, S. A. (2014). Parents

Attitudes Towards their
Children's Mathematics
Education in Birnin Local
Government Area of Kebbi
State. International Journal of
Innovations in Educational
Methods, 6(2), 13-19
Multiple Arrange two or Order chronologically in the

works by the more works by the reference list (i.e. arranged
same author. same author by according to year of publication)
year of publication.
Give author's Jalaludeen, I. (2009). Beyond the
surname once; for Setting Sun .Gusau: Salam-
each subsequent Salam Press.
work, give only the
date. Jalaludeen, I. (2012). Trance: A
Journey Through Poesy. Gusau:
Salam-Salam Press.
Jalaludeen (2009,
2012) ……….
OR
…….. (Jalaludeen,
2009, 2012).
Multiple Use a/b etc. to Order chronologically by a/b in the

works differentiate reference list.
published in between works in
the same year the same year. Anikweze, C. M. (2013a). Statistical
by the same Analysis of Research Data. A
author ……. (Anikweze, Paper Presented at a Capacity
2013a, 2013b). Building Workshop for
Mathematical Sciences
Lecturers in Tertiary
Institutions on Computer
Packages for Statistical
128
Analysis;pp. 1-29, held at the

National Mathematical
Centre Abuja-Nigeria
Anikweze, C. M. (2013b). Statistical

Analysis of Research Data: T-
Test, ANOVA, ANCOVA,
Correlation and Regression. A
Paper Presented at a Capacity
Building Workshop for
Analysis;pp. 30-51, held at the
Edited book Emmanuel (2014)… Ed. or Eds. is given in parentheses

following the last editor's name.
OR Emmanuel, Y. (Eds.) (2014).

Fundamentals of Scholarly
Writing for Publication.
… (Emmanuel, Kaduna: Sunjo A. J. Global
Links Ltd.
2014).
Include the page range of the
relevant chapter in parentheses.
Where there is an edition number,
the page range is included in the
same set of parentheses.
Dictionary or (Hanks et al., 1989). For major reference works with a

encyclopedia large editorial board, you may write
with large the name of the lead editor,
editorial followed by “et al.”
board
Hanks, P., et al. (Eds.) (1989). Collins
Pocket English Dictionary
London, England: Collins.
129
No author Cite the rst few Cite the rst few words of the title
words of the and the year in bracket. Italised the
reference entry title of the article, chapter or web
(usually the title) page, followed by page number.
and the year. Use Begin each word with a capital
double quotation letter.
marks around the
title of an article, Subsequent Referencing using Latin
chapter or web Words and Expressions (2014).
page. Begin each Referencing and Bibliography,
word with a capital p.164.
letter.
..… (“Subsequent
Referencing” 2014).
No date ….. (Mujitaba, n.d.). Mujitaba, M. N. (n.d.). Mechanics

and Style of Research Reports.
p.235.
No city …. (Kauru, 2015). When no city has been identied in

print material, use the city/state for
the publisher's head ofce.
Kauru, A. I. (2015). A Handbook for

Writing Project Reports, Theses
and Journal Articles. Zaria,
Kaduna.
Journal article Muhammad (2014) Include the issue number only if
……............. each issue of journal begins on
page 1.
OR
Muhammad, S. A. (2014). Parent's
……(Muhammad, Attitude Towards their
2014). Children's Mathematics
Education in Birnin Kebbi
Local Government Area of
Kebbi State. International
Journal of Innovations in
Educational Methods, 6(2), 13-19
130
Magazine Munir (2012) ...….. For monthly magazine, include the

month and date; for a weekly
OR include the day also.
…..... (Munir, 2012). Munir, S. A. (2012, September 24).

Muslim Ummah and the
Contemporary Security
Challenges. Al-Dhiya The
Radiance, 1(4), 20-26
Newspaper ….... (Buhari, 2016). Buhari, M. (2016, February 14).

Murtala's Death Derailed
Nigeria. The Daily Trust p. 4
Newspaper …..... (Buhari, 2016). Buhari, M. (2016, February 21). Naira

article Will Not be Devalued,
retrieved President Muhammadu
from the Buhari Insist. Retrieved
internet February 14, 2016 at
1 1 : 2 8 a m f r o m
http://www.premiumtimes.
org/newspaper/google.com
Electronic Muhammad (2014) Muhammad, S. A. (2014). The
journal ………….. Effectiveness of Problem
article Solving Method as an
OR Instructional Strategy in
(with DOI) Teaching Mathematics in
………… Kebbi State Senior Secondary
(Muhammad, 2014). Schools. International Journal
of Research and Advancement
in Educational Methods, 11(4),
101-107. Doi: 10.1037//002-
9432.11.4.107
Electronic The writer should always provide

journal the name of the data base.
article Muhammad, S. A., Faruk, A.,
(from a Mustapha, I. & Mukhtar, M.
database- no S. (2015).Teachers' Perception
DOI) on the Causes of Students'
131
Muhammad, Faruk, Poor Mathematics

Mustapha and Performance in Secondary
Mukhtar (2015)… Schools of Kebbi State,
Nigeria. Asian Journal of
OR
Science and Technology, 6(2),
1065-1069. Retrieved June 13,
….. (Muhammad,
2016 at 01:52pm from
Faruk, Mustapha &
ABI/Inform database.
Mukhtar, 2015).
Magazine Muhammad and If no DOI has been assigned,
Madugu (2014)….. provide the home page URL of the
journal.
OR
Muhammad, S. A. & Madugu, A.
…. (Muhammad & (2014). Interrelationship
Madugu, 2014). between Students'
Performance in Mathematics
and Physics in Senior
Secondary Schools of Birnin
Kebbi Local Government Area
of Kebbi State. International
Journal of Scientic and
Engineering Research, 5(11),
1494-1507. Retrieved July 31,
http://www.ijser.org/journal
/interelationship.com
If the article has page numbers,

these should be included after the
issue number, in the format
consistent with journal
referencing.
R e p r i n t … … ( A b b a s & Abbas, G. A. & Muhammad, S. A.
version of an Muhammad, 2014). (2014). The Effectiveness of
article Problem Solving Method as
an Instructional Strategy in
Teaching Mathematics in
Kebbi State Senior Secondary
Schools. International Journal
132
of Research and Advancement in

Educational Methods.
[Advance online publication].
D o i :
10.106/ijraem.2014.08.011.
Electronic ….. (Yogesh, 2006). Yogesh, K. S. (2006). Fundamentals of
book Research Methodology and
Statistics [ebray Reader
version]. Retrieved from ebray
database.
Web page …. (“Mechanics and Mechanics and Style of Research
with date, no Style of Research Reports (2011). Retrieved March
author Reports”, 2011). 3 0, 2015 at 08:49am from
http://www.stuff.msrr.com
Web page ….. (Mujitaba, n.d.). A retrieval date (e.g. Retrieved

with author, March 5, 2011 from http://www.....)
no date is required for web sites where
content changes frequently.
Mujitaba, M. N. (n.d.). Mechanics

and Style of Research Reports.
Retrieved January 19, 2014 at
0 6 : 5 3 p m f r o m
http://www.ijser.org
Web page ….. (“Threats to Threats to Validity of Research

with no Validity of Research Design (n.d.). Retrieved April
author and no Design”, n.d.). 23, 2014 at 06:23pm from
date http://www.creative-
wisdom.com/teaching/WBI/
threat.shtml
Direct Material directly Threats to Validity of Research
quotations quoted from an Design (n.d.). Retrieved April
author's work must 23, 2014 at 06:23pm from
be reproduced http://www.creative-
word for word. For wisdom.com/teaching/WBI/
quotation fewer threat.shtml
than 40 words
incorporate
133
quotation in text
and enclose with
double quotation
marks. Always
include the page
number of
quotation.
Yogesh (2006) found Yogesh, K. S. (2006). Fundamental

that “Nature has of Research Methodology and
made only one thing
Statistics. New Delhi: New
that is more
Age International (P) Ltd
powerful in the
universe and that is Publishers.
called as Human or
Man” (p. 35).
OR
It was found that

“Nature has made
only one thing that is
more powerful in the
universe and that is
called as Human or
Man”(Yogesh, 2006,
p. 35).
For quotation of 40
or more words
display quotation
in free-standing
block of
typewritten lines,
and omit the
quotation marks.
Indent the block 5
spaces.
134
Yogesh (2006)
found:
Nature has
made only one
thing that is
more powerful
in the universe
and that is
c a l l e d a
Human or
Man. Man is
the only animal
that can take
advantage of
knowledge
which has been
preserved or
accumulated
through the
centuries or
since the origin
o f m a n .
H u m a n
knowledge has
the three
p h a s e s :
preservation,
transmission
a n d
advancement.
This fact is of
particular
importance in
research which
operates as a
continuous
function of
ever-closer
approximation
to the truth (P.
35).
135
Secondary In the text, name Give the secondary source only in

sources the original work the reference list
(Citing an and give a citation
author that for the secondary
has been cited source. Muhammad, S. A. Umar, M. A. &
within the Mustapha, I. (2014). Effect of
reference Mukhtar and Musa Discovery Approach on
material you study (as cited in Students' Mathematics
are using). Muhammad, Umar Achievement in Kebbi State
& Mustapha, 2014). Junior Secondary Schools.
Gesse Journal of Humanities,
1(1), 161-166
Conference Published conference proceedings

proceedings may be cited either like chapters in
print or edited books (rst example) or like
electronic journal articles (second example).
This will depend whether the
publication is treated as a series
Yusuf (2006) ….. (e.g. has an ISBN and an editor) or
as a periodical (i.e. it is published
annually).
OR
Yusuf, A. M. (2006). In G. M.
Ibrahim, M. Habu & I. D. Kabir
….. (Yusuf, 2006). (Ed.). Developing Research
Hypothesis. Readings in Social
Science Research. Kano: Adamu
Jaji Publishers.
Zayyanu and Zayyanu, U. & Muhammad, G.

(2009). Towards an Integrated
Muhammad (2009)
Framework of Information and
………..
Communication Technology
for Teacher Education in
OR
Nigeria. Proceedings of the 1st
National Conference of
…(Zayyanu &
Academic Staff Union of
Muhammad, 2009).
Polytechnics, Waziri Umaru
Federal Polytechnic Birnin
Kebbi Chapter. pp. 268-273.
136
Course Abdullahi (2012) … Abdullahi, M. (2012). Research

handout Methodology in Education
(Monograph) OR [monograph].EDUC 803,
Research Methods. Ahmadu
... (Abdullahi, 2012). Bello University Zaria,
Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Personal Include letters, Not included in the reference list as

communication memos, telephone these do not provide recoverable
conversation and date.
some electronic
communications
e.g. E-mail,
discussion groups,
and messages from
electronic bulletin
boards.
Cite in-text only,

with initial as well
as the surname of
the communicator
A. Bashir (personal
communication,
February 23, 2016)
………….……..
OR
… (A. Bashir,
personal
communication,
February 23, 2016).
Figure From a book From a book.

(Image, caption under Aliyu, M. S. (2013). Introduction to the
graph, chart, gure: History of Modern Architecture: A
map, Figure 15. Haj Air Guide for Polytechnic Students.
drawing, Terminal Jeddah, Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-aja
photograph).
137
Saudi Arabia (from Prints.

Aliyu, 2013, p. 73).
From a journal From a journal article.

article-caption Muhammad, S. A., Faruk, A.,
under gure: Mustapha, I. & Mukhtar, M. S.
Figure 1. (2015). Teachers' Perception
Mathematics WAEC on the Causes of Students'
Result from 1992- Poor Mathematics
2007 (from Performance in Secondary
Muhammad, et al. Schools of Kebbi State,
2015, p. 1066). Nigeria. Asian Journal of
Science and Technology, 6(2),
1065-1069. Retrieved June 13,
ABI/Inform database.
From the web-
caption under
gure:
Figure 9. Research From the web.
Process (from Mujitaba, M. N. (2011). Mechanics
Mujitaba, 2011). and Style of Research Reports.
Retrieved January 19, 2014 at
If your work is 0 6 : 5 3 p m f r o m
going to be http://www.ijser.edu.org
published,
permission to use a
gure must be
obtained and credit
given in the caption
to the original
author and the
copyright holder.
Figure with permission.
Figure with Muhammad, S. A.& Madugu,
permission-caption A.(2014). Interrelatedness of
under gure Mathematics and Physics
Figure 1. 5November, 2014:
Interrelationship Interrelationship between
between Students' Students' Performance in
138
Performance in
Mathematics and Physics in
Mathematics and
Senior Secondary Schools of
Physics in Senior
Birnin-Kebbi Local
Secondary Schools
Government Area of Kebbi
of Birnin-Kebbi
State. International Journal of
Local Government
Scientic & Engineering
Area of Kebbi State
Research, 5(11), 1494-1507.
From
Retrieved November 5, 2014 at
“Interrelatedness of
1 2 : 2 6 p m f r o m
Mathematics and
http://www.ijser.org
Physics 5
November, 2014” by
S. A. Muhammad &
A. Madugu 2014, Even when a gure caption in-text
International has full details, the full reference is
Journal of Scientic still required in the reference list as
& Engineering well. Remember that for work that
Research, 5(11), p. is going to be published, if the
1497. Copyright source of the gure is an article
2014 by Oiza Clear without a DOI taken from a
Digital Press. database: give the URL or the
Reprinted with journal home page instead of the
permission. database in the reference list.
Act of The Companies act Companies Act 2015. Retrieved May

parliament 2015 prohibits…... 13, 2016 at 01:37pm from
http://www.legislation.govt.
OR nz/act/public/2015/1305/la
test/DLM319570.html.
….. (Companies act
2015).
If you are referring

to a particular
section of the act,
give the section
number “s 19' or
numbers 'ss. 213-
225'.
139
If you are referring

to specic clause,
give the clause
number (cl) or
numbers (cls).
The Consumer Law

Reform Bill 2015
(315-8) cl 9………....
OR
The Consumer Law

Reform Bill 2015
(315-8) cls 21-25
allows for…..
OR
Clause 17 to the
Consumer Law
Reform Bill 2015
(315-8).
2 Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) establishes values for
acknowledging sources used in a research work. MLA citation style uses a
simple two-part parenthetical documentation system for citing sources:
Citations in the text of a research work and reference list that appears at the
end of a research work. Together, these references identify and credit the
sources used in the work and allow others to access and retrieve the cited
material.
Citing Sources in the Text: In MLA style, writers place references to

sources in the work to briey identify them and enable readers to nd
them in the list of works cited. These parenthetical references should be
140
kept as brief and as clear as possible. The following are expected from the
researcher:
i. Give only the information needed to identify a source. Usually the
author's last name and a page reference sufce.
ii. Place the parenthetical reference as close as possible to its source.
Insert the parenthetical reference where a pause would naturally
occur, preferably at the end of a sentence.
iii. Information in the parenthesis should complement, not repeat,
information given in the text. If you include an author's name in a
sentence, you do not need to repeat it in your parenthetical
statement.
iv. The parenthetical reference should precede the punctuation mark
that concludes the sentence, clause, or phrase that contains the
cited material.
v. Electronic and online sources are cited just like print resources in
parenthetical references. If an online source lacks page numbers,
omit numbers from the parenthetical references. If an online source
includes xed page numbers or section numbering, such as
numbering of paragraphs, cite the relevant numbers.
Examples of In-Text Citation of MLA Referencing Style
Author's name in text Aliyu has expressed this concern (131- 164).
Author's name in This concern has been expressed (Aliyu

reference 131-164).
Multiple authors of This hypothesis (Muhammad and Faruk 8)

a work suggested this theory (Muhammad, Faruk,
and Mukhtar 25).
Two locations Muhammad alludes to this premise (118-124,

130).
141
Two works cited (Muhammad19; Faruk 232).

Multivolume works
References to volumes (Muhammad 4:101-107).

and pages
References to an entire (Muhammad, vol. 6).
volume
In text reference to an In volume 6, Muhammad suggests
entire volume
Corporate authors (United Nations, Economic Commission for

Africa 51-63).
Works with no author. as stated by the presidential commission
When a work has no (Report 4).
author, use the work's
title or a shortened
version of the title when
citing it in text. (If
abbreviating a title,
omit initial articles and
begin with the word by
which it is alphabetised
in the Works Cited list.):
Online source with (Muhammad, pars. 7-8).

numbered paragraphs
List that Appears at the End of the Research Work (Reference List)
Materials cited in the text of a research work must appear at the end of the
work as bibliography or references. This list provides the information
necessary to identify and retrieve each source cited in the work. The
following are expected to appear in MLA reference list:
i. Arrange entries in alphabetical order by authors' last names
(surnames), or by title for sources without authors.
ii. Capitalise the rst word and all other principal words of the titles
and subtitles of cited works listed (Do not capitalise articles,
142
prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, or the "to" in innitives).

iii. Shorten the publisher's name for example, omit articles, business
abbreviations (Co., Inc.), and descriptive words (Press, Publisher).
iv. When multiple publishers are listed, include all of them, placing a
semicolon (;) between each.
v. When more than one city is listed for the same publisher, use only
the rst city.
vi. Use the conjunction "and" not an ampersand [&], when listing
multiple authors of a single work.
vii. Pagination: Do not use the abbreviations “p.” or “pp.” to designate
page numbers.
viii. Indentation: Align the rst line of the entry ush with the left
margin, and indent all subsequent lines (5 to 7 spaces) to form a
“hanging indent”.
ix. Italics: Choose a font in which the italic style contrasts clearly with
the regular style.
Advantages and Disadvantages of MLA Style

Umar (2006) outlined advantages and disadvantages of MLA referencing
style as follows:
Advantages
i. The MLA indicates the page number of the cited materials in the
text, which allows a reader to easily trace the page in the original
item.
ii. Author's names can be written in full thereby avoiding confusion of
identity, especially where two authors have common initials and
surnames.
iii. The reference list is also alphabetically arranged by surnames.
143
Disadvantages
i. A reader will not know how current or otherwise of the material
cited from the text unless the list of references is referred to.
ii. It is not as widely used in Nigeria as the APA style.
Examples of MLA Referencing Style at the End of a Research Work

(Reference List)
Citations from Books

References to an entire book should include the following elements:
Ÿ Author(s) or editor(s)
Ÿ The complete title
Ÿ Edition (if indicated)
Ÿ Place of publication
Ÿ The shortened name of the publisher
Ÿ Date of publication
Ÿ Medium of publication
Basic Format
Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year
of Publication. Medium of Publication.
Book with one author:

Aliyu, Muhammad Sani. Introduction to the History of Modern Architecture.
Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-aja, 2013. Print.
Another work, same author:

---. Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited. Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-aja,
2013. Print.
144
Book with two authors:

Muhammad, Sani Abdurrahman and Faruk, Abdullahi. Trigonometry and
Analytical Geometry for Technical Students. Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-aja,
2016. Print.
Book with three authors:

Okpala Peter, Onocha Oguntade and Oyedeji Adebayo. Measurement and
Evaluation in Education. 3rd ed. Jattu-Uzairue, Edo: Stirling-Horden,
1993. Print.
Book with more than three authors:

Muhammad, Faruk, et al. Logic and Linear Algebra for Technical Students. Birnin
Kebbi: Omo-Sa-aja, 2016. Print.
Corporate author:
Mathematical Association of Nigeria. MAN Primary School Mathematics Book
Five. UBE ed. Ibadan: University Press PLC, 2010. Print.
Multivolume work:
Muhammad Sani Abdurrahman, Abdullahi Faruku, Usman Yusuf, Mukhtar
Muhammad Sani, Bashir Abubakar, Ibrahim Sa'idu, and Ishaq Ibrahim.
Logic and Linear Algebra for Technical Students. 4 vols. Birnin Kebbi:
Omo-Sa-Aja, 2016. Print.
No author or editor:
th
Subsequent Referencing using Latin Words and Expressions. 6 ed. Ibadan:
University Press PLC, 2014. Print.
Editor (anthology or collection of essays):

Mustapha Ibrahim, Mubarak Bala, and Suleiman Musa, eds. Sets, Logic and
Linear Algebra. Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja, 2015. Print.
145
Citation from Essay or Chapter in Edited Books or Anthologies

References to an essay or chapter in an edited book or compilation must
include the following elements:
Ÿ Essay or chapter author(s)
Ÿ Essay or chapter title
Ÿ Book title
Ÿ Book editor(s) or compilers
Ÿ Place of publication
Ÿ The shortened name of the publisher
Ÿ Date of publication
Ÿ Inclusive page numbers of the cited piece
Article in a book:
Abubakar Usman. “Matrices and Determinants”. Linear Algebra for Technical
Students. Ed. Mukhtar Muhammad Sani. Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja,
2014. 29-41. Print.
Reprinted article:
Abbas Garba Ahmed and Muhammad Sani Abdurrahman. “The Effectiveness
of Problem Solving Method as an Instructional Strategy in Teaching
Mathematics in Kebbi State Senior Secondary Schools”. International
Journal of Research and Advancement in Educational Methods 6.11
(2013): 1073-1089. Rpt. in Methods of Teaching Mathematics in
Nigerian Secondary Schools. Ed. Ibrahim Musa. vol. 2. Gusau: Salam-
Salam Press, 2015. 77-90. Print
Citation from Articles or Entries from Reference Books

If the article or entry is signed, place the author's name rst; if it is
unsigned, give the title rst. For well-known reference works, it is not
necessary to include full publication information. Include only the title of
the reference source, edition, and date of publication.
146
Dictionary entry:
"Honey." Def. 1b. Advance's Learners Dictionary. 2005. Print.
Encyclopedia entry:
Mercuri, Becky. "Cookies." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in London.
Ed. Andrew F. Smith. Vol. 1. 2004. Print.
Article from a less familiar reference book:

For articles from less familiar reference sources, include the full
publication information.
Bernheisel, J. Frank. "Setting Recycling Goals and Priorities." McGraw-Hill
nd
Recycling Handbook. Ed. Herbert F. Lund. 2 ed. New York: McGraw-Hill,
2001. Print.
Citation from Article in Journals, Magazines and Newspapers

References to periodical articles must include the following elements:
Ÿ Author(s)
Ÿ Article title
Ÿ Publication title (journal, magazine, etc.)
Ÿ Volume number
Ÿ Publication date (abbreviate months, if used)
Ÿ The inclusive page numbers
Issue numbers should be stated as decimals to a given volume

number. In the example below, the number 25.4 reads as Volume 25, issue
4. When citing newspapers, it is important to specify the edition used (e.g.
late ed.) because different editions of a newspaper may contain different
material.
147
Journal article, one author:

Muhammad Sani, Abdurrahman. "Parent's Attitude Towards their Children's
Mathematics Education in Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area of Kebbi
State.” International Journal of Innovations in Educational Methods 6.2
(2014): 13-19 Print.
Journal article, two authors:
Muhammad Sani Abdurrahman and Madugu Ahmad. "Interrelationship
between Students' Performance in Mathematics and Physics in Senior
Secondary Schools of Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area of Kebbi
State.” International Journal of Scienti c and Engineering Research, 5.11
(2014): 1494-1507.Print.
Magazine article:
Munir Sani Abdullahi. “Muslim Ummah and the Contemporary Security
Challenges”. Al-Dhiya The Radiance, Sep. 12, 2012: 20-26 Print.
Newspaper article, no author:

"Naira Will Not be Devalued." The Leadership Newspaper, Feb. 23,2016, English
ed.: 5. Print.
Newspaper article, one author, discontinuous pages:

Muhammadu Buhari. "Murtala's Death Derailed Nigeria". The Daily Trust Feb. 14,
2016: B1+. Print.
Citation from Government Documents

References to government documents vary in their required elements. In
general, if you do not know the writer of the document, cite the
government agency that issued the document as author.
State document:
Kebbi State. Commission on Capital Punishment. Report of the Commission to
Investigate and Report the Most Humane and Practical Method of
Carrying Into Effect the Sentence of Death in Capital Cases. Birnin Kebbi:
PTN, 2010. Print.
148
Federal document:
Nigeria. House Committee on Ethics and Privileges. The Ethics and Privileges
Act. Hearings 40th Cong., 3rd Sess. Abuja: GNP, 2016. Print.
International document:
United Nations. General Assembly. Convention on the Fight against Terrorism in
Sub Sahara Region in Africa. New York: United Nations, 2015. Print.
Citation from Audio Visual

Film or video recording:
Matarka Matatace. Dir. Ali Nuhu. 2010. Videocassette. FKD/Kano Home Video,
2015.
Sound recording:
Born to do it. Seven Days. DGC, 2003. CD.
Sound recording, specic song:

Born to do it. "Mr. Cried David." Seven Days. DGC, 2003. CD.
CD-ROM
“Musa (AS)”. Lives of the Prophets. CD-ROM. 31-50. KSA: Qurdhaba Production,
2005.
Citation of Materials from Online Sources

Online Sources:
Citations for online sources, like those for print sources, should
provide information that both identies a source and allows that source to
be located and retrieved again. All citations should include the medium of
publication (Web) and the date the content was accessed. If the source is
difcult to locate or your instructor requires a URL, list the complete
address within angle brackets after the date. In many cases, it is also
necessary to identify the Web site or database that has made the material
149
available online. There are currently few standards that govern the
organisation and presentation of online publications, the information that
is available to fulll these objectives can vary widely from one resource to
another. In general, references to online works require more information
than references to print sources.
Web page:
Abubakar Akilu. “Mechanics and Style of Research Reports” 2013. Retrieved
Mar. 30, 2015. Web. <http://www.stuff.msrr.com>
Personal web site:

If a work is untitled, you may use a general label such as home page,
Introduction, etc.
Rule, Greg. Home page. Web. Nov. 16, 2008.
Entry in an online encyclopedia:

"Einstein, Albert." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica,
1999. Web. Apr. 27, 2009.
Article from a less familiar online reference book:

Nielsen, Jorgen S. "European Culture and Islam." Encyclopedia of Islam and the
Muslim World. Ed. Richard C. Martin. New York: Macmillan Reference-
Thomson/Gale, 2004. Web. Jul.4, 2009.
Article in an online periodical:

If pagination is unavailable or is not continuous, use “n. pag.” in place of
the page numbers.
Chaplin, Heather. "Epidemic of Extravagance." Salon 19 Feb. 1999: n. pag. Web.
Jul. 27, 1999.
Article in a full-text journal accessed from a database:

Muhammad Sani Abdurrahman and Madugu Ahmad. “Interrelationship
between Students' Performance in Mathematics and Physics in Senior
Secondary Schools of Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area of Kebbi
State”. International Journal of Scienti c and Engineering Research, 5.11
150
(2014): 1494-1507. Retrieved Jul. 31, 2014. Web.

<http://www.ijser.org/journal/interelationship.com>
Online book with print information:

White, Robert E. Soils for Fine Wines. 2nd ed. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2015.
Google Books. Web. Dec.19, 2015.
3 Oxford Referencing Style

The oxford style is different from the APA and MLA. While the two
use parenthesis to accommodate date of publication, pagination and
sometimes the author, the oxford style uses serialisation to indicate
quotation or paraphrasing in a text. The rst citation in a text is given
number one, the next is given number two and so on, up to the last one
which will have the last serial number. Madu (2000) posits that citation in
oxford is identied with a superscript stating with (1) to the last number of
the reference made. At the end of the report, the citations are assembled as
list of references and arranged in ascending order i.e. the order of
appearance in the report.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Oxford Referencing Style

Umar (2006) also outlined advantages and disadvantages of Oxford
Referencing Style as follows:
Advantages
i. It reveals the total number of citations made in the text. The last
citation takes the last serial number.
ii. Author's names are written in their natural order on the reference
list. Other styles give preference to surnames.
iii. It is very easy to refer to the reference list from the text. This is
because the serial number a citation bears in the text is maintained
on the reference list.
151
Disadvantages
i. Currency or otherwise of the material being cited cannot be
determined from the text. This is because no date of publication of
the material is indicated.
ii. It is not as widely used in Nigeria as the APA.
Examples of Footnote and Reference List of Oxford Referencing Style
Sources As Footnote As Reference List
1
Book with M. S. Aliyu, Aliyu, M. S., Introduction to the
one author Introduction to the History of Modern Architecture: A
History of Modern Guide for Polytechnic Students. Birnin
Architecture: A Guide Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja Prints, 2013
for Polytechnic
Students. Omo-Sa-
Aja Prints: Birnin
Kebbi, 2013 p. 40
2
Book with 2 S. A. Muhammad, Muhammad, S. A. and A. Faruk,
or 3 authors and A. Faruk, Trigonometry and Analytical Geometry
Trigonometry and for Technical Students. Birnin
Analytical Geometry Kebbi:Omo-Sa-Aja Prints, 2016
for Technical
Students. Omo-Sa-
Aja Prints: Birnin
Kebbi, 2016, p. 137
3
Book with 4 S. A. Muhammad, Muhammad, S. A., F. Abdullahi, Y.
or more F. Abdullahi, Y. Usman, M. S. Mukhtar, A. Bashir,
authors Usman, M. S. and I. M. Ishaq, Logic and Linear
Mukhtar, A. Bashir, Algebra for Technical Students. Birnin
and I. M. Ishaq, Logic Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja Prints, 2016
and Linear Algebra for
Technical Students.
Omo-Sa-Aja Prints:
Birnin Kebbi, 2016, p.
21
4
I. Jalaludeen (ed.), Jalaludeen, I. (ed.), Trance: A Journey
Book (editor) Trance: A Journey Through Poesy, Gusau, Salam-Salam
Through Poesy. Press, 2012
152
Printed and
Published by Salam-
Salam Press, Tudun
Wada Gusau, 2012,
pp. 73-90.
5
Book with 2 Y. Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Y. Fundamentals of
or more Fundamentals of Scholarly Writing for Publication
editors Scholarly Writing (Eds.). Kaduna, Sunjo A. J. Global
for Publication Links Ltd, 2014
(eds.). Kaduna,
Sunjo A. J. Global
Links Ltd, 2014, p.
21
6
Chapter in S. A. Muhammad, Muhammad, S. A. and A. Faruk (ed.),
an edited and A. Faruk (ed.), Tr i g o n o m e t r y a n d A n a l y t i c a l
book Trigonometry and Geometry for Technical Students, in
Analytical Geometry W. R. Lawson and M. G. Page,
for Technical Technician Mathematics. Cassell's
Students, in W. R. TEC Series, 2nd edn., Southampton:
Lawson and M. G. The Camelot Press Limited, 2003, p.
Page, Technician 21
Mathematics.
Cassell's TEC Series,
2nd edn.,
Southampton: The
Camelot Press
Limited, 2003, p. 21-
37
Book with an 7 National National Mathematical Centre
organization Mathematical [NMC], Abuja-Nigeria, The NMC
as author Centre [NMC], Primary School Mathematics, Book Five
Abuja-Nigeria, The (UBE ed.), Ibadan, University Press
NMC Primary School PLC, 2010, p. 139
Mathematics, Book
Five (UBE ed.),
Ibadan, University
Press PLC, 2010, p.
139
153
8
E-book K. S. Yogesh, Yogesh, K. S. Fundamentals of
Fundamentals of Scholarly Writing for Publication, New
Scholarly Writing for York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, pp.
Publication, New 117-124,Retrieved from: e-Book
York, Palgrave Reader Version, (accessed March 27,
Macmillan, 2006, pp. 2016).
117-124, Retrieved
from: e-Book Reader
Version, (accessed
March 27, 2016).
9
E-Book with K. S. Yogesh, Yogesh, K. S. 'Structure of Paper or
chapter or 'Structure of Paper Article', Fundamentals of Scholarly
article in an or Article', Writing for Publication, New York,
edited eBook Fundamentals of Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, pp. 236-
Scholarly Writing for 241, Retrieved from: e-Book Reader
Publication, New Version, (accessed March 27, 2016).
York, Palgrave
Macmillan, 2006,
pp. 236-241,
Retrieved from: e-
Book Reader
Version, (accessed
10
Book with A. Bashir, How to Bashir, A., How to Prepare Fura da
translator & Prepare Fura da Nono, trans. M. S. Abdurrahman,
author Nono, trans. M. S. Birnin Kebbi, Omo-Sa-Aja Prints,
Abdurrahman, 2015.
Birnin-Kebbi, Omo-
Sa-Aja Prints, 2015,
p. 4.
Book with no 11 Subsequent Subsequent Referencing using Latin
author Referencing using Words and Expressions, Cambridge,
Latin Words and Cambridge University Press, 2015
Expressions,
Cambridge,
Cambridge
University Press,
2015, p. 132.
154
12
Website N. M. Mujitaba, Mujitaba, M. N. 'Mechanics and
'Mechanics and Style of Research Reports',
Style of Research http://www.ijser.org,2014
Reports', (accessed May 9, 2016).
http://www.ijser.or
g, 2014 (accessed
May 9, 2016).
13
Blog A. K. Akilu, Akilu, A. K. 'Mechanics and Style of
'Mechanics and Research Reports', Abacus,[web
Style of Research blog], 21 March 2015,
Reports', http://www.stuff.msrr.com
Abacus,[web blog], (accessed June 3, 2016).
21 March 2015,
http://www.stuff.
msrr.com (accessed
June 3, 2016).
14
Web based Y. A. Faisal, Faisal, Y. A., Concepts in Statistics,
image /table / Concepts in 2011-5 [online photograph],
gure Statistics, 2011-5 http://www. ijarms.edu.org/
[online ijarms. pic-an 2011-5, (accessed
photograph], February 8, 2012).
http://www.ijarms.
edu.org/ ijarms.
pic-an2011-5,
(accessed February
8, 2012).
15
Journal S. A. Muhammad, Muhammad, S. A. 'The effectiveness
article: Single S. A. 'The of Problem Solving Method as an
Author effectiveness of Instructional Strategy in Teaching
(printed) Problem Solving Mathematics in Kebbi State Senior
Method as an Secondary Schools', International
Instructional Journal of Research and Advancement
Strategy in Teaching in Educational Methods, vol. 11, no. 4,
Mathematics in 2014, p. 105.
Kebbi State Senior
Secondary Schools',
International Journal
of Research and
Advancement in
155
Educational Methods,
vol. 11, no. 4, 2014,
p. 105.
16
Journal S. A. Muhammad Muhammad, S. A. and A. Madugu,
article: 2 or 3 and A. Madugu, 'Interrelationship between Students'
Authors 'Interrelationship Performance in Mathematics and
(print) between Students' Physics in Senior Secondary Schools
Performance in of Birnin Kebbi Local Government
Mathematics and Area of Kebbi State', International
Physics in Senior Journal of Scientic and Engineering
Secondary Schools Research, vol. 5, no. 11, 2014, p. 1497.
of Birnin Kebbi
Local Government
Area of Kebbi State',
of Scientic and
Engineering Research,
vol. 5, no. 11, 2014,
p. 1497.
17
Journal S. A. Muhammad, Muhammad, S. A. et al., 'Teachers'
article:3 or et al., 'Teachers' Perception on the Causes of
more Authors Perception on the Students' Poor Mathematics
(print) Causes of Students' Performance in Secondary Schools
Poor Mathematics of Kebbi State, Nigeria', Asian Journal
Performance in of Science and Technology, vol. 6, no. 2,
Secondary Schools 2015, pp. 1065-1069.
of Kebbi State,
Nigeria', Asian
Journal of Science and
Technology, vol. 6,
no. 2, 2015, pp.
1065-1069.
18
Journal S. A. Muhammad, Muhammad, S. A. 'The effectiveness
article: 'The effectiveness of of Problem Solving Method as an
(electronic/ Problem Solving Instructional Strategy in Teaching
online) Method as an Mathematics in Kebbi State Senior
Instructional Secondary Schools', International
Strategy in Teaching Journal of Research and Advancement
156
Mathematics in in Educational Methods, vol. 11, no. 4,

Kebbi State Senior 2014, p. 105. Available from
Secondary Schools', ProQuest, (accessed April 23, 2014).
of Research and
Advancement in
Educational Methods,
vol. 11, no. 4, 2014,
p. 105. Available
from Pro Quest,
(accessed April 23,
2014).
19
Journal S. A. Muhammad Muhammad, S. A. and A. Madugu,
article: and A. Madugu, 'Interrelationship between Students'
Website 'Interrelationship Performance in Mathematics and
between Students' Physics in Senior Secondary Schools
Performance in of Birnin Kebbi Local Government
Mathematics and Area of Kebbi State', International
Physics in Senior Journal of Scientic and Engineering
Secondary Schools Research, vol. 5, no. 11, 2014, p.
of Birnin Kebbi 1497.Retrieved from
Local Government http://www.ijser.org./journal/
Area of Kebbi State', (accessed November 3, 2014).
of Scientic and
Engineering Research,
vol. 5, no. 11, 2014,
p. 1497. Retrieved
from
http://www.ijser.or
g./journal/
(accessed November
20
Newspaper M. Buhari, Buhari, M. 'Murtala's Death Derailed
article: (print) 'Murtala's Death Nigeria', The Daily Trust, February
Derailed Nigeria', 14, 2016. p. 4
The Daily Trust,
February 14, 2016.
p. 4
157
21
Newspaper M. Buhari, Buhari, M. (2016, February 14).
article with 'Murtala's Death 'Murtala's Death Derailed Nigeria',
electronic Derailed Nigeria', The Daily Trust, 14 February 2016,
database The Daily Trust, 14 Available from Google, (accessed
February 2016, March 3, 2016).
Available from
Google, (accessed
March 3, 2016).
22
Newspaper M. Buhari, 'Naira Buhari, M., 'Naira Will Not be
article with Will Not be Devalued, President Muhammadu
website Devalued, President Buhari Insist', Premium Times, 21
Muhammadu February 2016, Retrieved from
Buhari Insist', http://www.premiumtimes/googl
Premium Times, e/newspaper.com (accessed
February 21, 2016. February 22, 2016).
Retrieved from
http://www.premi
umtimes/google/n
ewspaper.com
(accessed February
22, 2016).
23
Film or Matarka Matatace, Matarka Matatace, dir. Ali Nuhu.
broadcast dir. Ali Nuhu. Kano, Kano, Mandawari Home Video,
Mandawari Home 2015, [videocassette].
Video, 2015,
[videocassette].
24
Web video London has Fallen: London has Fallen: Part 2, [online
Part 2, [online v i d e o ] , 2 0 1 6 ,
video], 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtu v=IJjNsCVHc34, (accessed August 2,
be.com/watch?v=IJj 2016).
NsCVHc34,
(accessed August 2,
2016).
25
Podcast 'The Benet of 'The Benet of Moringa', The Health
Moringa', The Health Report, Equity FM Radio 2016,
Report, Equity FM [ p o d c a s t ]
158
Radio 2016, http://www.equityfmradio/health

[podcast] report/2016/103.5.htm, (accessed
http://www.equity November 10, 2016).
fmradio/healthrepo
rt/2016/103.5.htm,
(accessed November
10, 2016).
26
Thesis M. S. Abdurrahman, M. S. 'Effect of
Abdurrahman, Guided Discovery Strategy on
'Effect of Guided Students' Performance in Some
Discovery Strategy Selected Difcult Mathematics
on Students' Concepts in Kebbi State Senior
Performance in Secondary Schools, Nigeria', MEd
Some Selected Thesis, Ahmadu Bello University
Difcult Zaria, Kaduna State, 2015.
Mathematics
Concepts in Kebbi
State Senior
Secondary Schools,
Nigeria', MEd
Thesis, Ahmadu
Bello University
Zaria, Kaduna State,
2015, p. 26.
27
Historical George Dewell, Dewell, George, Theft, Simple
sources Theft, Simple Larceny. Proceedings of the Old
Larceny. Bailey, 16th February 2013, page 28.
Proceedings of the Ref No: t18320216-60,
Old Bailey, 16th http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/i
February 2013, page ndex.jsp (accessed February 20,
28. Ref No: 2016).
t18320216-60,
http://www.oldbai
leyonline.org/index
.jsp (accessed
February 20, 2016).
159
28
Lord Cathcart, Diary or Journal kept by Lord
Diary: Transcript, Cathcart: Transcript, 1709-28. 16
1709-28. 16 vols. vols. [A25-A40] National Library of
[A25-A40] National Scotland.
Library of Scotland.
29
Oral history Professor Mukhtar Muhammad, M. S., interviewed by
Sani Muhammad, Usman Salisu, 2015, Abdullahi
interviewed by Fodiyo Library, UDUS, AFLUDUS
Usman Salisu, 2015, 005/1.
Abdullahi Fodiyo
Library, UDUS,
AFLUDUS005/1.
30
Citing A. Ishaq, Logic and In the reference list provide the
information Linear Algebra for details of the author who has done
that someone Technical Students, the citing:
else has cited Edo, Stirling-
Horden Publishers
(Nig.) Ltd 2010, Muhammad, S. A. and Faruk, A.,
cited in S. A. Trigonometry and Analytical Geometry
Muhammad, and for Technical Students, Birnin Kebbi,
Faruk, A., Omo-Sa-Aja Prints, 2016, p. 136
Trigonometry and
Analytical Geometry
for Technical
Students, Birnin
Kebbi, Omo-Sa-Aja
Prints, 2016, p. 136
31
Conference U. Zayyanu and Zayyanu, U. and Muhammad,
proceedings Muhammad, G., G.,”Towards an Integrated
'Towards an Framework of Information and
Integrated Communication Technology for
Framework of Teacher Education in Nigeria ”,
Information and Proceedings of the 1 st National
Communication Conference of Academic Staff Union
Technology for of Polytechnics, Waziri Umaru
Teacher Education Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi
in Nigeria',
160
st
Proceedings of the 1
Chapter. Birnin Kebbi, BS Graxs,
National Conference
of Academic Staff 2009, pp. 268-273.
Union of
Polytechnics, Waziri
Umaru Federal
Polytechnic Birnin
Kebbi Chapter. Birnin
Kebbi, BS Graxs,
2009, pp. 268-273.
32
Act of Companies Act Companies Act 2015 (WA) s136
parliament 2015 (WA) s136
33
Bills The Consumer The Consumer Law Reform Bill (No
Law Reform Bill 9) 2016 (Cth).
(No 9) 2016 (Cth).
34
Cases DPP(WA) v 7 DPP (WA) v Silbert, 2015, 227, A
Silbert, 2015, 227, A Crim R, 43
Crim R, 43
4 Harvard Referencing Style

The Harvard Referencing System is the most frequently used style
at Staffordshire and is also known as the author and date style. It
emphasises the name of the creator of a piece of information and the date of
publication in the text, with the list of references in alphabetical order at
the end of a piece of work. This book provides examples of how a wide
range of information sources should be referenced according to the
Harvard style, including the order of the elements and possible
punctuation to be used. For each source there are examples of how to cite
within the text and how to write your list of references. Note that the
generally accepted rule when using Harvard is to be consistent in your
style and use of punctuation throughout your work.
161
The Basics of Harvard Referencing Style

Harvard is known as the Author & Date system:
Ÿ Citations in the text of your work should be made following the in-
text guidelines given in the examples on the following pages.
Ÿ A complete list of all the citations used in the text will need to be
provided at the end of the work. This is called the reference list or
bibliography and needs to be presented in alphabetical
(author/originator) order.
Things to Consider in Harvard Referencing Style

i. Capitals: Harvard is not prescriptive about capitalisation of
authors' names in the reference list. If you wish to use capitals, then
the family/surname of authors only are capitalised in the reference
list and not in the body of the work. You may however prefer not to
use capitals in this reference style, but you must be consistent in the
style you decided to use.
ii. Italics & underlining: Only the title of the source of information is
italicised or underlined, but you should choose only one method
throughout the work and stick to it. Do not use both italics and
underlining at the same time.
iii. Punctuation: Harvard has no one style of punctuation, so the
generally accepted rule is to be consistent with the style of
punctuation adopted throughout the work.
As In-Text
Citation
Sources (How it will appear at As Reference List
the beginning & at the
end of a sentence).
Book with Aliyu (2013) argues FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.
one author that …………….... (Publication year in brackets) Book title -
italicised or underlined. Series title and
OR volume if applicable. Edition – if not the
162
rst. Place of publication: publisher.

……..... (Aliyu,
2013, p.26). ALIYU, M. S. (2013). Introduction to
the History of Modern
Architecture: A Guide for
Polytechnic Students. Birnin
Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja Prints
Book with 2 Always cite all the FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

or 3 authors 3 authors. Note that FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials and
“and” and “&” are FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.
use differently (Publication year in brackets). Book title
- italicised or underlined. Series title and
Muhammad and volume if applicable. Edition–if not the
Faruk (2016) …........ rst. Place of publication: Publisher
OR
MUHAMMAD, S. A. & FARUK, A.
……... (Muhammad (2016). Trigonometry and
& Faruk, 2016, p.69). Analytical Geometry for
Technical Students. Birnin
Okpala, Onocha and

Oyedeji (1993) …...... OKPALA, P. N., ONOCHA, C. O. &
OYEDEJI, O. A. (1993).
OR Measurement and Evaluation
in Education. Jattu-Uzairue,
……..…. (Okpala, Edo: Stirling-Horden
Onocha & Oyedeji, Publishers (Nig.) Ltd.
1993 p.97).
Book with 4 It is discretionary FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. “et

or more as to whether you al.” or “and others". (Publication year
authors list all authors and in brackets) Book title - italicised or
also whether you underlined. Series title and volume if
use 'et al.' or 'and applicable. Edition - if not the rst.
others' as below: Place of publication: Publisher.
163
(Muhammad et al., MUHAMMAD, S. A., ABDULLAHI,

2016) F., USMAN, Y. &
…………………........ MUKHTAR, M. S. (2016).
Logic and Linear Algebra for
OR Technical Students. Birnin
…….. (Muhammad
et al., 2016 p.32).
Book (Editor) Anikweze (2012) … FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. (ed.) or

(eds.) – in brackets for editor(s).
(Publication year in brackets) Book title -
OR italicised or underlined. Series title and
volume if applicable. Edition – if not the
……….. (Anikweze, rst. Place of publication: Publisher.
2012).
rd
ANIKWEZE, C. M. (3 ed.) (2012).
Measurement and Evaluation for
Teacher Education. Ibadan:
Constellation (Nig.)
Publishers.
Book with 2 A b u b a k a r a n d ABUBAKAR, B. & LABBO, F. A.

or more Labbo (eds. 2013) …. (eds.) (2013). A Complete
editors Guide to Referencing and
st
OR Avoiding Plagiarism (1 Ed.).
Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja
…….. (eds. Prints.
Abubakar & Labbo,
2013).
Chapter in an A s n o t e d b y FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials of the

edited book Emmanuel (2014, author writing the chapter. (Publication
p.39)............. year in brackets) Title of chapter. In:
FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials of
OR author or editor of book (ed.) or (eds.).
Book title - italicised or underlined.
....... (Emmanuel, Series title and volume if applicable.
2014, p.39). Edition – if not the rst. Place of
publication: Publisher.
164
EMMANUEL, Y. (eds.) (2014).

Fundamentals of Scholarly
Writing for Publication.
Kaduna, Sunjo A. J. Global
Links Ltd. In ABUBAKAR, B.
& LABBO, F. A. (eds.). A
Complete Guide to Referencing
st
and Avoiding Plagiarism (1
Ed.). Birnin Kebbi, Omo-Sa-
Aja Prints
Book Mubarak (2015) A simple reprint does not warrant

reprinted in a …… specic mention. Where a work is
different reprinted in a different form, the original
form date of publication is generally placed in
OR parentheses after the publication date of
the reprint.
........…. (Mubarak,
2015). MUBARAK, B. Educational
Research: Contemporary Issues
and Practical Approaches. 2015
(2000).
Corporate Mathematical Includes publications by Government

authors Association of departments, Committees: COUNTRY.
(groups, Nigeria [MAN] NAME OF ISSUING BODY. (Year of
committees, (2010) concluded publication in brackets) Title of
that ………..… publication – in italics or underlined.
Place of publication: Publisher. (Report
OR Number – if applicable in brackets).
……. (Mathematical MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION

Association of OF NIGERIA (2010). MAN
Nigeria, MAN, Primary School Mathematics
2010, p.29). B ook Five (UBE ed.).
University Press PLC, Ibadan
Nigeria.
165
E-Book Y o g e s h ( 2 0 0 6 ) FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

argues that ……….... (Publication year in brackets) Book title -
italicised or underlined. [Online] Series
OR title and volume if applicable. Edition - if
not the rst. Place of publication:
…….. (Yogesh, 2006, Publisher. Available from – URL.
p. 125). [Accessed: date].
YOGESH, K. S. (2006). Fundamentals

of Research Methodology and
Statistics [Online]. Retrieved:
http://www.newagepublish
ers.com/reader/. [Apr 23,
2015].
eBook: Emmanuel (2014, p. EMMANUEL, Y. (2014).

chapter or 50) ........... Fundamentals of Scholarly
article in an Writing for Publication, ed.
edited eBook OR Yogesh, New Delhi, New
Age International
........ (Emmanuel, Publishers, pp. 129-136.
2014, p. 50). Available from: NAIP E-
Book. [May 20, 2015].
Multiple Use a/b etc. to Order chronologically by a/b in the
works differentiate reference list.
published in between works in
the same year the same year. ANIKWEZE, C. M. (2013a).
by the same Statistical Analysis of
author …… (Anikweze, Research Data. A Paper
2013a; Anikweze, Presented at a Capacity
2013b). Building Workshop for
Analysis; pp. 1-29, held at the
166
ANIKWEZE, C. M. (2013b).
Statistical Analysis of
Research Data: T-Test,
ANOVA, ANCOVA,
Correlation and Regression.
A Paper Presented at a
Capacity Building
Workshop for Mathematical
Sciences Lecturers in
Tertiary Institutions on
Computer Packages for
Statistical Analysis; pp. 30-
51, held at the National
Mathematical Centre Abuja-
Nigeria
Book: (trans. Jamilu, 2016). MUHAMMAD, S. A. (2016).

translator & Trigonometry and
author Analytical Geometry for
Technical Students. trans.
M. Jamilu, Birnin Kebbi:
Omo-Sa-Aja. Prints
Dictionary or The Oxford Do not include in reference list
encyclopedia Dictionary (2010) …
with large
editorial OR
board
.......… (The
Encyclopedia
Britannica).
Book: (The University of The University of my Dream 2015,

No author my Dream 2015). Kaduna, Nigeria.
Webpage, ( S u b s e q u e n t Subsequent Referencing using Latin

no author Referencing using Words and Expressions, 2014.
Latin Words and A v a i l a b l e f r o m :
Expressions, 2014). < h t t p : / / w w w .
referencingandbibliography.c
167
Use rst few words of om.au/i-rab? page=164>.

the page title. [March 21, 2016]
Webpage (Mujitaba, n.d.). MUJITABA, M. N. n.d., Mechanics

with author, and Style of Research Reports.
no date R e t r i e v e d f r o m :
http://www.ijser.org.
[January 19, 2014].
Web …… (Ministry of Ministry of Information, Tourism

document Information, and Culture 2014, Being
Tourism and prepared for an inuenza
Industry 2014). pandemic: a kit for small
businesses, Federal
Government of Nigeria.
A v a i l a b l e f r o m :
<http://www.fgnmitc.gov.au
>. [October 20, 2015].
Website Nigerian Breuer DE- A u t h o r o f w e b s i t e F A M I L Y /

Change (2016) …… SURNAME, Initials or WEBSITE
name if no author is available. (Year - in
brackets) Title of website in italics or
underlined. Any numbers if necessary
or available if website is part of a series.
[Online in square brackets] Available
from: URL. [Accessed: followed by date
in square brackets].
Nigerian Breuer DE-Change (2016).

Market Information. Available
f r o m :
<http://www.nbdc.com.au/p
rofessionals/market_informat
ion/index.htm> [June 14,
2016].
Blog ….. (Abdussamad, A B D U S S A M A D , M . ( 2 0 1 5 ) .
2015). Nigerian Entrepreneurship
Development. October15,
2015. Abdussalam Musa: Blog.
168
<https://ned.lagos.ac.ng/liba
jn/weblog/>. [May 23, 2016].
Computer ….. (SPSS, 2015). SPSS, computer software 2015.

software A v a i l a b l e f r o m :
<http://www.spss.org>
[January 11, 2015].
Web based (Haj Air Terminal Haj Air Terminal Jeddah, Saudi
image / table / J e d d a h , S a u d i Arabia (2013). Available from:
gure Arabia, 2013). <http://www.hajsa.com/haj/
air/terminal/saudiarabia.jpg
>. [November 28, 2015].
Journal Muhammad (2014) A u t h o r ( s ) o f a r t i c l e ' s

article argue that.... FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.
(printed) (Publication year in brackets) Title of
OR article. Title of journal - italicised or
underlined. Volume number (Part
…….. (Muhammad, number/month in brackets). p. followed
2014, p.104). by the page numbers of the article.
MUHAMMAD, S. A. (2014). The

Effectiveness of Problem
Solving Method as an
Instructional Strategy in
Teaching Mathematics in
Schools. International Journal
o f R e s e a r c h a n d
Advancement in Educational
Methods. Review 11(4). p.
101-107.
Journal Muhammad (2014) If you are referencing a journal from an

article argue that.... online database service which is
(electronic/on password accessible only i.e. EBSCO
line) OR you can shorten the URL to the home
Muhammad (2014) page of the database service. If you are
argues that................ accessing a journal article directly and
169
OR for free from the internet, you will need

the entire URL.
……. (Muhammad, Author(s) of article's FAMILY/
SURNAME, Initials. (Publication year
2014, p.17).
in brackets) Title of article. Title of
…….. (Muhammad, journal - italicized or underlined.
2014, p.104). [Online in square brackets] Name of
Database the article is from if
appropriate. Volume number (Part
number/month in brackets). p. followed
by the page numbers of the article.
Available from: URL. [Accessed:
followed by the date viewed in square
brackets].
MUHAMMAD, S. A. (2014). Parent's

Attitude Towards their
Children's Mathematics
Education in Birnin Kebbi
Local Government Area of
Kebbi State. International
Journal of Innovations in
Educational Methods.
Review 6 (2). p. 13-19.
http://www.ijiem.com.
[August 29, 2014].
Magazine Munir (2012, p.23) MUNIR, S. A. (2012, September 24).
….. 'Muslim Ummah and the
Contemporary Security
OR Challenges', Al-Dhiya The
Radiance, 1(4), 20-26
…… (Munir, 2012,
p.23). For monthly magazine, include the
month in date; for a weekly include the
day also.
170
Newspaper: (Buhari, 2016). Author(s) of article's

(Print) FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.
(Publication year in brackets) Title of
article. Title of Newspaper - italicised or
underlined.
BUHARI, M. (2016). Murtala's Death

Derailed Nigeria. The Daily
Trust 14 February, p. 4.
Newspaper: Author(s) of article's
(Online) FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.
(Publication year in brackets) Title of
article. Title of Newspaper - italicised or
underlined. [Online in square brackets]
Name of Database article is from if
appropriate. Day and month of the
article. Page number of the article if
Buhari (2016, pp.21)
applicable. Available from: URL.
argues that..... [Accessed: followed by the date viewed in
square brackets].
OR
BUHARI, M. (2016). Naira Will Not
.........(Buhari, 2016, be Devalued, President
p.21). Muhammadu Buhari Insist.
The Premium Times News Paper.
14th February. p.21 Available
f r o m :
http://www.premiumtimes.
org/newspaper/google.com
[February 21, 2016].
Films [DVD], If you refer to a lm in Title - in italics or underlined. (Year of

[VHS], [Blu- the body of your work, distribution in brackets) Material type.
ray Disc] the title will need to be Directed by – name of director(s).
underlined or placed [Format of source in square brackets]
in italics: Place of distribution: Distribution
company.
…..... the animation
movement (Chicken
Run, 2000).
171
Chicken Run (2000). Animated Film.

OR Directed by Darren Aronofsky.
[VHS] UK: Momentum
This is highlighted Pictures.
by Harry's character
in the lm Requiem Requiem for a Dream (2000). Film.
for a Dream (2000)... Directed by Darren
Aronofsky. [DVD] UK:
Momentum Pictures.
Lecture notes …… (Abdurrahman, ABDURRAHMAN, M. S. (2015).

2015). Logic & Linear Algebra,
Lecture Notes MTH 111 at
Waziri Umaru Federal
Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi on
February 4, 2015.
Thesis: …… (Muhammad, MUHAMMAD, S. A. (2015).Effect of
unpublished 2015). Guided Discovery Strategy on
Students' Performance in
Some Selected Difcult
Mathematics Concepts in
Schools, Nigeria. M.Ed. Thesis,
Ahmadu Bello University
Zaria, Kaduna State Nigeria
Thesis: … … … ( U s m a n , USMAN, S.(2007).Towards an

published 2007). Integrated Framework of
I n f o r m a t i o n a n d
Communication Technology
for Teacher Education in
Nigeria. MEd thesis, Ahmadu
Bello University Zaria. Birnin
Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja Prints.
Electronic … … … . ( Y o g e s h , YOGESH, K. S. (2006). Fundamentals

book 2015). of Research Methodology and
Statistics [ebray Reader
version]. Retrieved from ebray
database.
172
Thesis: …… (Nuhu, 2015). NUHU, M. (2015). The Effectiveness

retrieved of Problem Solving Method as
from a an Instructional Strategy in
database Teaching Mathematics in
Schools. PhD thesis, PhD
thesis, Usmanu Danfodiyo
University Sokoto. Available
from: Google [August 19,
2016].
Citing Mukhtar and Musa In the reference list provide the

information study (as cited in details of the author who has done
that someone Muhammad, Umar the citing i.e. the secondary source.
else has cited & Mustapha, 2014)
……. MUHAMMAD, S. A., UMAR, M. A.
& MUSTAPHA, I. (2014).
'Effect of Discovery Approach
on Students' Mathematics
Achievement in Kebbi State
Junior Secondary Schools',
Gesse Journal of Humanities,
Vol. 1 no. 1, pp. 161-166
Telephone If the information you Do not include in reference list

call, are referencing was
interview, obtained by a personal
e-mail, etc. communication such as
a telephone call,
interview or email, this
should be documented in
the text and are not
added to the reference
list. If desired you can
add the abbreviation
“pers. comm”. to the
reference.
173
When interviewed on
6 June 2012, Mal. A
Bashir conrmed that...
OR
……… (Mal. A Bashir

2012, pers. comm., 6
June).
Tables and Note: Add in-text citation to the text of the

gures: All or The data in column illustration's caption.
part of a are from Introduction
table, gure t o t h e H i s t o r y o f ALIYU, M. S. (2013). Introduction to
or data used Modern Architecture: the History of Modern
in text: from a A G u i d e f o r Architecture: A Guide for
book Polytechnic Students Polytechnic Students. Birnin
p.73(Aliyu, 2013, Kebbi: Omo-Sa-aja Prints.
p.73).

gures: All or The data in column illustration's caption
part of a # are from '
table, gure Teachers' Perception MUHAMMAD, S. A., FARUK, A.,
or data used on the Causes of MUSTAPHA, I. &
in text: from a Students' Poor MUKHTAR, M. S. (2015).
print journal Mathematics 'Teachers' Perception on the
Performance in Causes of Students' Poor
Secondary Schools Mathematics Performance in
of Kebbi State, Secondary Schools of Kebbi
Nigeria' State, Nigeria', Asian Journal
(Muhammad, et of Science and Technology, Vol.
al.2015, p.1066). 6, no. 2, pp. 1065-1069.

gures: All or The data in column # illustration's caption.
part of a are from Mechanics
table, gure a n d S t y l e o f Mujitaba, M. N. (2014). Mechanics
or data used Research Reports, and Style of Research Reports,
in text: M a r c h 2 0 1 4 M a r c h 2 0 1 4 ( N o .
from a web (Mujitaba, 2014) 3427.1).Available from:
174
http://www.ijser.edu.org@.ns
/msrr/3427.1?OpenDocument
> [July26, 2015].
Conference Yusuf (2006) …. YUSUF, A. M. (2006). 'Developing

proceedings: Research Hypothesis', in
print or OR Readings in Social Science
electronic or Research: proceedings of the
unpublished ….. (Yusuf, 2006). fth AATL conference, ed. G.
M. Ibrahim, M. Habu & I. D.
Kabir, Kano, 175-188
ZAYYANU, U. & MUHAMMAD, G.

(2009). 'Towards an Integrated
Tables and Zayyanu and Framework of Information and
gures: All or Muhammad (2009).. Communication Technology
part of a for Teacher Education in
table, gure OR Nigeria'. Proceedings of the 1st
or data used National Conference of
in text: from a …… (Zayyanu & Academic Staff Union of
book Muhammad, 2009). Polytechnics, Waziri Umaru
Federal Polytechnic Birnin
Kebbi Chapter, pp. 268-273.
Available from: ASUP Portal:
WUFPBK Digital Library.
[June 19, 2014].
Muhammad (2013).. Muhammad, S. A. (2013). 'Parent

Attitude Towards their
OR Children Mathematics
Achievement in Kebbi State
......(Muhammad, Nigeria'. Paper presented at
2013). the Conference of Academic
Staff Union of Polytechnics,
Waziri Umaru Federal
Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi
Chapter, ASUPBK, Birnin
Kebbi.
175
Company (Aspect Huntley, Aspect Huntley Data Analysis

report 2014) (2014). National Australia
Bank Limited Company
Report. Available from: Aspect
Huntley Data Analysis [May
20, 2015].
Company (Datamonitor, 2014) Datamonitor (2014). Wesfarmers

prole Limited Company Prole.
Available from: Business
Source Premier. [August 7,
2015].
Financial (Datastream, 2009) Datastream (2009). S&PASX200

data daily index data 2000-2009.
Available from: Datastream.
[May 5, 2009].
Act of (Character Character Commission Act 2016

parliament Commission Act, (Cth)
2016 (Cth) s 19)
Bills (Character (Character Commission
Commission Amendment Bill (No 3) 2016 (Cth)
Amendment Bill
(No 3) 2016 (Cth)
5 Kate Turabian Referencing Style

Kate Larimore Turabian (1893–1987) was an American educator
who created her rst manual in 1937 as a means of simplifying the Chicago
Manual Style for students. The 7th edition of Kate Turabian style is based
on the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual. As mentioned earlier, the primary
purpose of referencing is to enable the reader know the source of any
borrowed statements or facts in the text of the report. If the reader wishes
to challenge or read more about the information from which the
statements or facts were drawn, he/she may easily refer to the source.
Footnotes are one method of referencing which appear at the foot of the
176
page on which the statements they refer to are written. In footnoting, every
supporting statement or fact is numbered within the text and at the foot of
the same page, details of sources (the author, the book/journal, publishers,
date of publication and page numbers) are stated. This means that there
can be as many such footnotes as there are references made about sources
on any particular page. This type of arrangement is cumbersome,
inelegant and time wasting which creates problems for both the writer and
the typist. Robert and Hiroshi (1977) stated that Kate Turabian came up
with a method of footnoting which would eliminate the complex
arrangements of footnotes on the main text on each page. In this method
which she called end-of-chapter referencing, she suggested that:
i. Instead of having footnotes on every page of the text, every
supporting statement or data could be numbered consecutively.
ii. At the end of the chapter, all the numbered statements could be
noted according to the numbering and their sources given in a
referencing fashion.
The Kate Turabian style has two basic documentation systems:

notes-bibliography style (or simply bibliography style) and author-date
style (also called reference list style). These styles are essentially the same
as those of the Chicago manual of style 16 th edition with slight
modications.
Notes-Bibliography Style
Notes-Bibliography style is used widely in literature, history, and
the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in foot notes or
endnotes. In this system (bibliography style), sources are briey cited in
parentheses in the text by author's last name, the date of publication and
the page number(s) to which you refer. Examples of bibliography style of
Kate Turabian:
Yogesh (2006, 47) states that nature has made only one thing that
is more powerful in the universe and that is called a Human or Man.
177
Man is the only animal that can take advantage of

knowledge which has been preserved or accumulated through
the centuries or since the origin of man. Human knowledge has
the three phases: preservation, transmission and advancement
(Yogesh 2006, 47-48).
(Note that: If there is no page number, leave it out and if there is no author,
use the title).
Author-date style (Reference list)

The more concise author-date style has long been used in the
physical, natural, and social sciences. The parenthetical citations are
amplied in a list of references, where full bibliographic information is
provided. The examples in this guide are meant to introduce you to the
basics of citing sources using Kate Turabian's manual for writers of
research papers, project, theses and dissertations.
Citations from Books

References to an entire book should include some or all of the following
elements for each complete bibliographic citation in your reference list, in
this order:
Ÿ Author or editor;
Ÿ Year of publication;
Ÿ Title (capitalise titles and subtitles using sentence style for example:
Social theory as science: A brief inquiry);
Ÿ Compiler, translator or editor (if listed in addition to an author);
Ÿ Edition;
Ÿ Name of series, including volume or number used;
Ÿ Place of publication and publisher.
One Author or Editor or Corporate Author

Aliyu, M. S., ed. 2013. Introduction to the History of Modern Architecture: A
Guide for Polytechnic Students. Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-Aja Prints.
178
Mathematical Association of Nigeria. 2010. MAN Primary School Mathematics,

Book Five (UBE Ed.). Ibadan: University Press PLC.
Two or More Authors or Editors

Muhammad, Sani A., Faruk Abdullahi and Yusuf Usman. 2016. Trigonometry
st
and Analytical Geometry for Technical Students. 1 . ed. Birnin Kebbi:
Omo-Sa-Aja Prints.
Muhammad, Sani A., Faruk Abdullahi, Usman Yusuf, Mukhtar, Muhammad S.,
Bashir Abubakar and Ishaq Ibrahim. 2016. Logic and Linear Algebra for
Technical Students. Edited by Mustapha Ibrahim. Birnin Kebbi: Omo-Sa-
Aja Prints
Electronic Books
Follow the guidelines for print books, adding collection (if there is one),
URL and date accessed.
Yogesh, Khan S. 2006. Fundamentals of Research Methodology and Statistics.
Boston: Hillard, Gray and Company. http://ebrayreader version.edu.org.
(accessed April 2, 2016).
Citation from Article in Journals, Magazines and Newspapers

For an article available in more than one format (print, online, etc.), cite
whichever one you used. Include some or all of the following elements in
your reference list citations, in this order:
Ÿ Author;
Ÿ Year of publication;
Ÿ Title of the article (capitalise titles and subtitles using sentence
style);
Ÿ Periodical (title) or Title of the periodical;
Ÿ Volume or Issue number (or both);
Ÿ Page numbers.
179
For online periodicals add:

Ÿ URL and date of access, or;
Ÿ Database name, URL and date of access (if available, include
database publisher and city of publication).
Journal article print:

Muhammad, Sani A. 2014. Parent's Attitude Towards their Children's
Mathematics Education in Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area of Kebbi
State. International Journal of Innovations in Educational Methods 6, no.
2: 13-19
Journal article online:

Muhammad, Sani A., Faruk Abdullahi, Mustapha Ibrahim and Mukhtar,
Muhammad S. 2015. Teachers' Perception on the Causes of Students'
Poor Mathematics Performance in Secondary Schools of Kebbi State,
Nigeria. Asian Journal of Science and Technology 6 no. 2: 1065-1069.
http://www.ajst.edu/asian/journal/science/technology/index.php/fm/
article/view/1065/1069 (accessed June13, 2016).
Journal article accessed through an online database:

Muhammad, Sani A. 2014. The Effectiveness of Problem Solving Method as an
Instructional Strategy in Teaching Mathematics in Kebbi State Senior
Secondar y Schools. International Journal of Research and
Advancement in Educational Methods 11 no. 4: 101-107. ABI/Inform
database (accessed January9, 2015).
Magazine article print:

Munir, Sani A. 2012. Muslim Ummah and the Contemporary Security
Challenges. Al-Dhiya the Radiance, April 1.
180
Magazine article online:

Buhari, Muhammadu.2016. Murtala's Death Derailed Nigeria. The Daily Trust,
February 14. http://www.dailytrust.com/id/12902 accessed February
14, 2016).
Magazine article accessed through an online database:

Buhari, Muhammadu. 2016. Murtala's Death Derailed Nigeria. Tuesday Morning
Post 49, no. 12: 7-9. The Daily Trust (accessed March 3, 2016).
Newspaper article:
Buhari Muhammadu, “Naira Will Not be Devalued, President Muhammadu
Buhari Insist”. Premium Times, February 21, 2016, accessed February 14,
2016, from http://www.premiumtimes.org/newspaper/google.html.
Citation of Materials from Online Sources

In most cases if you are citing an article from a website, follow the
guidelines for articles above. You can sometime refer to an entire website
in running text without including it in your reference list, e.g.: "According
to its website, the Financial Accounting Board requires ...”.
If you need to cite an entire website in your reference list, include some or
all of the following elements, in this order:
Ÿ Author or editor of the website (if known);
Ÿ Title of the website;
Ÿ URL;
Ÿ Date of access.
Example
Financial Accounting Standards Board. http://www.fasb.org (accessed April 29,
2015).
181
Subsequent Referencing using Latin Words and Expressions

After a complete reference of a book or a journal has been made,
there may be further need to refer to the same book or journal in the same
chapter. The following abbreviations of Latin words and expressions are
used for subsequent citations as follows (“Subsequent Referencing”, n. d.).
Latin Word/ Abbreviated as: Meaning and Example

Expression
Idem Id Means “same work and the same
page, without entering the page
number again” e.g. Aliyu, Id. or
(Aliyu, Id.).
Ibidem Ibid Means “same work but different

page number with entering the
page number” e.g. Aliyu, Ibid. P.
30 or (Aliyu, Ibid. P. 30).
Opere citato Op cit Means “in the work already

cited”. Note that Op cit should
not be used if the words are over
1000 from the rst citation e.g.
Aliyu, Op cit. P. 47. or (Aliyu, Op
cit P. 47).
Et alibi et al Means “and others”. It is used

when there are many authors e.g.
Aliyu, et al. (year) or (Aliyu et al.,
year).
Loco citato Loc cit Means “in the same place cited”.
It is used when an author’s name
is not shown in the rst
182
referencing”. e.g. Mathematical

Association of Nigeria Loc cit P.
14.
Supra Supra Means “the reader should see

further discussions of this point
on page ….. above”. e.g. Aliyu,
Supra P. 28 or (Aliyu, Supra P. 28)
Infra Infra Means “the reader should see

further discussions of this point
on page ….. below”. e.g. Aliyu,
Infra P. 17 or (Aliyu Infra, P. 17)
Conferre Cf Means “compare this with some

other work” e.g. Aliyu, Cf P. 51.
Circa Circa Means “about or around”. Is

used when a writer is
contemplating of an exact time
e.g. It is strongly argued that the
rst Nigerian slave arrived in
London Circa 1704 (Circa means
around 1704).
Sic Sic Is used when a writer quotes

someone exactly the way he/she
wrote a sentence or word without
correcting the grammar or word
the researcher recognizes is
wrong e.g. Aliyu argued that
‘Nigerian managers (Sic) laoves
money’. The reader should note
183
that the use of Sic before the word

laove means the word is wrongly
spelt, but is directly quoted
without correcting the writer.
Nota bene N.B. Means “note well”
Et cetera etc. and so forth
Id est i.e. Means “that is”
Bibliographies
A bibliography is the listing of the works that are relevant to the
topic of research interest arranged in alphabetical order of the last names of
authors i.e. a list of all works (books, journals etc.) which the author used,
whether or not such works were actually referred to in the main text. A
reference list is a subset of the bibliography, which includes details of all
the citations used in literature and elsewhere in the report, arranged again,
in the alphabetical order of the last names of authors. These citations have
the goals of crediting the author and enabling the reader to nd the works
cited. Giving references in the research report is a must, whereas the
bibliography is additional information and is certainly optional.
Bibliography and end of chapter reference list are sometimes used
interchangeably by scholars but there is however, a slight difference
between the two. A bibliography is the last portion of a research work just
like reference list and also looks like the end-of-chapter references but
differs in the following ways (Bibliography, n. d.):
i. A bibliography appears only once and at the end of the entire
research work while end of chapter references appear at the end of
every chapter.
ii. In a bibliography, all the works consulted are arranged as follows:
184
journals rst, then books, then magazines and newspapers, then

other publications follow.
iii. In a bibliography, all the works are arranged alphabetically and if
necessary numbered serially under each consulted work (journals,
books, magazines and newspapers etc.). In the end of chapter
references, the reference notations determine the locations of the
references.
Appendices of a Research Work

Appendices are materials that are too heavy or bulky (relatively
large amount of materials) to be placed in the body of the research work
(Olaofe, 2010). All appendices should be serially, properly and
consistently numbered using notations such as A, B, C, D or I, II, III, IV or
any other acceptable numerical format. The appendices are usually
referred to in the body of the work by a phrase like, see Appendix A or B, I
or II or III and so on. Materials that usually appear as appendices according
to Olaofe (2010) include:
Ÿ The actual raw data collected
Ÿ Tables that go beyond a page
Ÿ The research instruments used for data collection
Ÿ Observations made, recorded and transcribed during data
collection
Ÿ Calculations that are too cumbersome for the body of the work
Ÿ Charts, specimens, gures and diagrams that may obstruct smooth
reading of the research work
Ÿ Any other materials that are related to the study but may be too
bulky for the body of the work.
185
Example
186
187
Conclusion
Reference is used to provide a list (alphabetically or serially) of all
the sources cited or referred to in a text, including comprehensive details of
each source as reference list. Referencing should follow the format
approved by the awarding institution or the journal in which an article is to
be published. Bibliography on the other hand, list (alphabetically) all the
sources consulted in the course of writing the report being it within the text
or not. This means that all the references in various chapters or as they
appear as footnotes are assembled at the end of the whole text as reference
list or bibliography. Appendices however are the actual raw data collected
and found to be too bulky to be placed in the body of the research work,
hence they are placed at the end of the work. In conclusion, the issues
raised in this chapter are basically those that border on how to write
references and appendices.
188
CHAPTER NINE
9
FORMAT OF WRITING RESEARCH
PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH PROJECT
Introduction
Some research works are meant to be presented in a seminar,
academic peer conferences and public lectures comprising people from
different elds. Academic research studies are usually for postgraduate
diploma, masters or doctoral degrees. The following types of research
presentations and their components that are expected to be addressed are
briey discussed in this chapter. Researchers should always note that
before writing a research proposal or project, they are strongly advised to
adhere to the approved format adopted by their institution because the
components given in this chapter may vary from one institution to
another.
Format of Writing Research Proposal or Research Synopsis

A research proposal or research synopsis is a document of usually
not more than 15 pages that presents a plan for a project to reviewers' for
evaluation. In other words, it is a document that informs others on how
and why the researcher intends to carry out the research. It can be a
supervised project submitted to supervisors as part of an educational
degree or it can be a research proposal presented to a funding agency. Its
purpose is to convince reviewers that the researcher is capable of
successfully conducting the proposed research work. Reviewers have
189
more condence that a planned research work will be successfully

completed if the proposal is well-written and organised fully. It serves as a
useful basis for the evaluation of a project as well as a guide line for the
researcher. The synopsis contains a clear and concise statement of the
problem, the hypothesis involved, recognition of the signicance of the
problem, denitions of the important terms, assumptions and limitations,
a resume of related literature, an analysis of proposed research producers,
and a timetable schedule (in some cases). A research proposal or synopsis
is placed before a research degree committee to examine its worth. The
nal approval is given by the committee at the departmental or faculty or
institution level. It is like a blue-print of a research work. The preparation
of a research proposal or synopsis is an important step in the research
process. A research proposal starts with identifying the research area and
then formulating the research topic. Research proposal is usually written
in third person (i.e. he or she or investigator) and also in future tenses (i.e. a
researcher is showing what he/she intends to do). The researcher should
be able to defend the written proposal in the presence of experts so as to
have approval for the eld work. A worthwhile research work is likely to
result only from a well-prepared and well-designed proposal or synopsis.
A research proposal/synopsis includes the following essential parts:
i. Introduction or background to the research problem.
ii. Objectives, research questions and hypotheses.
iii. Justication for the proposed research i.e. the signicance of the
study (why the research is needed).
iv. Denitions, assumptions and delimitations.
v. The review of literature and theoretical framework to be used in the
proposed research.
vi. The Methodology and procedure of the study.
vii. Timetable of proposed research.
viii. List of references.
190
CHAPTER 9: FORMAT OF WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH PROJECT
Criteria for Evaluating a Research Proposal or Synopsis

Various agencies establish their own criteria for evaluating proposal of a
research work. Yogesh (2006) outlined the following as the criteria
commonly used for evaluating a research proposal:
i. Signicance of the proposed research.
ii. Quality of the proposed research work.
iii. Qualication of the investigator and professional personnel.
iv. Adequacy of the facilities and arrangements available to the
investigator to conducting the proposed study.
v. Reasonableness of the budget for the work to be done and the
anticipated results.
Research Proposal Timetable

Research proposal is usually done for a Masters' or Doctoral degree.
Perry (2003) stated that a research timetable is a table that indicates the
weighting of each part of the proposed thesis or dissertation in percentage
terms, the topic to be covered, approximate word limit and most
importantly the approximate length of time it will take to be completed.
The research time table is just an approximation (the time for the conduct
of the research can be longer or shorter than what is expected) i.e. extra
time needs to be allowed for the start and nish of the project. Table 9.1
below illustrates how a research timetable should be or what it should look
like:
Table 9.1: Research Timetable
Chapter Topic Percentage (%) Words Months
1 Introduction 5 3,500 3
2 Literature Review 30 21,000 6
3 Methodology 20 14,000 4
4 Data Analysis 25 17,500 5
5 Conclusion and 20 14,000 6
Recommendations
100 70,000 24
(Source: Perry,. 2003)
191
Note that there are three chapters (the introduction as chapter one,
literature review as chapter two and the methodology as chapter three)
including references and appendices (some time optional) in research
proposal. Chapters and chapter headings are capitalised, bolded and
centralised otherwise capitalise initials in each heading. In writing a
research proposal, the following components are expected to be addressed
which can vary from one institution to another:

1.1 Background to the Study
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4 Research Questions (in form of questions)
1.5 Research Hypothesis (in declarative statements)
1.6 Signicance of the Study (discuss the benet, those to benets
and how they will benet from the study)
1.7 Scope/Delimitation of the Study
1.8 Basic Assumptions (this is optional)

2.1 Introduction
2.3 Other subheadings follow depending on the research topic
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Population of the Study
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques
3.5 Instrumentation
3.6 Validity of the Research Instrument
3.7 Pilot Testing
192
3.8 Reliability of the Research Instrument

3.9 Procedure for Data Collection
3.10 Procedure for Data Analysis
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
Format of Writing a Research Project/Dissertation/Thesis

In general term, a research project is a scientic and commissioned
or designed work meant for execution. It is strictly used for a study that is
presented at the end of a diploma programme (ND, HND, PGD or PGDE)
or a degree program (B.Sc., B.Ed., B.Sc.Ed., B. Tech., MSc. M.Ed., PhD etc.).
In some institutions, the term “project” is interchangeable with “long
essay”. A written format of a research work is known as project or
dissertation or thesis for rst degree, masters and PhD respectively.
Relationship between Research Proposal and Final Project Report

There exists a relationship between a research proposal and the
nal project report (the proposal provides a shell and the nal project
report lls in the details), though the language of reporting differs
(proposal is reported in future tense while the nal project report is
reported in past tense). Research proposal is what the researcher intends to
do while research report means the researcher has already done the
research and the results are presented (Kauru, 2015). Some part of the
proposal are not required in a nal report (e.g. research timetable). Table
9.2 below shows the relationship between the research proposal and the
nal research report:
193
Table 9.2: Relationship between Research Proposal and Final

Research Report
Research Proposal Final Research Report
Introduction Introduction
Literature Review Literature Review
Methodology Methodology
Research Timetable −−
− −
−− Data Analysis
−− Conclusion and Recommendations
References References
Appendices (sometimes optional) Appendices
Need for a Research Report

Writing a research report is a very challenging task for the
researcher. A good research report requires sufcient-experience and
insight about research activities. According to Yogesh (2006)research
report is needed due to the following reasons:
i. The research must be reported in full and its results should be
subjected to criticism and verication.
ii. The research work is done for the benet of human being, therefore,
it must be communicable to the general public for practical use.
iii. The research should be considered to be the culminating act for
reective thinking. It encourages other persons to take up some
problems for further investigation.
iv. The research report requires the creative thinking of a researcher to
review the related studies, discussing the result of the study and
also suggest some new problems for further studies.
v. The research report is also necessary for giving shape and form to
the investigation and solidifying it.
vi. It is needed for providing a clear picture of research method,
194
sample and techniques used in conducting the research work.

vii. The research report is meant for popularising the new contributions
in the discipline.
Note that most types of research reports are expected to follow a

uniform, common style and structure which has become a tradition in
academic area. In writing research work, the following components are
expected to be addressed which can also vary from one institution to
another:
Preliminary Pages
Ÿ Cover Page
Ÿ Title Page
Ÿ Declaration
Ÿ Certication/Approval Page
Ÿ Dedication
Ÿ Acknowledgments
Ÿ Table of Contents
Ÿ List of Tables
Ÿ List of Figures
Ÿ List of Appendices
Ÿ Abstract
Ÿ Operational Denition of Terms
Ÿ Abbreviation and Symbols

1.1 Background to the Study
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4 Research Questions (in form of questions)
1.5 Research Hypothesis (in declarative statements)
1.6 Signicance of the Study (discuss the benet, those to benets and
195
how they will benet from the study)

1.7 Scope/Delimitation of the Study
1.8 Basic Assumptions (this is optional)

2.1 Introduction
2.3 Other subheadings depending on the research topic
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Population of the Study
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques
3.5 Instrumentation
3.6 Validity of the Research Instrument(s)
3.7 Pilot Study
3.8 Reliability of the Research Instrument(s)
3.9 Procedure for Data Collection
3.10 Procedure for Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATIONS, ANALYSES AND

DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Data Presentation and Analysis of Results
4.3 Hypotheses Testing
4.4 Summary of the Findings
4.5 Discussions
196
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary
5.3 Summary of Major Findings
5.4 Conclusion
5.5 Recommendations
5.6 Implication of the Study
5.7 Contributions to Knowledge
5.8 Limitations of the Study
5.9 Suggestions for Further Studies
REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES
Note that this arrangement may not be applicable to all situations and at
all times. It is advisable that you should strictly adhere to the format being
used in your institution.
Conclusion
This chapter highlighted and explained the format of writing a
research proposal and research report as well as the components that are
expected to be addressed when writing both research proposal and report.
Researchers should always note that before writing a research proposal or
project, they are strongly advised to adhere to the approved format
adopted by their institution because the components given in this chapter
may vary from one institution to another.
197
198
CHAPTER TEN
10
DATA REPRESENTATION
AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES
Introduction
Qualitative and quantitative data are the basic ingredients for any
research (Jibril & Sheka, 2006). When data is obtained from any series of
measurements, it needs to be organised and properly presented in order to
facilitate or speed up the information it contains. Proper organisation of
data also enables the researcher to use the data for further investigation,
policy analysis or as a basis for making decisions. The choice of
appropriate statistics to apply for analysing any research data depends on
the nature of data which itself depends on the type and design of the study.
This chapter is therefore concerned with data representation and statistical
analyses, which help in providing conclusions and inferences in research
work/effort/endeavor etc.
Graphical/Diagrammatic Representation of Research Data

One of the most important ways of organising data is the
graphical/diagrammatical method. Graphs are diagrammatic
representation of data and normally arrange numerical information into a
picture from which it is often possible to see an overall pattern or trend in
the information.
199
CHAPTER 10: DATA REPRESENTATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES
Types of Graphs
Jibril and Sheka (2006) outlined the following types of graphs as
some of the most important ways of representing data which are briey
discussed below:
i. Pictogram
ii. Histogram
iii. Bar-Chart
iv. Pie-Chart
v. Frequency Polygon Line-Graph
vi. Cumulative Frequency Curve (Ogive Curve)
vii. The XY Plots-Scatter Diagrams
Pictogram: Is a diagrammatic representation of data using appropriate

symbols or pictures instead of numbers. The pictogram is very easy to
understand because of its powerful visual effect. It is always necessary to
take note of the following; otherwise the representations may be
misinterpreted.
i. The symbols must be of the same size
ii. The quantity each symbol represent should be given a key
In pictogram, population can be represented by picture of people. For

instance, if in an NCE II Business and Technical classes, sixty ve (65)
students of NCE II Business and twenty (20) students of NCE II Technical
writes Basic General Mathematics II (GSE 222) Examination. The
information can be expressed in pictogram using the following key:
200
Figures 10.1 and 10.2 below show the pictogram of the above information:
Histogram: This is represented by vertical or horizontal bars joined

together. A histogram is a column graph in which the area of the rectangles
are proportionate to the frequencies that they represent. For a grouped
frequency distribution, the width of each bar corresponds to the frequency
of the class interval while the centre of each bar depicts the midpoint of the
class interval. Descriptive statistics such as chi-square, kurtosis and
skewness are used to interpret the histogram.
Example 1: The table below shows the frequencies of the scores of 50

students in mathematics examination. Represent the information on a
histogram.
Table 10.1
Scores 10 20 30 40 50 60
Frequency 8 12 9 7 10 4
Solution
Figures 10.3 and 10.4 below show the frequencies of the students’
scores:
201
Bar-Chart: It is also represented by vertical or horizontal bars separated

from one another. The widths of the bars and the gaps in between them
must be equal while the height of each bar corresponds to the frequency of
a particular item or class. Bar-charts are useful for displaying data that are
classied into nominal or ordinal categories of scale. Nominal data are
categorised according to descriptive or quantitative information while
ordinal data are similar but the different categories can also be ranked. The
following are the three major types of bar-chart:
Simple bar-chart: This is a one-dimensional diagram in which each
of the bars represents its own frequency.
Example 2: A frequency table of MTH 111 examination scores of
NDI Building Technology students is given below. Use the
information and represent it on a simple bar-chart.
Table 10.2
Scores 20 40 60 80
Frequency 15 30 10 20
Solution
Figures 10.5 and 10.6 below show the frequencies of the
students’ scores:
202
Multiple bar-chart: This shows how two or more sets of inter-

related data are represented using different shades.
Example 3a: The table below shows the test scores of 3 NCE I
students in GSE 112, GSE 113 and BED 112. Use the information and
represent it on a multiple bar-chart.
Table 10.3
Scores of Students
Name of GSE 112 GSE 113 BED 112
Students
Abba 15 5 5
Sadiq 5 8 7
A’isha 15 3 12
Solution
Figures 10.7 and 10.8 below show the frequency
distribution of the students’ scores :
Component bar-chart: This is also known as split bar-chart. It

shows the dimensions of a whole bar into component parts.
Example 3b: Use the information in Table 10.3 and represent it on a
component bar-chart.
203
Solution
Figures 10.9 and 10.10 below show the frequency distribution of the
students' scores:
Pie-Chart: It is made up of a circle which is subdivided into sectors with

the area of each sector proportional to the size of the quantity being
represented by the sector. Pie-chart is constructed using information about
the frequencies of the various groups. Since angle at a point is 3600 the
given frequencies are converted to areas or segments of a circle using the
following simple expression.
Example 4: The lesson periods for HND II students in a certain

Department are shown in the diagram below:
Table 10.4
Subjects Periods
Advanced Algebra 6
English 4
Time Series Analysis 3
Regression Analysis 5
Illustrate the information on a pie-chart.
204
Solution
Table 10.5
Subjects Periods Sectorial Angle
Advanced 6
Algebra 6 × 3600 = 1200
18
English 4 4 × 3600 = 800
18
Time Series 3
3 × 3600 = 600
Analysis 18
Regression 5
Analysis 5 × 360 0 = 1000
18
18 360 0
Figure 10.11 below shows a diagrammatic representation of a Pie-chart:
205
Frequency Polygon Line-Graph: This is obtained from a histogram by

plotting the frequencies against the class mark of the class interval. This
entails joining the midpoints of the rectangular bars using line segments.
Example 5a: The table below shows the weight (in Kg) of 70 workers in a
company. Represent the information on a frequency polygon line-graph.
Table 10.6
Weight (in Kg) 10-19 20 - 29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60- 69 70-79
No. of Workers 24 10 3 19 4 8 2
Solution
Table 10.7
Weight (in Kg) Class Boundaries Number of Workers

(Frequency)
10 − 19 9.5 − 19.5 24
20 − 29 19.5 − 29.5 10
30 − 39 29.5 − 39.5 3
40 − 49 39.5 − 49.5 19
50 − 59 49.5 − 59.5 4
60 − 69 59.5 − 69.5 8
70 − 79 69.5 − 79.5 2
Figure 10.12 below shows a frequency polygon line-graph representing

the given information:
206
Cumulative Frequency Curve (Ogive Curve): This is the plot of

cumulative frequencies against the corresponding upper class boundaries
of the class intervals. Cumulative frequencies are generated by successive
additions of data which shows how many of the items in each class interval
are less than or greater than the value of the next class.
Example 5b: Use Table 10.6 to represent the given information in a

cumulative frequency curve (Ogive).
Solution
Table 10.8
Class Boundaries Number of Workers Cumulative
(Frequency) Frequency
9.5 − 19 .5 24 0 + 24 = 24
19 .5 − 29 .5 10 24 + 10 = 34
207
29 .5 − 39 .5 3 34 + 3 = 37
39 .5 − 49 .5 19 37 + 19 = 56
49 .5 − 59 .5 4 56 + 4 = 60
59 .5 − 69 .5 8 60 + 8 = 68
69 .5 − 79 .5 2 68 + 2 = 70
f = 70
Figure 10.13 below shows a diagrammatic representation of table 10.8

using cumulative frequency curve

Relative Frequency: This is the ratio of the frequency of each class

to the total frequency of all the classes. It is computed as:
Example 5c: Use Table 10.6 to construct a cumulative relative

frequency table.
208
Solution
Table 10.9
The XY Plots/Scatter Diagrams: The XY plots (also known as scatter

diagrams) are used in drawing out some aspects of relationship between
variables, so that one variable (Y) can be predicted against another variable
(X). Scatter diagrams are easy enough to draw on a two dimensional
Cartesian ordinate system. The diagram is made up of a scatter of points
each of which represents a pair of numbers representing a particular value
of Y and the corresponding value of X.
Example 6: Use the table below to represent the given information on a

plots-scatter graph.
Table 10.10
X 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Y 5 15 10 30 20 15 10 2.5
209
Solution
Figure 10.14 below shows a diagrammatic representation of XY plots-
scatter diagrams:
Statistical Analyses of Research Data

Statistics is concerned with scientic methods for collecting,
organising, summarising, presenting and analysing data as well as
drawing valid conclusions and making reasonable decisions on the basis
of such analysis. Therefore, statistical tests assist the researcher to establish
empirical evidence for arriving at the strong possible conclusion from
limited amounts of data. For data to be adequately analysed, appropriate
methods for data collection must be taken into consideration. The
following statistical methods of data analyses are discussed, namely:
measures of central tendency, measures of variability/dispersion,
measures of association; and parametric and non-parametric statistics.
Measures of Location/Central Tendency

Measures of central tendency makes it possible to summarise a set
of data into its centre. The centre is a single value, chosen in such a way that
it gives a reasonable approximation of normality (Awogbemi & Oguntade,
210
2010). The single value which serves as a typical representation of the set of
data is known as the measure of central tendency. The common types of
this measure are:
i. The Mean: It is sub-divided into:
i. Assumed Mean
ii. Geometric Mean
iii. Quadratic Mean
iv. Harmonic Mean
ii. The Median
iii. The Mode
The Mean: It is also known as arithmetic mean. The mean is simply the
average of a set of values; which is the sum of all the values divided by the
number of the values. For a set of observations: the mean is
denoted by:
Where is read as “x bar” meaning the mean of x.
is read as “sum of” meaning addition or cummulation or

summation.
N is the number of observation known as sample size.
Mean of Ungrouped Data: These are row data which are not
grouped.
means product of frequency corresponding

to x, then summation.
Mean of Grouped Data: These are data that are grouped with equal
interval
211
Where x is the average of each group known as class mark or class

interval. It is the addition of the two numbers in each group and
dividing it by 2.
Assumed Mean: This method involves deducting each value of a

variable from an assumed mean which could be the class mark of
any group or class interval.
Where A is the assumed mean

d is the deviation from assumed mean (A) for each of the
value of variable x. (i.e x - A).
N is the sample size i.e.
Geometric Mean: The geometric mean of n positive values is the nth

root of their product for a set of observations:
geometric mean is computed as:
Quadratic Mean: Is the square root of the mean of the squares of the
given values. It is computed as:
212
Harmonic Mean: It is the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of the

reciprocals of the observations. It is computed as:
The Median: The median of a distribution is the middle value (if the values
are odd) or the arithmetic mean of the two middle values (if the values are
even) when the values are arranged in order of magnitude (ascending or
descending order). For grouped data, the median is computed as:
Where L1 = Lower class boundary of the median class

(i.e. the class containing the median).
N = Number of items in the data (i.e. total
frequency).
Cfbm = Cumulative frequency before the median
class (if the class interval is ascending) or
below the median class (if the class
interval is descending).
fmc = Frequency of the median class.
C = Length of the class intervals or class size.
The Mode: The mode of a set of numbers is the value with the highest
appearances i.e. the most common value. A frequency distribution may
have one mode (unimodal) or two modes (bimodal) or three modes
(trimodal) or many modes (multimodal). For a group data, the modal class
is always the class with the highest frequency and it is computed as:
213
Where L1 = Lower class boundary of the modal class

∆1 = Difference between the frequencies of the modal
class and the class before it
∆2 = Difference between the frequencies of the modal
class and the class after it
C
= Length of the class intervals or class size
Example 7: The following are the scores of 10 students; 2, 4, 5, 3, 1, 5, 2, 1, 1,

and 2. Calculate the; arithmetic mean, assumed mean, geometric mean,
quadratic mean, harmonic mean, mean absolute deviation, median and
mode.
Solution
x 2+4+5+3+1+5+2+1+1+2 26
i. Arithmetic Mean ( )= = = = 2.6
N 10 10
d
ii. Assumed Mean = A +
N
Take any one of the given scores to be your assumed mean; A = 2
214
vii. Median; Arrange the numbers in either ascending or descending

order.
viii. Since the total number of the scores are even, then the median will
be the arithmetic mean of the two middle numbers i.e.
ix. Mode is the value with the highest appearances, therefore the mode
of the given numbers are 1 and 2 i.e. bimodal.
215
Example 8: The table below shows the distribution of marks scored by a

class of 80 students:
Table 10.12
Scores 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39
No. of Students 18 9 11 25 14 3
Find out the mean, assumed mean, median and mode.

Solution
Table 10.13
Cumulative
(x) Frequency
216
Measures of Dispersion/Variability
The degree to which numerical data tend to spread about an
average value is called the variation or dispersion of the data (Buba, 2006).
The common measures of variability or dispersions are:
i. Mean Absolute Deviation.
ii. The Range.
iii. Semi-Inter-Quartile Range.
iv. Percentile.
2
v. Variance S and Standard Deviation (S.D.).
Mean Absolute Deviation: It is the mean of absolute deviations of the

values from the mean. The deviation of values from the mean is zero (0)
and that brings about the use of absolute value of the deviations from the
mean. It can be computed as:
217
The Range: The range of a score distribution is the difference between the
highest and the lowest scores in the distribution. It is computed using:
Range=Highest given value-Lowest given value
Semi-Inter-Quartile Range: This is otherwise known as quartile

deviation. It is half of the difference between the upper and the lower
quartiles. It is computed using:
Inter quartile range=Upper quartile-Lower quartile=Q3 - Q1
Q 3 − Q1
Semi inter quartile range =
2
Q 3 − Q1
Coefcientof quartile deviation=
Q 3 + Q1
Where Q 3 on the score scale is the 75 th percentile i.e. the
point below which 75 % of the scores lies. Q 3 is
computed using:
P n − Cfbpc
Q3 = L + c
fpc
L = Lower limit of the class interval upon which
the percentile lies.
n
P = Part of N to be counted or the percentile
75
class i.e. × N.
100
Cfbpc = Cumulative frequency before/below the
percentile class.
fpc = Frequency of the percentile class.
c = Length of the class intervals or class size.
Where Q1 on the score scale is the 25th percentile i.e. the
point below which 25% of the scores lies. Q1 is
computed using:
P n − Cfbpc
Q1 = L + c
fpc
L = Lower limit of the class interval upon
which the percentile lies.
n
P = Part of N to be counted or the percentile
25
class i.e. × N.
100
218
Cfbpc = Cumulative frequency before/below the

percentile class.
fpc = Frequency of the percentile class.
c = Length of the class intervals or class size.
Percentile: The nth percentile is the scale value or score point below which
n% of the cases in the distribution falls. It is computed as:
To compute the percentile Rank, make P the subject of the formula:

(x − (
L
Where X = Required percentile point.

L = Lower real limit of the score value
containing the required percentile point.
P = Percentile rank of the required percentile
point (ranges between 0 and 1).
N = Number of score values in the distribution.
nb = Number of score values falling below L.
fp = Frequency of the score value containing the
required percentile point.
i = Size of the score intervals or measurement
unit ( i = 1, if the score values are in whole
numbers).
2
Variance (S ) and Standard Deviation (S.D.): In computing the standard
2
deviation (S.D.), variance (S ) has to be found rst. The square root always
gives the standard deviation.
2
Procedure for Computing Variance(S ) and Standard Deviation (S.D.).
i. Compute the mean (x as explained earlier whether single
or grouped data.
ii. Subtract the mean (x from each score of x to obtain the
deviation(d) i.e. d = x − x
iii. Square each of the deviation i.e. d2 = (x − x)2 .
219
iv. Sum the product of the frequencies and there

corresponding square deviation i.e. fd2
v. Find the sum of the frequencies i.e. f or N.
vi. Divide Roman number four (iv) by R oman number (v) to
nd the variance i.e.
vii. Find the square root of variance to get the standard

deviation i.e.
Example 9: Given the data in the table below:

Table 10.13
Scores 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70
Frequency 3 6 2 7 8 4
Calculate the; mean absolute deviation, range, semi -inter- quartile

range , variance and standard deviation.
220
Solution
Table 10.14
221
Measures of Association/Correlation/Relationship
Garson (2008) dened correlation as a bivariate measure of
association aimed at indicating the strength of the relationship between
two variables. Correlation coefcient is a means of expressing relationship
in a quantitative manner (Okpala et al., 1993). It is usually denoted by the
letter (r) or (rho) or (w). A linear/simple correlation referred to a straight-
line relationship between two variables. The degree of the relationship
between the two variables is expressed as a number that can range
between - 1.00 and + 1.00. This degree of the relationship/correlation can
fall within one of the following: positive linear correlation, negative linear
correlation or zero correlation.
Positive Linear Correlation: Two variables are said to be positively
correlated if they tend to increase or decrease together. A perfect
positive relationship between two variables is represented by a
correlation value of + 1.00. In such a situation, high scores on one
variable are associated with high scores on the second variable and
vice versa. This is illustrated in gure 10.15 below:
222
Negative Linear Correlation: Two variables are said to be

negatively correlated if they tend to change in the opposite
direction. A perfect negative relationship between two variables is
represented by a correlation value of -1.00. In such a situation, high
scores on one variable are associated with low scores on the second
variable and vice versa. This is illustrated in gure 10.16 below:
Zero Linear Correlation: Two variables are said to be uncorrelated

if they tend to change with no connection to each other. A situation
where no relationship exists between two variables is represented
by a correlation value of 0.00. This is illustrated in gure 10.17
below:
223
Note that A situation where the degree of relationship is neither

perfect (positively or negatively) nor zero is represented by correlation
value (decimal numbers) between -1.00 and +1.00. Such decimal numbers
still signify strong relationship despite the fact that they are not perfect
depending on the closeness to - 1.00 and +1.00. A negative value indicates
an inverse relationship between variables while a positive value indicates
a direct relationship between variables (Suleiman, 1998). A degree of
correlation between variables are measured using the following four
major ways:
i. Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefcient (rho).
ii. Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefcient (r).
iii. Kendall's Coefcient of Concordance (w).
iv. Regression Analysis.
Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefcient (rho): It is a non-

parametric test that is based on the ranks or order of observations of a
bivariate data. The rank correlation is useful in measuring the degree and
correlation of the strength of association between pairs of variables on an
ordinary scale or in a situation where certain items are ordered. If both
variables are normally distributed but expressed in ranks, then the
Spearman's rank correlation is used.
Procedures for Spearman’s Rank Correlation (rho)
i. Rank the variables of X and Y in order of magnitude to have
R X and R Y respectively.
ii. Find the differences (d) between pairs of rank i.e. d = (R X − R Y ).
iii. Sum up the squares of each individual value of the differences
2
and multiply it by 6 to obtained 6 d .
iv. Subtract 1 from the square of the number of observations
(number of cases given) i.e. n2 − 1.
v. Find the product of Roman number four (iv) above with
the number of observations given i.e. n(n2 − 1).
224
vi. Divide Roman number three (iii) by Roman number ve

2
6 d
(v) to have
n(n 2 −1)
vii. Subtract Roman number six (vi) from 1 to obtain the Spearman's
Rank Correlation Formulae. It is used to estimate or approximate
the product moment correlation coefcient and is given by the
formulae: 2
6 d
r=1−
n(n2 − 1)
Where d is the difference between pairs of ranked values n is
the number of observations
Example 10: The following table gives marks obtained by 10 students in

Mathematics (X) and Computer (Y) examinations. Find out the Spearman's
Rank Correlation Coefcient.
Table 10.15
Mathematics (X) 5 8 15 10 12 7 18 20 23 17
Computer (Y) 70 63 50 65 45 62 48 40 25 22
Solution
225
The correlation coefcient value of -0.83 is a highly negative correlation.
Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefcient (r) : Pearson's Product

Moment Correlation is a parametric test that also examines relationships. It
is more powerful statistic than rank correlation but both sort to nd out
relationships between variables. When the rst and second variables are
normally distributed, the product moment correlation is used. The
Pearson's product moment correlation coefcient is computed using any
of the following formulae:
Example 11: Calculate the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r)

between two sets of scores obtained by the same group of seven students in
Mathematics (X) and Statistics (Y) tests as shown in the table below:
226
X Y X X Y Y (X - X)2 (Y - Y) 2 (X - X)(Y - Y)
2 2
X Y (X - X) (Y - Y) (X - X)(Y - Y)
42 63 98 52 65
The correlation coefcient value of 0.91 is a highly positive correlation.
Kendall's Coefcient of Concordance (w): Kendell's coefcient of

concordance is also based on the ranks or order of observations of a
multivariate data. It is a statistical technique that is used to determine the
relationship between three or more sets of ranks.
227
Procedure for Kendall's Coefcient of Concordance (w)

i. Obtain the mean or the average of the ranks i.e.
ii. Obtain the difference (D) between the sum of the ranks for each row
and the total mean of the ranks i.e.
iii. Sum up the squares of each individual value of the difference and
multiply it by 12 i.e.12
iv. Substitute the values of M and N from the formulae (M is the
number of sets of rank to be correlated while N is the total number
of individual classes given).
The Kendall's coefcient of concordance (w) is computed using the
formula below:
Where D is the difference between the sum of ranks for each row and
the mean or average of the ranks i.e.
M is the number of sets of ranks to be correlated

N is the total number of individual classes given
Example 12: The table below shows the distribution of marks scored by 10
students in Mathematics (X), Statistics (Y) and Computer (Z) tests.
Calculate the correlation coefcient from the given table.
Table 10.19
Mathematics (X) 3 4 8 7 9 6 5 1 2 6
Statistics (Y) 5 3 6 7 9 7 2 8 1 4
Computer (Z) 4 1 5 7 3 1 9 6 2 8
228
d Sum of ranks
The correlation coefcient indicates a low relationship between the tests.
Regression Analysis: The term regression indicates a movement

backwards towards the mean when predicting an unknown value from a
known value when the two values are correlated. In statistics, regression is
a process of determining the statistical relationship between a random
variable and one or more independent variables used to predict the value
of the random variable (Anikweze, 2013b).There are two basic types of
229
regression; Linear Regression and Multiple Regression. The linear

regression uses one independent variable to predict the outcome of the
other (Y) while the multiple regression uses two or more independent
variables to predict the outcome of the other (Y). The simplest way to make
predictions is to use linear regression which is related to product moment
correlation and it is computed as:
230
Parametric and Non-Parametric Statistics

Parametric statistic is a branch of statistics which assumes that
sample data come from a population that follows a probability distribution
based on a xed set of parameters. The parametric tests are the tests of the
most powerful type and should be used if their basic assumptions are
based upon the nature of the population values and the way that sample
has been selected. Parametric statistics is applied when the set of data are
normally distributed i.e. a normality test has to be conducted rst, if the test
shows that the data is normally distributed then a parametric test is to be
applied. The normality test is conducted using either Shapiro-Wilk test if
the sample size is less than 30 or Kolmogows test if the sample size is
greater than or equal to 30. The non-parametric statistics (distribution free
test) are used when the nature of the population distribution is not known
or when the data are expressed as nominal or ordinal measures. The Non-
parametric test statistics are applied if the data is not normally distributed.
The variables in a non-parametric test are usually presented in rank order
or discrete values. The following parametric and non-parametric statistics
tests are briey discussed below; T-test, ANOVA, Covariance, ANCOVA,
Z-Test, Chi-Square Test, Mann Whitney U-Test, Wilcoxon's Matched Pairs
Rank Test, Kruskal-Wallis Test, Friedman's Two-Way ANOVA Test,
Cochran Q-Test and Runs Test of Randomness.
231
T-Test: Is a parametric statistic test that assesses whether the means of two
groups are statistically different from each other (Anikweze, 2013b). It is
used to determine if two sets of data are signicantly different from each
other, and is most commonly applied when the test statistic would follow a
normal distribution if the value of a scaling term in the test statistic were
known. T-test is computed using:
WhereΣ is the sum of the scores

MX and MY are the mean for the rst and second sample respectively
X and Y are the scores for the rst and second sample respectively
NX and NY are the number of scores in the rst and second sample
respectively
X1 and X2 are the means of the rst and second sample respectively
S1 and S2 are the variance of the rst and second sample respectively
N1 and N2 are the number of observations of the rst and second
sample respectively.
The critical values of t (t-critical) are given in statistical tables (t-

table). The chosen level of signicance gives the appropriate column and
the degree of freedom gives the appropriate row. For the t-test, degree of
freedom = ( N1−1+N2−1 )
Example 14: The table below shows the scores of two groups of HND II
Architectural Technology students (experimental and control groups) in a
Mathematics test. Test whether there is any signicant difference in the
mean scores between the two groups.
232
Table 10.23
35 30 1225 900
37 32 1369 1024
38 39 1444 1521
42 42 1764 1764
44 41 1936 1681
46 31 2116 961
51 50 2601 2500
54 52 2916 2704
55 46 3025 2116
56 55 3136 3025
233
At 0.05 level of signicance with df=18, the tcalculated (1.06)<tcritical

(2.11), the null hypothesis is retained. The result shows that there is no
signicant difference between the scores of the students.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA): ANOVA is also a parametric statistic

that compares the means of three or more groups in order to decide if some
statistical relationship exists between the experimental and the dependent
variables (Wikipedia, 2015a). The basic principle of ANOVA involves a
comparison of the amount of variance “between the samples” with that of
the “within the samples”. This comparison is done by dividing the
variance “between samples” with the variance of “within samples” to
obtain a ratio usually called F-ratio or Snedecor's F-ratio. There are two
major types of ANOVA; One Way ANOVA and Two Way ANOVA. It is
computed as:
With appropriate degrees of freedom values (df) applied to the two

variances being compared, the F-ratio can be interpreted whether
signicant or not. The signicance of an F-ratio is determined by reference
234
to Snedecor's table. For the numerator of F we look for df 2

at the appropriate row of the table. F-values are normally found using 0.05
and 0.01 levels of signicance at the intersection of the appropriate column
and row.
Example 15: The following table shows the scores of 10 students that sat for
three different Mathematics tests (pre-test, post-test and post-post-
test),determine whether the mean scores of the three tests vary
signicantly.
Sum of Squares
(SS)
235
Table 10.26
X Y Z
15 21 23 -3.9 15.2 -0.5 0.3 2.9 8.4
18 15 22 -0.9 0.8 -6.5 42.3 1.9 3.6
14 20 16 -4.9 24.0 -1.5 2.3 -4.1 16.8
17 24 19 -1.9 3.6 2.5 6.3 -1.1 1.2
16 19 24 -2.9 8.4 -2.5 6.3 3.9 15.2
20 20 19 1.1 1.2 -1.5 2.3 -1.1 1.2
21 26 21 2.1 4.4 4.5 20.3 0.9 0.8
25 21 22 6.1 37.2 -0.5 0.3 1.9 3.6
20 24 15 1.1 1.2 2.5 6.3 -5.1 26.0
23 25 20 4.1 16.8 3.5 12.3 -0.1 0.0
(Z - Z)
236
The critical value of F at 0.05 level of signicance, 2 df for numerator

and 27df for denominator, is found to be 3.35 i.e. F = 3.35. Since FCalculated
(1.6)<FCritical (3.35), the null hypothesis is retained. Therefore, it is concluded
that the mean scores of the three tests do not vary signicantly.
Covariance (COVXY): The Covariance (COVXY) is also a parametric statistic

that represents the degree to which two different variables change
together (Vernoy & Kyle, 2002). When high scores on one variable tend to
be paired with high scores on the other variable; and low scores tend to be
paired with low scores, the covariance will be large and positive. If on the
other hand, high scores on one variable tend to be paired with low scores
on the other variable, the covariance will be negative. COVXY is computed
as:
Also the covariance formula for the correlation coefcient is

computed as:
237
Example 16: The table below shows the degree to which two different set
of scores obtained by 7 students changes together. Calculate the
covariance correlation coefcient
Table 10.28
X 3 4 8 9 6 2 1
Y 5 3 7 7 6 9 2
Table 10.29
X Y X-X (X - X) 2 Y - Y (Y - Y) 2 (X - X)(Y - Y)
3 5 -1.7 2.89 -0.6 0.36 1.02

4 3 -0.7 0.49 -2.6 6.76 1.82
8 7 3.3 10.89 1.4 1.96 4.62
9 7 4.3 18.49 1.4 1.96 6.02
6 6 1.3 1.69 0.4 0.16 0.52
2 9 -2.7 7.29 3.4 11.56 -9.18
1 2 -3.7 13.69 -3.6 12.96 13.32
2 2
X Y (X - X) (Y - Y) (X - X)(Y - Y)
33 39 55.43 35.72 18.14
238
Therefore the correlation coefcient shows a very weak relationship

between the variables.
Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA): ANCOVA is also a parametric

statistic and also a general linear model which blends ANOVA and
regression. It evaluates whether population means of a dependent
variable are equal across levels of a categorical independent variable called
a treatment, while statistically controlling for the effects of other
continuous variables that are not of primary interest known as covariate or
nuisance variables (Wikipedia, 2015b). ANCOVA should be applied when
an independent variable has a strong correlation with the dependent
variable, but does not interact with other independent variables in
predicting the dependent variable's value.
239
Z-Test: This is a non-parametric statistic test that compares sample and

population means to determine if there is a signicant difference
(Anikweze, 2013a). It requires a simple random sample from a population
with a normal distribution and where the mean is known. The Z-test is
usually adopted in testing hypothesis about the difference between two
population means when the sample size is large. Generally, a sample is
considered to be large if its size is greater than or equal to 30 (Nworgu,
2015). Z-test and T-test are basically the same; they both compare the
means of two groups to determine whether there is a signicant difference
between the groups. Z-test is computed using:
X X
X n X n
S
n n
Where X1 and X2 are the mean scores of the rst and second groups
respectively
S1 and S2 are the standard deviations of the rst and second
groups respectively
n1 and n2 are the sample sizes of the rst and second groups
respectively
X is the mean sample to be standardized
μ(pronounce as "Miu") is the population mean
SEX is the standard error of the mean
S is the sample standard deviation (i.e. the sample based
estimate of the standard deviation of the population)
n is the size of the sample or number of observations of the sample
240
The critical values of Z (z-critical) are looked up in a z-table. A

negative z-value means is below the population mean (the negative sign is
always ignored when making decision). The z-test is not the same as the z-
score, although they are closely related (Anikweze, 2013a).
Example 17: The data below shows the post-test scores of students
exposed to Guided Discovery Strategy (GDS) and Expository Method
(EM). Determine whether students exposed to GDS performed better that
those students exposed to EM.
GDS: 20, 19, 23, 21, 17, 14, 13, 29, 20, 12, 14, 17, 14, 28, 29, 20, 9, 11, 16, 19, 26,
20 13, 21, 17, 20, 23, 22, 27, 23, 16, 18, 12, 21, 15.
EM: 12, 15, 16, 15, 20, 29, 10, 11, 8, 15, 10, 14, 13, 11, 23, 15, 16, 21, 11, 16, 15,
13, 15, 23, 11, 9, 6, 7, 10, 24, 19, 15, 19, 21, 20.
Solution
Table 10.30
X1 X2 d1=X1- X1 d21=(X1- X1) 2 d2=X2- X2 d22=(X2- X2) 2
20 12 1.17 1.37 -3.09 9.55
19 15 0.17 0.03 -0.09 0.01
23 16 4.17 17.39 0.91 0.83
21 15 2.17 4.71 -0.09 0.01
17 20 -1.83 3.35 4.91 24.11
14 29 -4.83 23.33 13.91 193.49
13 10 -5.83 33.99 -5.09 25.91
29 11 10.17 103.43 -4.09 16.73
20 8 1.17 1.37 -7.09 50.27
12 15 -6.83 46.65 -0.09 0.01
14 10 -4.83 23.33 -5.09 25.91
241
17 14 -1.83 3.35 -1.09 1.19

14 13 -4.83 23.33 -2.09 4.37
28 11 9.17 84.09 -4.09 16.73
20 9 1.17 1.33 -6.09 37.09
23 6 4.17 17.39 -9.09 82.63
22 7 3.17 10.05 -8.09 65.45
27 10 8.17 66.75 -5.09 25.91
23 24 4.17 17.39 8.91 79.39
16 19 -2.83 8.01 3.91 15.29
18 15 -0.83 0.69 -0.09 0.01
12 19 -6.83 46.65 3.91 15.29
21 21 2.17 4.71 5.91 34.93
15 20 -3.83 14.67 4.91 24.11
X1 X2 d21 d22
659 528 923.01 948.81
The critical value for standard normal distribution is 1.96. Since

ZCalculated (3.04)>ZCritical (1.96), we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that
students exposed to GDS performed signicantly better than those
exposed to EM.
242
Chi-Square Test: Chi-square test is also a non-parametric statistic that is

commonly used to determine whether a signicant difference exists
between the observed and expected number of objects (Ibrahim, 2006).
Chi-square test is only applicable to discrete data (data expressed in
frequency counts). This test is based upon the concept of independency i.e.
one variable is not affected by, or related to another. It is computed using:
x
Where Oi is the observed number of cases in the ith category

th
Ei is the expected number of cases in the i category
n is the total number of categories
The critical values of chi-square are looked up in a statistical table

(chi-square table) and it depends on the level of signicance and degree of
freedom (n-1). The calculated value of chi-square is always large when the
difference between observed and expected frequency values are large and
vice versa (Anikweze, 2013a).
Example 18: The table below shows the number of applicant that applied
for a Diploma programme in various Departments in Waziri Umaru
Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi. Test whether or not if there is equal
preference of Departments among the applicants.
Table 10.31
Departments Number of Applicants
Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) 122
Computer Science (CS) 94
Architectural Technology (AT) 53
Building Construction (BC) 71
Electrical Engineering (EE) 46
Estate Management (EM) 32
Agricultural Engineering (AE) 27
Mechanical Engineering (ME) 19
243
It is expected that there is equal preference among the applicants, therefore

the expected frequency will be A
Table 10.32
Department
MLS 122 58 64 4096 70.621

CS 94 58 36 1296 22.345
AT 53 58 -5 25 0.431
BC 71 58 13 169 2.914
EE 46 58 -12 144 2.483
EM 32 58 -26 676 11.655
AE 27 58 -31 961 16.569
ME 19 58 -39 1521 26.224
x
x
xK-1 x x
x x it is concluded that there is no
equal preference of department among the applicants.
Mann-Whitney U-Test: This is also a non-parametric statistic that tests

whether two independent samples have been drawn from the same
population. The data in the two samples under consideration are
combined and ranked in order of magnitude. This test is the non-
244
parametric alternative to the t-test for independent samples. Instead of

comparing means of the two groups as in the case of t-test, the Mann-
Whitney U-Test actually compares median (Pallant, 2001). Mann-Whitney
U-Test converts the scores on the continuous variables to ranks across the
two groups and then evaluates whether the ranks for the two groups differ
signicantly. The U-Test, mean, standard deviation and z-score of Mann-
Whitney statistic are computed as follows:
This is compared with the critical value from normal distribution table at α
level of signicance
Example 19: The following table shows the time taken (in seconds) by two
group of students to solve a question in Mathematics examination. Show
whether the time taken in solving the question by the rst group is equal to
or less than the time taken by the second group.
Table 10.33
Group 1 (X) 12 9 7 14 15 18 5 21 19 16
Group 2 (Y) 20 6 10 13 11 24 25 17 23 22
245
Rank all the observations in X and Y from the smallest to the highest.
Table 10.34
X Y RX RY
12 20 7 15
9 6 4 2
7 10 3 5
14 13 9 8
15 11 10 6
18 24 13 19
5 25 1 20
21 17 16 12
19 23 14 18
16 22 11 17
RX 88 RY 122
246
The critical value from standard normal distribution is 1.64. Since

1.29<1.64, it shows that there is no signicant difference between the time
taken by both groups in solving the questions.
Wilcoxon's Matched Pairs Rank Test: This is also a non-parametric

statistic that makes use of both the direction and magnitude of the
differences between matched sample pairs. The absolute values of the
difference are then obtained, and a sign of each difference is assigned to the
corresponding rank without considering zero differences. It is the non-
parametric alternative to the repeated measures t-test, but instead of
comparing means, the Wilcoxon Test converts scores to ranks and
compares them under two different conditions (Pallant, 2001). The mean,
standard deviation and z-score of Wilcoxon statistic are computed as
follows:
This is compared with the z-critical value at α level of signicance
Example 20: The table below shows the performance of two groups of
students in Mathematics examination. Test whether the two groups are
equal or not.
Table 10.35
X 23 24 26 35 28 35 28 36 39 40
Y 40 10 33 20 29 35 26 47 36 44
247
Take the difference of X and Y as d. Rank the outcomes of d from the

highest to the lowest, ignoring the negative sign and without considering
zero in the ranking.
X Y d=X-Y Rank of d Signed rank of d

23 40 -17 1 -1
24 10 14 3 3
26 33 -7 5 -5
35 20 15 2 2
28 29 -1 9 -9
- -
35 35 0
28 26 2 8 8
36 47 -11 4 -4
39 36 3 7 7
40 44 -4 6 -6
S= Sum up the numbers with negative sign in d but discard the negative
sign.
248
The critical value for normal distribution at 0.05 level of signicance

is 1.96. Since ZCalculated (0.30)<ZCritical (1.96), it shows that there is no signicant
difference between the two groups meaning that the groups are not equal.
Kruskal-Wallis Test: It is also a non-parametric statistic that is used to

decide whether independent samples are from different population. It is
the non-parametric alternative to a one-way between-group analysis of
variance. According to Pallant (2001), Kruskal-Wallis is similar in nature to
the Mann-Whitney test but it allows you to compare more than just two
groups. Scores are converted to ranks and then the mean rank for each
group is computed. Awogbemi and Oguntade (2010) outlines the
following procedures for applying this type of statistic test as follows:
i. Rank all observations together from the smallest to the largest
ii. Sum the ranks of each sample
iii. Compute the test statistic and compare with tabulated value.
Kruskal-Wallis test is computed as:
Example 21: The table below shows the scores of some selected students in
Logic and Linear (MTH 111) examination from four (4) Departments in the
College of Environmental Studies, Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic
Birnin Kebbi. Test whether the performance of the students are the same or
not.
Table 10.37
Arch (W) 20 23 27 30 25 23 35 19
Building (X) 12 26 24 16 15 33 9 7
QS (Y) 10 31 14 17 12 9 18 34
URP (Z) 18 41 20 30 8 43 16 29
249
Rank all the scores in W,X,Y and Z together from the smallest to the largest
20 12 10 18 16.5 6.5 5 13.5

23 26 31 41 18.5 22 27 31
27 24 14 20 23 20 8 16.5
30 16 17 30 25.5 10.5 12 25.5
25 15 12 8 21 9 6.5 2
23 33 9 43 18.5 28 3.5 32
35 9 18 16 30 3.5 13.5 10.5
19 7 34 29 15 1 29 24
Where n=32 (Total Number of Students)
i.e.M=4 (Number of Departments)=7.82

it is concluded that the performances
of the students are not the same.
250
Friedman's Two-Way ANOVA Test: The Friedman's test is the non-

parametric alternative to the one-way repeated measure analysis of
variance (Pallant, 2001). It is used when you take the same sample of
subjects and measure them under three or more different conditions. The
Friedman's test is used to compare the distributions of measurements of t
treatments laid out in b blocks using a randomised block design
(Awogbemi & Oguntade, 2010). The following are the procedures for
conducting Friedman's Two-Way ANOVA Test:
i. Rank the t treatment observations within each block in an order of

magnitude.
ii. Obtain the sum of the ranks for each treatment.
iii. Test the null hypothesis that the population within a block are
identical against the alternative that at least one treatment comes
from populations which have a different location in one direction.
Friedman's test statistic is computed using:
With t-1 degree of freedom, t is the number of treatments, b is the

th
number of blocks and Ri depicts the sum of the ranks for the n treatment.
We compare the critical chi-square value, and reject
Example 22: The table below gives the distribution of time taken (in
seconds) in solving a particular Mathematics question by four (4) students
each from ve (5) Departments of College of Engineering, Waziri Umaru
Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi. Determine whether or not the
distributions of the response by the students in answering the question
within the ve Departments are the same.
251
Table 10.39
Agricultural Engineering (A) 18 9 11 4
Civil Engineering (B) 21 13 20 9
Electrical Engineering (C) 14 12 5 7
Mechanical Engineering (D) 15 21 11 6
Metallurgical Engineering (E) 6 16 7 16
Rank all the observations in each particular row from the smallest to the
highest (i.e. from A-E).
b=4 (No. of Students in each Department), t =5 (No. of Departments)

[ [
[ [
[ [ [ [
252
it is concluded that the distribution of the

responses by the students in answering the question is the same.
Cochran Q-Test: Cochran Q-test for k related samples is also a non-

parametric statistic test that provides a method for testing whether three or
more matched sets of frequencies differ signicantly among themselves.
The test is applicable to a particular situation when the data assume only
one of two possible values (considered as a success by 1 and a failure
depicted by 0). It is computed as:
Example 23: The table below shows the number of responses: True (T=1)
and False (F=0) in four (4) modes of interviews conducted for four (4)
groups of 10 students each. Test whether or not the differences among the
four (4) modes of the interviews inuenced the number of True responses.
253
0 0 1 1 2 4
1 1 1 1 4 16
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 2 4
1 1 0 1 3 9
0 1 1 0 2 4
1 1 0 1 3 9
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 4 16
0 0 0 0 0 0
it is concluded that the probability of

true responses are not different under the interview conducted for the
groups P, Q, R and S.
254
Runs Test of Randomness: A run test is a succession of identical symbols

which may be followed and preceded by different symbols or none at all.
The test considered here is based on the number of runs exhibited by a
sample. Awogbemi and Oguntade (2010) outlined the following steps that
can be used to carry out one-sample run test:
i. Arrange m and n observations in their order of occurrence
ii. Count the number of runs (r)
iii. Determine the probability P under H0 associated with a value as
extreme as the observed value of r
It is also a non-parametric statistic and is computed by determining the
value of z if either m and n is larger than 20:
Example 24: Suppose a fair coin is tossed 65 times and the result is shown
below: HHHTHHHTTTHTTHTHTTHTHHHHTHHTTTTHHTHTT
HTHTHHTHTTTTTHHTHTHHTTHTHTHH
Test whether or not the order of observations occurred in a random order

at 0.05 level of signicant.
255
Solution
Determine the value of Z, since m and n are greater than 20, h=-0.05 where
m=33 (Total number of heads) andn=32 (Total number of tails).

N=65 (Total number of tossed).
r=39 (Total number of runs i.e. the succession of identical symbols,
followed and preceded by different symbol).
it is concluded that the order

of observation occurred in a random order.
Conclusion
Graphs normally arrange numerical information into a picture that
usually brings out the trends and relationships between variables more
vividly, which will enable the researcher to make comparison. While
statistical tests assist the researcher to establish empirical evidence for
arriving at a conclusion from limited amount of data. All these methods of
data presentation and statistical analyses discussed in this chapter can
easily be done nowadays using computer packages. Techniques ranging
from simple data description to regression and factor analysis are
available in ATLAS.ti, MATLAB, MINITAB, MuPAD, NVivo, SPSS and
STATA among others.
256
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263
INDEX
A advance 2, 17, 119, 133

advancement 113, 127, 131, 133, 135,
abbreviations 19, 24, 30, 143, 182 146, 155-157, 169, 178, 180
ability 58, 80, 84 advantage 33, 34, 56, 135, 178
academic 17, 25, 59-61, 63, 68, 70, 112, advantages 124, 143, 151
113, 115, 119, 120, 122, 127, 136, advisable 27, 59, 118, 197
160, 161, 175, 189, 195 aggregation 73
acceptable 27, 39, 116, 185 agreement 58, 81, 113, 114, 120
accessed 149, 150, 154, 155, 157-159, Algebra 126, 145, 146, 152, 160, 164,
166, 168, 170, 171, 179-181 172, 179, 203, 204
according 6, 7, 10, 12, 17, 24, 27, 39, alignment 102
50, 56, 57, 59, 71, 79, 91, 93, 102, alphabetical 91, 95, 123, 127, 142, 161,
105, 114, 119, 122, 128, 161, 177, 162, 184
181, 185, 194, 201, 248 alphabetically 122, 124, 143, 185, 188
accumulated 135, 178 alternative 38, 39, 41, 42, 94, 244, 246,
achieve 32, 34, 76 248, 250
achievement 89, 91, 127, 136, 173, 175 Amendment 176
acknowledge 120, 122, 123 amount 60, 72, 77, 185, 233, 255
Acknowledgement 23 analyse 55, 62, 66, 92
activities 33, 92, 194 analysed 7, 12, 15, 29, 37, 101-106,
activity-based 45 109, 112, 209
addition 6, 7, 49, 53, 124, 178, 210, 211 analyses 7, 11, 12, 26, 56, 101, 103,
adequacy 81, 87, 191 105, 107, 109, 196, 198, 199, 201,
adequately 57, 77, 80, 119, 209 203, 205, 207, 209, 211, 213, 215,
adhere 27, 189, 197 217, 219, 221, 223, 225, 227, 229,
administered 11, 14, 15, 69, 78, 87, 92, 231, 233, 235, 237, 239, 241, 243,
98, 112 245, 247, 249, 251, 253, 255
administration 26, 65, 88, 89, 93, 99 analysing 1, 39, 55, 71, 72, 74, 101,
administrators 3, 44, 45, 117 198, 209
admission 19, 22, 32 analysis 1, 5, 11, 14-16, 26, 28, 31, 35,
adopted 28, 56, 65, 69, 70, 78, 112, 124, 55, 56, 58, 64-66, 70, 71, 73, 86,
162, 189, 197, 239 90, 91, 96-99, 101-103, 106-109,
264
112, 128, 129, 166, 167, 176, 190, 174, 178

191, 193, 194, 196, 198, 203, 204, archival 14, 61
209, 223, 228, 233, 238, 248, 250, area 1, 41, 45, 49-58, 75, 76, 85, 119,
255 128, 130, 132, 139, 148, 150, 156,
analytical 102, 111, 145, 152, 153, 160, 157, 170, 180, 190, 195, 200, 203
167, 179 arithmetic 210, 212-214
ANCOVA 129, 230, 238 arithmetical 6, 7
annually 91, 136 arrange 53, 94, 128, 142, 198, 214, 254,
Anonymity 18 255
ANOVA 7, 11, 12, 129, 230, 233, 238, arranged 51, 102, 122, 124, 143, 151,
250 184, 185, 212
anticipated 37, 83, 191 arrangement 27, 51, 99, 122, 177, 197
APA 119, 123, 124, 144, 151, 152 arrangements 84, 177, 191
appear 122, 125, 142, 162, 176, 184, article 27, 35, 120, 122, 124, 130-132,
185, 188 138, 139, 146-148, 150, 154-158,
appendices 24, 26, 27, 119, 185, 188, 166, 169-171, 179-181, 188
192-195, 197 articles 60, 119, 130, 136, 142, 143, 146,
appendix 27, 70, 102, 185 147, 181
applicable 27, 89, 162-166, 171, 197, assigned 10, 12, 91, 132, 246
242, 252 associated 120, 221, 222, 254
application 42, 86 association 37, 39, 45, 119, 123, 127,
applied 10, 36, 65, 84, 113, 231, 233, 140, 145, 165, 179, 183, 209, 221,
238, 242 223
appraise 69 assumption 40, 89, 98
appreciation 23 assumptions 24, 39, 46, 53, 59, 190,
approach 2, 33, 34, 37, 42, 51, 52, 55, 192, 196, 230
58, 76, 77, 98, 114, 136, 173 attempt 2, 5, 9, 35, 66, 87
approaches 25, 51, 63, 97, 165 attempts 8, 9, 33, 81, 84
appropriate 6-8, 11, 13-15, 29, 41, 42, attitude 38, 91, 148, 170, 180
57, 78, 79, 81, 96, 99, 101, 105, attitudes 5, 70, 113
111, 112, 121, 170, 171, 198, 199, author 35, 59, 119-123, 125, 126, 128,
209, 231, 233, 234 130, 133, 136, 138, 142, 144-148,
approval 21, 190, 195 151-155, 160-162, 164, 166-168,
approved 19, 22, 188, 189, 197 170, 173, 177-179, 181, 184
approximate 191, 224 author's 120, 123, 124, 126-128, 133,
approximation 135, 191, 209 141, 143, 146, 151, 177
Arabia 138, 169 authors 62, 121-127, 141-143, 145, 148,
arbitrary 40, 67 152, 156, 162, 163, 165, 179, 182,
Architectural 231, 242 184
Architecture 125, 137, 144, 152, 163, Autobiography 144
265
INDEX
average 83, 210, 211, 216, 227 21, 23-27, 29-31, 33, 35, 37, 39,
41, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57,
B 59, 61, 63-65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75,
77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93,
bar-chart 199, 201, 202 95, 97, 99, 101-103, 105, 107, 109,
Bar-charts 201 111, 115, 118, 119, 122, 129, 130,
bars 200, 201, 204, 205 136, 146, 153, 154, 161, 164, 166,
based 2, 4, 29, 36, 40, 44, 46, 59, 67, 77, 175, 177, 182, 184, 185, 188, 189,
79, 80, 85, 86, 97, 103, 108, 112, 191-193, 195-199, 201, 203, 205,
116, 155, 169, 176, 223, 226, 230, 207, 209, 211, 213, 215, 217, 219,
239, 242, 254 221, 223, 225, 227, 229, 231, 233,
basic 2, 24, 32, 36, 46, 81, 89, 144, 177, 235, 237, 239, 241, 243, 245, 247,
192, 196, 198, 199, 229, 230, 233 249, 251, 253, 255
basics 162, 178 chapters 27, 31, 47, 136, 188, 192
bibliographic 121, 122, 177, 178 characteristics 3, 5, 6, 9, 28, 37, 46, 66,
bibliographies 92, 119, 184 67, 70, 71, 73, 74, 77, 116
bibliography 119, 122, 130, 142, 162, chi-square 6, 29, 106, 107, 200, 230,
177, 184, 185, 188, 197 242, 250
bimodal 212, 214 chronological 51, 62, 95
blue-print 14, 85, 190 citation 61, 119, 121-123, 125, 127, 136,
boards 104, 137 140, 141, 146-149, 151, 162, 174,
book 45, 59, 60, 120, 122, 124-127, 129, 178, 179, 181, 182
133, 137, 144-147, 150-154, 161- citations 122-124, 126, 127, 140, 144,
167, 172, 174, 175, 177-179, 182 149, 151, 162, 178, 179, 182, 184
books 17, 45, 59, 60, 117, 119, 123, 125, coefficient 29, 90
136, 144, 146, 151, 178, 179, 184, collection 1, 5, 14, 15, 26, 38, 56, 61,
185 66, 70, 71, 91-93, 97, 99, 145, 179,
boundaries 76, 205, 206 185, 193, 196, 209
bracket 123, 124, 130 column 94, 174, 200, 231, 234
brackets 149, 162-166, 168-171 communication 136, 137, 160, 172,
173, 175
C comparative 50, 57, 82
component 30, 108, 111, 202
Calculate 213, 219, 225, 227, 237 components 19, 31, 66, 189, 192, 195,
calculated 42, 43, 233, 236, 241, 242, 197
248 concepts 16, 19-22, 25, 28, 29, 34-36,
caption 137-139, 174 44-46, 63, 67, 94, 104-107, 111,
Causal-Comparative 4, 8, 9 112, 114-117, 155, 159, 172
CD-ROM 60, 149 conclude 118, 241
chapter 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17-19, concluded 19, 165, 236, 243, 249, 252,
266
164, 166, 176-178 footnotes 122, 176, 177, 188

editorial 129, 167 formulae 89, 90, 224, 225, 227
education 2, 3, 20-22, 32, 45, 86, 113, framework 25, 33, 38, 52, 55, 63, 66,
114, 116, 123, 125, 128, 130, 136, 67, 136, 160, 172, 175, 190, 192,
137, 145, 148, 160, 163, 164, 170, 196
172, 175, 180 frequencies 200, 201, 203-206, 213,
educational 1-3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 17, 32, 39, 219, 252
44, 46, 53, 70, 71, 77, 78, 91, 117, frequency 6, 29, 98, 104, 107, 112, 199-
128, 130, 131, 146, 148, 155-157, 207, 210, 212, 215, 217-219, 242,
169, 180, 189 243
effectiveness 93, 131, 132, 155, 156,
169, 173 G
Einstein 150
elevation 46, 87 geometric 210, 211, 213
empirical 3, 13, 51, 72, 209, 255 geometry 67, 145, 152, 153, 160, 167,
Encarta 60, 61 179
encyclopedia 59-61, 129, 147, 150, 167 google 131, 151, 158, 171, 173, 181
end-of-chapter 177, 184
engineering 32, 132, 139, 148, 150, H
156, 157, 242, 250, 251
equation 46, 86 Heterogeneity 76
ethical 15, 17, 92 histogram 199, 200, 204, 205
ethics 1, 17, 18, 149 homogeneity 79, 98, 112
examination 5, 71, 80, 91, 113, 199- homogeneous 82, 89
201, 244, 246, 248 hypotheses 13, 24, 26, 28, 31, 38, 42,
experiment 10, 68, 69, 78, 82-84, 87 43, 50, 59, 62, 65, 67, 93, 99, 101,
experimental 4, 9-12, 28-30, 69, 78, 79, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 190, 196
81, 83, 84, 103, 104, 106, 107, hypothesis 10, 37-43, 54, 56, 57, 69, 96,
112, 231, 233 98, 101, 105-107, 136, 141, 175,
190, 192, 195, 233, 236, 239, 241,
F 250
facilities 104, 105, 107, 108, 191 I

facts 9, 29, 46, 93, 102, 116, 119, 176
Figure 27, 42, 69, 137, 138, 204, 205, ICT 104, 105, 107, 108
207, 209 index 159, 168, 176, 180
Figures 24, 27, 41, 195, 200-203 inferences 39, 72, 96, 98, 198
Finding 15 inferential 37, 96, 97
Findings 26, 56, 80, 81, 107, 108, 196, innovations 2, 128, 148, 170, 180
197 instrument 6, 14, 32, 62, 65, 78-81, 87-
267
INDEX
254, 255 219, 239, 244, 246

conclusion 18, 26, 30, 38-40, 47, 64, 96, deviations 103, 216, 239
97, 99, 109, 111, 114, 115, 118, diagram 53, 95, 201, 203, 208
188, 191, 194, 197, 209, 255 diagrammatic 198, 199, 204, 207, 209
concordance 223, 226, 227 diagrams 120, 185, 199, 208, 209
context 36, 52, 53, 76, 81 dictionary 102, 129, 147, 167
contexts 29, 32, 61 direction 31, 38, 41, 53, 56, 66, 83, 93,
correlation 4-7, 9, 88, 89, 129, 167, 221- 222, 246, 250
229, 236-238 disadvantages 124, 143, 144, 151, 152
Criterion-Related 81 Disc 171
Cronbach-Alpha 14 discovery 3, 16, 19-22, 25, 28-30, 32-
Cross-Sectional 4, 8 36, 43-45, 63, 69, 105-107, 111,
cumulative 199, 206, 207, 212, 215, 112, 114-118, 136, 159, 172, 173,
217, 218 240
curriculum 2, 25, 44, 45, 63, 117, 118 discrete 230, 242
discussion 26, 33, 34, 52, 57, 95, 99,
D 101, 108, 137
discussions 14, 26, 101, 103, 105, 107-
database 131-133, 138, 139, 149, 150, 109, 183, 196
158, 169-173, 180, 181 dispersion 209, 216
Dedication 22, 24, 195 dissertation 18, 20-22, 31, 191, 193
degree 6, 9, 15, 20-22, 40, 61, 80, 84, dissertations 61, 178
86, 88, 189-191, 193, 216, 221, distributed 75, 86, 97, 98, 108, 223, 225
223, 231, 236, 237, 242, 250 distribution 6, 29, 40, 59, 71, 97, 98,
degrees 189, 233 104, 106, 107, 112, 171, 200, 202,
delimitation 24, 31, 45, 47, 192, 196 203, 212, 215, 217, 218, 227, 230,
demographic 46 231, 239, 241, 244, 246, 248, 250,
demonstrates 52, 53, 121 252
departments 60, 61, 165, 242, 248-251 distributions 80, 97, 250
dependent 1, 10, 12, 15, 16, 37, 68, 70, diverse 64, 77, 113
233, 238 difference 29, 36, 43, 103, 105-107,
description 5, 6, 14, 97, 105, 255 112, 115, 117
descriptive 4, 5, 36, 68, 70, 82, 96-98, domain 80, 86
103, 143, 200, 201
design 9-14, 25, 28, 34, 51, 65-70, 78, E
81, 87, 92, 99, 103, 112, 133, 192,
196, 198, 250 ebook 154, 166
Devalued 148, 158, 181 e-book 154, 166
develop 14, 33, 58, 67, 117 e-conferencing 14
deviation 5, 29, 98, 112, 211, 213, 216- edition 123, 129, 144, 146, 147, 162-
268
91, 93, 96, 99, 192, 193, 196 meta-analysis 55, 56

instruments 14, 26-29, 46, 78, 79, 81, meta-synthesis 55, 56
87, 89, 90, 92, 111, 116, 185 midpoints 204, 205
integer 75 modal 212, 213
internet 59, 104, 105, 108, 124, 131, 170 mode 6, 7, 210, 212-215
Interrelationship 132, 138, 148, 150, monograph 137
156, 157
in-text 119, 121-123, 125, 137, 139, 141, N
162, 174
investigation 2, 3, 13, 37, 45, 49, 51, nonparametric 223, 246, 250, 252
57, 58, 66, 70, 97, 118, 194, 198 non-parametric 6, 97, 98, 209, 230,
239, 242, 243, 246, 248, 254
J Non-probability 74, 76, 98
notations 27, 185
journal 27, 59, 60, 120, 124, 128, 130-
132, 136, 138, 139, 146-148, 150, O
151, 155-157, 160, 169, 170, 173,
174, 177, 180, 182, 188 Ogive 199, 206
online 133, 141, 142, 149-151, 155, 156,
L 158, 166, 168-171, 179-181
outlined 2, 3, 10, 37, 38, 42, 51, 54, 62,
literature 13, 21, 25, 35, 38, 39, 44-46, 66, 72, 84, 91, 101, 114, 116, 124,
49-64, 69, 108, 115, 116, 177, 184, 143, 151, 191, 199, 254
190-192, 194, 196
logical 2, 3, 13, 34, 51, 53, 67, 116 P
longitudinal 4, 8, 9
pagination 143, 150, 151
M paraphrasing 119-121, 151
parentheses 127, 129, 165, 177
mathematical 25, 28, 32, 33, 45, 63, parenthesis 141, 151
106, 115-117, 127, 145, 153, 165, parenthetical 140, 141, 178
167, 179, 183 peer-reviewed 59
mean 5, 7, 9, 12, 18, 29, 36, 40, 41, 43, percentages 5, 6, 87, 104
82, 98, 99, 103-106, 112, 119, percentile 6, 216-218
210-216, 218, 219, 227, 228, 231, periodical 136, 147, 150, 179
234, 236, 239, 240, 244, 246, 248 periodicals 60, 180
measurement 6, 67, 80, 85, 90, 98, 125, pictogram 199, 200
145, 163, 164, 218 pie-chart 199, 203, 204
Mechanical 242, 251 plagiarism 120, 121, 164, 165
median 6, 7, 210, 212-215, 244 plots-scatter 199, 208, 209
269
INDEX
polygon 199, 204, 205 190, 192-194, 197

population 5-9, 14, 25, 28, 38-42, 65, retrieve 122, 140, 142
70-75, 77, 83, 84, 87, 91, 95, 97- review 13, 25, 28, 38, 46, 49-64, 69,
99, 192, 196, 199, 230, 238-240, 108, 169, 170, 190-192, 194, 196
243, 248, 250 reviewed 25, 60, 62-64, 115, 120, 124
posttest 11, 12, 30, 82, 106, 112 rho 221, 223
post-test 28, 29, 69, 82, 112, 234, 240 rule 43, 96, 105, 150, 161, 162
preliminary 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30,
87, 195 S
pretest 11, 12, 29, 30, 82, 83, 112
pretest-posttest 11, 12 sampling 6, 7, 14, 25, 28, 40, 65-67, 72-
proposal 189-195, 197 78, 97, 99, 192, 196
P-value 40 scale 6, 7, 87, 97, 98, 201, 217, 218, 223
scales 6, 7
Q schematic 53
scholarly 17, 59, 61, 120, 129, 153, 154,
Q-test 230, 252 165, 166
quadratic 46, 86, 210, 211, 213 scope 24, 31, 45, 47, 52, 53, 67, 72, 95,
quantitative 3, 6, 55, 56, 70, 87, 91, 93, 192, 196
198, 201, 221 scores 11, 12, 36, 40, 43, 81-84, 88-91,
quartile 217, 219 99, 103-107, 200-203, 213-215,
quasi-experimental 4, 12, 69, 112 217, 219, 221, 222, 225, 231, 233,
quotation 119, 121, 130, 133, 134, 151 234, 236, 237, 239, 240, 244, 246,
248, 249
R seminar 27, 189
seminars 45, 60
rank 6, 86, 218, 223-225, 227, 230, 245- sequence 34, 51, 91, 93, 124
251 sequential 53, 62, 101
ratio 7, 73, 207, 233 series 12, 91, 92, 95, 136, 153, 162-164,
readers 18, 30, 31, 47, 66, 121, 122, 140 166, 168, 178, 198, 203, 204
recommendations 26, 28, 111, 112, software 59, 169
114-116, 118, 191, 194, 196, 197 statistical 1, 7, 11, 12, 15, 38, 40, 42, 43,
reference 16, 49, 58, 60, 80, 105, 118- 55, 57, 65-67, 72, 82, 83, 88, 92,
130, 136, 137, 139-144, 146, 147, 96-98, 128, 129, 166, 167, 198,
150-152, 160, 162, 166, 167, 173, 199, 201, 203, 205, 207, 209, 211,
177-179, 181, 182, 184, 185, 188, 213, 215, 217, 219, 221, 223, 225-
233 229, 231, 233, 235, 237, 239, 241-
references 21, 26, 58, 92, 119, 120, 123, 243, 245, 247, 249, 251, 253, 255
127, 140-142, 144, 146-148, 150, statistically 7, 37, 38, 101, 230, 238
151, 161, 177, 178, 184, 185, 188, statistics 2, 4-8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20,
270
22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36-40, T

42, 44, 46, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60,
62, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, tables 24, 27, 102, 103, 109, 120, 174,
82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96-98, 175, 185, 195, 231
101-104, 106, 108, 112, 114, 116, technique 5-7, 14, 28, 55, 66, 67, 72,
118, 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 74-78, 99, 226
132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, techniques 1, 3, 25, 28, 33, 35, 56, 57,
146, 148, 150, 152, 154-156, 158, 63, 65, 72, 74, 76, 118, 192, 195,
160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 196, 255
174, 176, 178-180, 182, 184, 186, tendency 6, 7, 82, 83, 95, 209, 210
188, 190, 192, 194, 196, 198, 200, terminologies 29, 73, 94
202, 204, 206, 208-210, 212, 214, test-retest 14, 87, 88, 90
216, 218, 220, 222, 224-228, 230, thematic 51
232, 234, 236, 238, 240, 242, 244, timetable 190, 191, 193, 194
246, 248, 250, 252, 254 trigonometry 67, 125, 145, 152, 153,
step-by-step 13, 15, 92 160, 163, 179
strategies 33, 34, 45, 64, 66 t-test 11, 12, 29, 98, 105, 106, 112, 129,
strategy 16, 19-22, 25, 28-30, 32-36, 43- 167, 230, 231, 239, 244, 246
45, 50, 63, 65, 66, 69, 105-107,
111, 112, 115-118, 131, 132, 146, U
155, 156, 159, 169, 172, 173, 180,
240 U-Test 230, 243, 244
style 119, 122-124, 130, 133, 138, 140,
141, 143, 144, 150-152, 155, 161, W
162, 168, 174, 176-179, 195
styles 119, 122, 123, 151, 177 Webpage 167, 168
subheading 19, 24 website 124, 155, 157, 158, 168, 181
sub-heading 51, 105
subheadings 1, 192, 196 Z
sub-headings 19, 24, 63
subject 34, 38, 49, 50, 54, 55, 57, 60, 85, z-critical 240, 246
119, 218 zero 7, 79, 216, 221-223, 246, 247
subjects 8, 10-12, 14, 17, 66, 82-84, 92, z-score 240, 244, 246
113, 203, 204, 250 z-test 41, 42, 230, 239, 240
summary 26, 27, 50, 71, 101, 106, 107, z-value 240
111, 118, 196, 197
systematic 1-5, 13, 54, 55, 65, 69, 72,
74, 75, 80, 83, 84
systematically 6, 66, 81, 85
271
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Muhammad Abdurrahman Sani is a lecturer in

the Department of Mathematics, Waziri Umaru
Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State,
Nigeria. He was born October 20, 1985 in Rafin
Zuru District, Zuru Local Government Area of
Kebbi State. He got his primary and secondary
school certificates from The Polytechnic Staff
Primar y School Birnin Kebbi and Federal
Government College Sokoto in 1998 and 2004
respectively. He obtained his Bachelor's and
Master's degrees in Mathematics Education from Usmanu Danfodiyo
University Sokoto and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 2010 and 2015
respectively. The author is currently pursuing his PhD Programme in
Mathematics Education from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
Beside his experience in teaching Mathematics at Senior Secondary School
level, he has for the past years been teaching Mathematics courses at NCE
and Diploma levels in Engineering, Environmental and Technology
Programmes. He is a member, Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN)
and Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). The author also
presented several papers at national and international conferences and
published a number of articles in different journals. He is happily married
with two children.
ISBN:978-978-960-045-8
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Introduction to Research Methodology & Statistics: A Guide for Students and

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Muhammad Sani Abdurrahman

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This book is dedicated to my beloved family, friends and well-wishers

Starting a research is a challenging venture which is perceptually

styles, subsequent referencing using Latin words and expressions,

Muhammad Abdurrahman Sani

This book by Muhammad Abdurrahman Sani with a fascinating title

Dr. Binta Abdulkarim

Types of Developmental Study 8

Characteristics of a Good Abstract 28

Statistical Decisions on a Research Hypothesis 44

Need for Data Collection 93

Places of Referencing 122

Kendall's Coefcient of Concordance (w) 227

Meaning and Nature of Research

logical way of nding solution to an identied problem. Therefore,

Educational Research: Entails a systematic and careful approach

Objective/Purpose of Educational Research

vi. To act as a guide for educational innovations on policy and other

Historical Descriptive Experimental

True or Pure Quasi-

Survey Case Study Developmental Correlation

Longitudinal Cross-Sectional Ex-post Facto or

from the analysis of present. Historical research has the following

Types of Descriptive Research

systematically examined (Abdullahi, 2011). For an instrument to give

iii. Interval Scale: Observations are said to be measured in interval

Types of Developmental Study

Ex-post Facto or Causal-Comparative Study

Types of Experimental Research

True or Pure Experimental Research

Ÿ Posttest only control group design

Where R= Random assignment of subjects into both groups

Ÿ Pretest-posttest only control group design

· Solomon four group design

The Research Process

Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

Quantitative Designs Combined Designs Qualitative Designs

Sampling Instruments/Protocols Data Analysis Interpretation

Discussion, Conclusions, Limitations, Future Research

Procedures and Steps for Research Process

ii. Review of Related Literature: The review of related literature

iii. Formulation of Research Questions and Hypotheses: Research

iv. Research Design: This is very critical in research. The research

v. Dene Population and Select a Sample: Population refers to the

fully justied to be convincing. The most common error is for

vi. Develop Data Collection Instrument: Instrumentation involves

vii. Procedure for Data Collection: The researcher is required to give a

viii. Data Analysis and Interpretation: Data analysis means using

ix. Reporting the Main Finding(s) in Form of Project: This entails