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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

The purpose of this study is to determine the social studies teachers' attitudes towards

instructional computer technology in teaching social studies subject in the Sultanate

of Oman, their self-efficacy, and level of use. The purpose of this chapter is to

present a detailed description of the methodology and procedures that was employed

in this study. This chapter is divided into the following sections: (1) research design,

(2) population, and sample, (3) research variables, (4) instruments, (5) validity and

reliability, (6) data scoring procedures, (7) data collecting procedures, (8) data

analysis, (9) research procedures, and (10) summary.

3.1 Research Design

Research design is the strategy, plan, and structure of conducting a research study,

and that the design provides the overall framework for collecting data (Connolly,

2007; Leedy, 1993). This study used a combination of quantitative components with

descriptive and causal-comparative method of educational research. The approach

use appropriate to explore cause and effect relationships between variables where

conditions are difficult or impossible to manipulate as in an experimental study

(Borg & Gall, 1989; Mertens, 1998). Causal-comparative (ex post facto) cannot

prove causation; however, they are useful in developing theories about observable
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occurrences (Borg & Gall, 1989). Furthermore, the aim of this research is to

determine if there are any differences among social studies teachers in their attitudes,

self efficacy and their level of computer use towards instructional computer

technology (in terms of their gender, and experience).

This study also tries to test whether the Attitudes predict the Level of Use towards

Instructional Computer Technology in the context of Social Studies Teachers in Oman. As

this study consider the differences between gender and teaching experiences, based on the

hierarchical multiple regression technique, this study will test the hypothesis whether the

Attitude predict the Level of Use towards Instructional Computer Technology after the effect

of social studies teachers’ gender and teaching experiences have been controlled. In

advanced, this study tries to investigate whether Self Efficacy mediates the relationship

between Attitudes and Level of Use towards Instructional Computer Technology as

illustrated in figure 3.1.

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Gender Experience
Independent

Variables

H02a
H01c
H01a H01b H02b H02c

Attitudes Self-efficacy as Level of use Dependent

the Mediator
Variables
H04

H03

Figure 3.1 Research Design.

Each relationship in the research design is tested based on the following hypothesis:-

H01: There is no significant difference between male and female social studies

teachers on a linear combination of their attitudes, self-efficacy and level of

use towards instructional computer technology.

H01a: There is no significant difference between male and female social

studies teachers on their attitudes towards instructional computer

technology.
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H01b: There is no significant difference between male and female social

studies teachers on their self-efficacy towards instructional computer

technology.

H01c: There is no significant difference between male and female social

studies teachers on their level of use towards using instructional

computer technology.

Ho2: There is no significant difference among social studies teachers in term of

their teaching experiences on a linear combination of their Attitudes, Self-

Efficacy and Level of Use towards instructional computer technology.

H02a: There is no significant difference in term of their teaching experiences

on their attitudes towards instructional computer technology.

H02b: There is no significant difference in term of their teaching experiences

on their self-efficacy towards instructional computer technology.

H02c: There is no significant difference in term of their teaching experiences

on their level of use towards using instructional computer technology.

H03: There is no significant contribution of Attitudes towards the Level of Use on

instructional computer technology, after controlling for the influence of

teacher’s gender and teaching experiences

H04: The relationship between the Attitudes and Level of Use towards instructional

computer technology will not be significantly mediated by Self Efficacy after

controlling the effect of teachers’.

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3.2 Population and Sample of the Study

The represented population in this study consisted of all social studies teachers in

Oman (983 male and female teachers in the academic year 2010/2011), in the Basic

Education schools (5-10 grades). A stratified random sampling technique was

employed to collect data from the two regions in Oman: Directorate of Education in

Muscat and Al-Dhahirah in the Sultanate of Oman. These regions represent different

parts of Oman: civilized and country society, seaboard and inland, mountainous and

plains. The study sample was confined to these regions due to the characteristics

which they have in common.

The total numbers of basic education schools in these regions are 81 as of the

academic year 2010/2011. The total number of social studies teachers is 420 with

236 female and 184 male in the academic year 2010/2011. The instruments were

distributed to all the social studies teachers in these schools. Table 3.1 displayed the

research sample.
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Table 3.1

Research sample (Oman) Ministry of Education (2010/2011)

Educational Total number of Social Studies Social Studies

Basic Education Total number
region
schools of Social (female) (male)
Studies teachers
(5-10 grates)

Muscat 45 227 124 103

Al- Dhahirah 36 193 112 81

Total 81 420 236 184

3.3 Research Variables

The three main dependent variables in the study were:

1. Attitudes towards instructional computer technology.

2. Self-efficacy towards instructional computer technology.

3. Levels of Use of instructional computer technology.

The study involved the following independent variables:

1. Teaching experience in the Basic Education (Three levels: 1-3 years, 4-6 years,

and more than 7 years).

2. Gender (male or female).

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3.4 Research Instruments

This study utilized three instruments for collecting the data:

1. Teachers' Attitudes towards Instructional Computer Technology Questionnaire

(TACTQ).

2. Teachers' Self-Efficacy towards Instructional Computer Technology

Questionnaire (TSECTQ).

3. Teachers' Level of Use towards Computer Technology Questionnaire

(TLUCTQ). This would measure teachers' Level of Use toward computer

technology.

All the three instruments were translated from English into Arabic. Descriptions of

the three instruments are as follows:

3.4.1 Teachers' Attitudes towards Instructional Computer Technology

Questionnaire (TACTQ)

The Social Studies Teachers' Attitudes Questionnaire (TACTQ), was adopted from

Kesten (2006). The original instrument was designed to examine social studies

teachers’ attitudes towards computer technology, and had a Cronbach’s alpha

reliability coefficient of r=0.82 (Kesten, 2006). The original questionnaire contained

18 items (see Appendix C). The items described an attitude scale, which is a set of

statements to which an individual responds and the pattern of responses are viewed

as confirmation of one or more underlying attitudes (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006). The

purpose of this questionnaire was to gather information about social studies teachers'

attitudes towards computers technology to answer research question one. The

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modified version of this questionnaire had 20 items (see Appendix: A, Section: A).

Two items were added based on the suggestions from a panel of experts who

reviewed the instrument.

The items used a Likert scale from 1 (strongly Disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The

respondents were asked to rate their levels of agreement with the statements related

to their attitudes regarding computer technology.

3.4.2 Teachers' Self-Efficacy towards Instructional computer technology

Questionnaire (TSECTQ)

This questionnaire was developed to examine teachers’ self-efficacy with respect to

using computers in teaching by Alhajiry (2007) which contains three subscales: 1-

using the computer in teaching, 2- manage student learning 3- trial ability

(testability). The original questionnaire contained 24 items where a measure of

teachers' self-efficacy to use computer technology in teaching was provided (see

Appendix D). The original instrument has a high reliability, with Cronbach’s Alpha

of 0.96. The questionnaire has been used by several researchers to examine teacher’s

self-efficacy (e.g. Crittenden, 2009; Coleman, 2004; Cuban et al., 2001; Kamb,

2001). The revised version of this questionnaire has 24 items (see Appendix: A,

Section: B) grouped according to three dimensions:

1. Using the computer in teaching: (Items 1-10). This dimension refers to the

utilization of computer technology as a tool to enhance teaching, and reflects

the teachers’ confidence of using computer technology in the teaching.

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2. Manage student learning: (items 11-18). This dimension refers to the

ability and confidence of teachers to control their students and enhance their

learning when using computer technology in teaching.

3. Trial ability (testability): (19-24). This dimension refers to teachers’ ability

and confidence in trying or testing new ideas related to the integration of

computer technology in the teaching and learning processes and

implementing activities and projects based on computer technology in the

classroom.

Teachers' self-efficacy towards computer technology was measured with a 5-point

Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree.

3.4.3 Teachers' Level of Use towards computer technology Questionnaire

(TLUCTQ)

This questionnaire was developed by Isleem (2003) to examine teachers’ level of use

with respect to using computers in teaching. The original questionnaire included 17

items (Appendix E) relating to the perceived level of computer use by teachers for

instructional purposes. The original questionnaire identified five subscales:

1. Productivity Software

2. Graphic Applications

3. Interactive Technologies

4. Telecommunications Resources

5. Computer-Assisted Instruction

The original instrument has a high reliability, with Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.92.
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The dependent variable, level of use of instructional computer technology, was

quantified by the score of 17 items using a five-point Likert scale. Each item was

rated by respondents from 1 (“Never”) to 5 (“Very Often”). The responses to all 17

items were analyzed using descriptive statistics to get the percents, means and

standard deviations to determine the level of use of social studies' teachers towards

instructional computer technology (See Appendix: A, Section: C).

It should be noted that the measurement of computer use in this study relied on

teachers’ estimation of the level they used computers in teaching social studies.

3.5 Validity and Reliability

The content of each instrument (TACTQ, TSECTQ and TLUCTQ) was validated by

specialists and experts in the fields of computer technology and instructional social

studies curriculum, psychology and educational research at Sultan Qaboos University

and the Ministry of Education in Sultanate of Oman. The panel of experts had

experience in their respective areas of expertise ranging from 10-25 years. Five

experts were lecturers from Sultan Qaboos University academic staff; eight experts

in social studies curriculum from the Ministry of Education in Oman, and three

experts in computer technology in the Ministry of Education in Oman. The experts

were asked to evaluate the questionnaires for suitability of items to be used with the

social studies in the Sultanate of Oman. The experts recommended making

corrections to some words and checked for ambiguity, confusion and any unexpected

questions in the instrument. The experts recommended adding two items to the

original teachers’ attitudes questionnaire to focus more on the social studies teachers’
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attitudes towards computer technology. However, after a follow up discussion, it was

agreed to retain the original items.

Pilot-testing was conducted by distributing 30 questionnaires of each (TACTQ,

TSECTQ, and TLUCTQ) to 30 Omani social studies teachers to determine the

reliability of the instrument and to ensure an accurate survey measurement. A

reliability test for the questionnaires was performed after the pilot study data was

collected. The questionnaire had a Cronbach’s alpha values as follows: attitudes, σ =

0.80, self-efficacy, σ = 0.96, and Level of use, σ = 0.92 which are considered ideal

(Nunnally, 1978; Pallant, 2005). Table 3.2 displayed the Cronbach’s alpha values for

each questionnaire.

Table 3.2

Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients for Internal Reliability: TACTQ ,TSECTQ,TLUCTQ

Questionnaire Number of items Alpha

Coefficient

(TACTQ) 20 0.80

(TSECTQ) 24 0.96

(TLUCTQ) 17 0.92

The pilot study also evaluated the wording of the items for clarity via a review

process by practitioners. It also evaluated the overall ease of use of the survey

instrument in order to determine any problems encountered by the participants.

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The validity of the questionnaire’s translation was also examined using translation

and back-translation techniques which are commonly utilized to translate instruments

in a cross-nation research. Deutscher (1973) wrote:

“The technique which is widely employed to deal with this problem is called
‘back translation’. There is a general agreement on how the actual translation of
the questions should be made. First, the original instrument is translated into the
local language, and then another independent translator translates this translated
version back into the original. The original and translated versions are compared
and the discrepancies are clarified” (p.165).

The researcher translated the instruments from English into Arabic because the

instruments were distributed to an Arab population. The revised instruments were

given to two experts for translation from English to Arabic, and other two to back-

translate them from Arabic to English. Further, two bilingual experts in Arabic and

English languages revised all the instruments to ensure that the two versions were

similar and no significant differences between them when they were compared.

3.6 Data Scoring

All data from the three instruments were stored using the Statistical Package for

Social Sciences (SPSS) and prepared for analysis. Social studies teachers’ attitudes

towards computer technology were measured using the 20 items in the (TACTQ); 24

items in the (TSECTQ) to measure their self-efficacy towards instructional computer

technology. The data from the TACTQ, TSECTQ and TLUCTQ obtained through

the participants’ responses to the Likert-scale were coded and analyzed to obtain the

mean scores for each scale.

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3.7 Research Procedures

To conduct the current study, several steps were followed from the beginning until

completion of the study:

 Ongoing review of the previous literature and related research.

 Identifying the population and sample of the study using the statistics from the

Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman.

 Pilot test instruments and ascertain the validity and reliability.

 Obtain permission to distribute the instruments (See Appendix: H; I; J; K).

 Organize and code the returned instruments.

 Analyze data by SPSS software package.

 Answer research questions and present the results of the study.

 Discuss the findings and formulate recommendations.

3.8 Data Collecting Process

With consent and support from the Ministry of Education, assistance was requested

from each of the General Directorate for Education and Instruction in Muscat and Al-

Dhahirah to distribute the survey. The questionnaires were distributed to 81 public

schools (5 -10 grades). The instruments were distributed in the first semester of the

academic year 2010/2011. The questionnaires (Teachers' Attitudes towards using

computer technology, Teachers' Self-Efficacy towards using computer technology

and Teachers' level of use towards computer technology) were delivered to the

school principals to be directly handed over to the social studies teachers. The school

principals were given clear instructions on how to complete the questionnaires.

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A total of 450 sets of questionnaires were delivered to each school for voluntary

participation. Only 386 questionnaires 81.7% were returned including 51 incomplete

questionnaires. The incomplete questionnaires were considered unusable due to

missing data and therefore eliminated from analyses. Thus, a final total of 335

questionnaires were used in the data analysis for the purpose of this study.

3.9 Data Analysis

All returned questionnaires were carefully examined to determine the level of

completeness of the answers and accuracy of response. The data then were coded and

analyzed using SPSS. The following analyses were undertaken:

1. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, means, standard deviations,

and percentages were used to answer questions numbers one, two, and three:

Q1. What are the attitudes of social studies' teachers towards instructional computer

technology?

Q2. What is the self-efficacy level of social studies' teachers towards instructional

computer technology?

Q3. What is the level of use social studies' teachers towards instructional computer

technology?

2. (One-way) Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), was employed to

answer research questions four and five.
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Q4. Is there any significant difference between male and female social studies

teachers on a linear combination of their Attitudes, Self-Efficacy and Level of

Use towards instructional computer technology?

Q5. Is there any significant difference among social studies teachers in terms of their

teaching Experience on a linear combination of their Attitudes, Self-Efficacy

and Level of Use towards instructional computer technology?

Table 3.3 summarizes the methods of analysis to answer the respective research

questions.

One-Way MANOVA, is an inferential statistics technique used to investigate the use

the variance due to the presence of more than one dependent variable. The dependent

variables should be related according to a conceptualized reason in order to view

them together (Pallant, 2007). Essentially, MANOVA compares the mean scores

between groups in terms of a combination of the dependent variables to recognize the

significant difference between groups or whether it has occurred by accident.

Moreover, MANOVA offers the univariate results for each of the dependent

variables individually (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010). Running MANOVA

leads to avoid producing an ‘inflated Type 1 error’ (Pallant, 2007, p.275). Therefore,

MANOVA adjusts for the increased risk of Type 1 error. As with any inferential

statistic technique, MANOVA is based on a set of assumptions (Pallant, 2007):

sample size, normality, univariate and multivariate outliers, linearity,

multicollinearity, and homogeneity of variance.

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1. Sample size

Sample size has more subjects in each cell than the number of Dependent Variables.

This requirement is most easily met in most studies. Generally, if the cell size is

greater than 30, assumptions of normality and equal variances are of less concern. If

cells sizes are small and unequal, then assumption testing is more critical. Although

equal cell size is ideal, it is not essential.

2. Normality

MANOVA is sensitive to violations of multivariate normality. To test for

multivariate normality the Mahalanobis distance is used. This test identifies

multivariate outliers which influence normality. An alpha level of .001 is

recommended.

3. Univariate and Multivariate Outliers

MANOVA has impact on the Type I error rate; first check for univariate outliers,

then use Mahalanobis' distance to check for multivariate outliers (MVO). MANOVA

can tolerate a few outliers, particularly if their scores are not too extreme. If there are

too many outliers, or very extreme scores, consider deleting these cases or

transforming the variables involved.

4. Linearity

Linearity is the linear relationships between any two Dependent Variables.

Furthermore, using within-cell scatter plots to test this assumption. Also use it to find

the presence if any nonlinear relationship between the Dependent Variables. On the

other hand, the Dependent Variables should not have high multicollinearity because

it indicates redundancy in the dependent variables.

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5. Multivariate test statistics

Choose from among these multivariate test statistics to assess whether there are

statistically significant differences across the levels of the Independent Variables

(IV) for a linear combination of Dependent Variables (DV). In general Wilks' lambda

is recommended unless there are problems with small N, unequal, violations of

assumptions, etc. in which case Pillai's trace is more robust.

Roy's greatest characteristic root

1. Tests for differences on only the first discriminant function

2. Most appropriate when DVs are strongly interrelated on a single dimension

3. Highly sensitive to violation of assumptions - most powerful when all assumptions

are met

Wilks' lambda (λ)

1. Most commonly used statistic for overall significance

2. Considers differences over all the characteristic roots

3. The smaller the value of Wilks' lambda, the larger the between-groups dispersion.

Hotelling's trace

1. Considers differences over all the characteristic roots

Pillai's criterion

1. Considers differences over all the characteristic roots

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2. More robust than Wilks'; should be used when sample size decreases, unequal cell

sizes or homogeneity of covariances is violated.

6. Homogeneity of variance-covariance matrix (Box's M)

The F test from Box’s M statistics should be interpreted cautiously because it is a

highly sensitive test of the violation of the multivariate normality assumption,

particularly with large sample sizes. MANOVA is fairly robust to this assumption

where there are equal sample sizes for each cell.

3. Hierarchial Multiple Regression was employed to answer research questions six:

Q6: If the possible effect of teachers’ gender and teaching experiences are

controlled, does Attitudes significantly predict the Level of Use towards

instructional computer technology?

Hierarchical multiple regression is an advanced statistical analysis of standard

multiple regression. A standard multiple regression is a technique which will be used

to explore the relationship between one continuous dependent variable and a number

of independent variables or predictors (usually continuous) (Pallant, 2007). In order

to answer research question, the analysis assumed that there are three independent

variables (Attitudes, gender, teaching experiences) and one dependant variable

(Level of Use). Among those three dependant variables, one is treated as a predictor

variable, whereas the other two are treated as controlled variables. As a result, the

standard multiple regression become hierarchical multiple regression (Dongsheng,

Jiahua, Peide & Yaohua, 2005).

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In hierarchical regression (also called sequential regression), the independent

variables are entered into the equation in the order specified by the researcher based

on theoretical grounds (Pallant, 2007). Variables or sets of variables are entered in

steps (or blocks), with each independent variable being assessed in terms of what it

adds to the prediction of the dependent variable, after the previous variables have

been controlled for (Pallant, 2007). This study wants to know how well Attitudes

predicts Level of Use, after the effect of gender and teaching experiences are

controlled for, thus, gender and teaching experiences will be entered in Block 1 and

then Attitudes in Block 2. Once all sets of variables are entered, the overall model is

assessed in terms of its ability to predict the dependent measure. The relative

contribution of each block of variables is also assessed (Pallant, 2007). In summary,

a hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the ability of Attitudes to

predict the Level of Use towards using the instructional computer technology, after

controlling for the influence of teachers’ gender and teaching experiences.

Hierarchical multiple regression were used to answer research question number 6.

4. Mediating analysis was employed to answer research questions seven:

Q7: Does Self-Efficacy significantly mediate the relationship between Attitudes

and Level of Use towards instructional computer technology?

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A mediation model for this study tested the relationships between Attitudes predictor

“X” variables from the bivariate correlation matrix that demonstrated significant

relationships to mediator “Z” and dependent “Y” variables.

X Y

Figure 3.2 Mediation model.

Indicators:

X = Independent variable (Attitudes)

Y = Dependent variable (Level of Use)

Z = Mediator variable (Self-Efficacy)

C= Controlled variables (Gender, Teaching Experiences)

A mediator is a variable that explains the relationship between the predictor variable

and the dependant variable (Baron & Kenny, 1986). The Attitude towards using

Instructional Computer Technology served as the independent variable (predictor),

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the Self-Efficacy towards using Instructional Computer Technology served as the

mediator variable, and the Level of Use towards Instructional Computer Technology

served as the dependent variable.

The four steps to determine if mediation existed and if mediation was partial or full

were based on the hierarchal regression procedures reported by Hair, Anderson,

Tatham and Black (1998), Bates and Khasawneh (2007), and Baron and Kenny

(1986). The steps were: Step 1: entered control variables which were gender and

teaching experiences (C) as block one, entered the independent variable which was

Attitude (X) as block two and regressed variables on the dependent variable which

was Level of Use (Y); Step 2: entered control variables which were gender and

teaching experiences (C) as block one, entered mediator variable which was Self-

Efficacy (Z) as block two, and regressed variables on the dependent variable which

was Level of Use (Y); Step 3: entered control variables were gender and teaching

experiences (C) as block one, entered the independent variable which was Attitude

(X) as block two, and regressed on the mediator variable which was Self-Efficacy

(Z); and Step 4 was conducted if steps 1 - 3 produced significant models: entered

control variables which were gender and teaching experiences (C) as block one,

entered mediator variable which was Self-Efficacy (Z) as block two, entered the

independent variable which was Attitude (X) as block three, and regressed on the

dependent variable which was Level of Use (Y). The results of step 4 determine the

type of mediation. Complete mediation is indicated if the previously significant

Attitudes predictor becomes non-significant in the final analysis. Partial mediation

may occur when the standardized regression coefficient of Attitudes shows a

reduction from analyses of step 1 to step 3, but not to the extent that it becomes non-

significant. Subsequently, Sobel’s test was used in order to verify whether a mediator
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variable significantly carries the influence of an independent variable to a dependent

variable; i.e., whether the indirect effect of the independent variable on the dependent

variable through the mediator variable is significant (Soper, 2011; Sobel, 1982).

Table 3.3

Research questions and data analysis method

Method of Research Question Questions

Analysis

Descriptive What are the attitudes of social studies' .1

statistics teachers towards instructional computer
technology in teaching social studies
subject?

Descriptive What is the self-efficacy level of social .2

statistics studies' teachers towards instructional
computer technology in teaching social
studies subject?

Descriptive What is the level of using instructional .3

statistics
computer technology in teaching by social
studies' teachers?

One-way Is there any difference between male and .4

MANOVA
female social studies teachers on a linear
combination of their Attitudes, Self-
Efficacy and Level of Use towards
instructional computer technology?

One-way Is there any significant difference among .5

MANOVA
social studies teachers in terms of their
teaching Experience on a linear
combination of their Attitudes, Self-
Efficacy and Level of Use towards
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instructional computer technology?

Hierarchical If the possible effect of teachers’ gender 6.

multiple
regression and teaching experiences are controlled,
does Attitudes significantly predict the
Level of Use towards instructional
computer technology?

Mediating After controlling the effect of teachers’ 7.

analysis
gender and teaching experiences, does
Self Efficacy significantly mediate the
relationship between Attitudes and the
Level of Use towards instructional
computer technology?

*The probability level for all tests of statistical significance for the study was set at p

< .05.

3.10 Summary

The purpose of this study was to determine social studies teachers' attitudes, their

self-efficacy and level of use towards instructional computer technology in the

Sultanate of Oman. It was conducted in public schools in two regain (Muscat and

AL-Dahirah region). Chapter THREE presented a detailed description of the

methodology and procedures that were employed in this study. This chapter also

discussed the research questions and research design at the beginning. Additionally,

the chapter described research's population, sample, variables, and detailed the

instruments which were used to collect data and their validity and reliability.

Descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, means, standard deviations, and

percentages to determine social studies attitudes, self-efficacy, and level of use

 95

towards instructional computer technology. Multivariate Analysis of Variance

(MANOVA),( One-way) use to determine any significant difference between (male

and female, experience) social studies teachers on a linear combination of their

Attitudes, Self-Efficacy and Level of Use towards using instructional computer

technology. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the ability of

Attitudes to predict the Level of Use towards using the instructional computer

technology. A mediation model for this study tested the relationships between

Attitude predictor variable from the bivariate correlation matrix that demonstrated

significant relationships to mediator “self-efficacy” and dependent “level of use”

variable.

The data collection process and data analysis which were used by the researcher also

was detailed in this chapter. The chapter was concluded with a discussion explaining

how the data were analyzed for each question and clarified the research procedures.