PROJECT TITLE

An examination of how often males and females of The Bishops’ High School upload
photos and comment on other user’s photos on Facebook on a weekly basis compared to
students of East Ruimveldt Secondary School and its effects on their academic performance.

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 INTRODUCTION
Social networking is a modern epidemic in the world today. From young to old, individuals
either have two or more social accounts. However, Facebook is one of the mostly used
networking sites since its establishment twelve years ago with over 1.59 billion users and
counting. The researcher’s aim in this project is to ascertain the activities of the students of The
Bishops’ High School and East Ruimveldt Secondary School in order to assess the effect of
social networking on their academic performance. The researcher tends to examine how
frequent the students of the respective schools before mentioned upload photos and comment on
the photos of other users on a weekly basis and the effect social networking has on the academic
performance of the students. Thus, the researcher chose this topic to assess the impact of social
networking on the academic performance of students.

The researcher chose a more quantitative approach to this survey, using the questionnaire
and observation as the data gathering instruments. These instruments were used to target the
students of The Bishops’ High School and East Ruimveldt Secondary School.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research method used in this project is non experimental based. This survey was
carried out with the use of the questionnaire and observation methods. The questionnaire
method was used because of the following reasons:

 All information collected in the questionnaire will be held confidential since no name would
be needed.
 The questionnaire would not require a lot of time for completion.

Limitations of the questionnaire method include:

 Incomplete response to questions

 Easy misinterpretation of questions
 Low responds rate due to the recollection of questionnaires

However, the Observation method was used because:

 The researcher would be able to gather objective data

 There would be addition to the observer insight
 The researcher could develop an holistic perspective

Limitations to the Observation method include:

 The potential to misinterpret the observation

 It is time consuming
 The observers presence may cause bias

The questionnaires were used to target the students of The Bishops’ High School and East
Ruimveldt Secondary School who possess a Facebook account. Respondents were chosen using
the simple random sampling techniques which allowed the researcher to choose a specific
amount of respondents from the population of the two schools, Inorder to collect accurate data
on the topic. Participants were chosen using a pass-by strategy in which the researcher
randomly chose people who were walking on the corridors of the respective schools. An overall
total of 60 questionnaires were constructed and distributed to the student.

The questionnaire method was chosen above the focus group and interview methods
because:

 The questionnaire method gives respondents more time to accurately develop a response as
compared to an interview, which may leave participants feeling nervous and awkward due
to the time taken to formulate a response on the spot.

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 In addition the questionnaire method is more suitable than a focus group since the focus
group need to assembly a specific number of participants, which may be very difficult.
Whereas the questionnaire method does not need to assembly participants.

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 CORRESPONDENCE LETER

The Bishops’ High School

84 Carmichael Street,

Georgetown,

Guyana.

6th January 2016

Dear Respondents,

RE: Integrated Mathematics Internal Assessment (I.A)

The researcher, a sixth form student of The Bishops’ High School is seeking your
participation in the completion of this questionnaire, which is based on the topic ‘the impact of
social networking on the academic performance of students’. This questionnaire is a component
of an Internal Assessment which is to be completed in time for the Caribbean Advanced Level
Proficiency Examination (CAPE) to be held in May/June of 2016. Thus, the researcher would
be grateful if you were to answer the questionnaire with honesty and sincerity.

The researcher wishes to thank you in advance for your time and Kind Corporation.

Yours Sincerely,

………………..

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 QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Gender :
Male  Female 

2. Age Range :
11-12  13-14  15-16  17-18 

3. Religion :
Christian  Islam  Hindu  None 

4. Ethnicity :
African  East Indian  Chinese  Amerindian  Mixed 

5. Which school do you attend?

East Ruimveldt Secondary School  The Bishops’ High School 

6. How many social accounts do you have?

1-2  3-4  5-6  8 and over 

7. Do you have an active Facebook account?

Yes  No 

8. How long have you had your account?

Less than 1 year  2-4 years  5-7 years  8 years and over

9. On a weekly basis how many photos do you upload?

1-2  3-4  5-6  7-8  9 and over 

10. What is the main reason for you to upload a photo?

……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………

11. How many comments do you receive per photo?

1-10  11-20  21-30  31-40  41 and more 

12. Do you think social networking has a negative impact on your academic performance?
Yes  No 

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13. What is your overall percentage per term?
40% and below  41%-49%  50%- 59%  60%-69% 
70%-79%  80% and above 

14. Do you have a study timetable?

Yes No

15. What is your overall academic performance in English Language?

40% and below 41%-49% 50%-59% 60%-69%
70%-79% 80% and above

16. Do you think social networking impacts your academic performance in English
Language?
Yes No 

17. State the reason for your answer at 16. Above.

……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………

18. How often do you visit Facebook on a weekly basis?

1-3 times 4-6 times 7-9 times 10-12 
13-15  16-18  19-21  22-24

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 DATA MANAGEMENT
On January 20th 2016, the researcher distributed a total of 60 questionnaires to the
students of East Ruimveldt Secondary School and The Bishops’ High School. The
researcher then recollected the questionnaires within an hour of distribution. Participants
were asked to kindly give the completed questionnaire to their respective deputy head
teacher from which the researcher uplifted them.
In order to organize the data collected the researcher used the frequency table to
transfer the responses of participants into numerical data. The researcher went through
each question and recorded the responses of each participant. Each response was
represented by ‘|’ which was later transfer into numbers.
As the researcher completed analyzing the data collected from the questionnaires
into her scrap book, she subsequently typed out the information and kept a copy safe on
her personal computer and phone as precaution incase of lost of scrap book.

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 ORGANISATION OF DATA

 Frequency table representing the responses of participants when asked about their
gender.

Responses Tally Frequency

Male |||| |||| |||| |||| ||| 23

Female |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| || 37

 Frequency table representing participant’s response to the question ‘how many social
accounts do you have?’

Responses Tally Frequency

1–2 |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| 34

3–4 |||| |||| |||| |||| ||| 23

5–6 ||| 3

None 0

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 Frequency table representing the responses of participants when asked ‘Do you have
an active Facebook account?’

Responses Tally Frequency

Yes |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| 60
|||| ||||

No 0

 Frequency table representing the responses of participants when asked ‘How many
photos do you upload per week?’

Responses Tally Frequency

1 – 2 photos |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| | 26

3 – 4 photos |||| |||| |||| ||| 18

5 – 6 photos |||| |||| 9

7 – 8 photos |||| 5

9 photos and more || 2

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 Frequency table representing the responses of participants when asked ‘How many
comments do you receive per photo?’

Responses Tally Frequency

1 – 10 comments |||| |||| 9

11 – 20 comments |||| |||| |||| |||| 20

21 – 30 comments |||| |||| || 12

31 – 40 comments |||| |||| 10

42 comments and more |||| |||| 9

 Frequency table representing the responses of participants when asked ‘What is your
academic performance in English Language?’

Responses Tally Frequency

0% - 40% ||| 3

41% - 49% |||| ||| 8

50% - 59% |||| |||| || 12

60% - 69% |||| |||| |||| |||| 20

70% - 79% |||| |||| |||| 15

80% - 100% || 2

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 Frequency table representing the responses of participants when asked ‘Do you think
social networking affects your academic performance?’

Responses Tally Frequency

Yes |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ||| 43

No |||| |||| |||| || 17

 Frequency table representing the responses of participants when asked ‘How

often do you visit Facebook on a weekly basis?’

Responses Tally Frequency

1 – 3 times ||
2

4 – 6 times |||| |||

8

7 – 9 times |||| ||||

10

10 – 12 times |||| |||| |||| |

16

13 – 15 times |||| |||| | 11

16 - 18 times |||| |||| 9

19 – 21 times ||| 3

22 – 24 times | 1

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 PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

The Diagram below represents the number of social account owned by the students of the
respective schools namely The Bishops’ High School and East Ruimveldt Secondary School

Diagram Showing the Number of Social

Accounts

5%

38.30%
56.60%

1 or 2 3 or 4 5 or 6 none

Calculations:
 Students with 1 or 2 social accounts
34/60*100/1
=56.6%

 Students with 2 or 3 social accounts

23/60*100/1
=38.3%

 Students with 4 or 5 social accounts

3/60*100/1
=5%

 Students with no social account

0/60*100/1
=0%

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 The Bar Graph below represents the responses of the students of The Bishops’ High
School and East Ruimveldt Secondary School when asked their reason for uploading a
photo on Facebook.

Bar Graph Showing The Reason Why

Students Upload A Photo On Facebook

Show Recent Activities

Public Attention
Responses of Students

For Likes

ERSS
Look Good
BHS

Upload Profile Picture

Funny Moments

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Number of responses

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The Scatter Diagram below represents the relationship between the number of times students of
The Bishops’ High School visit Facebook to their academic performance.

The Bishops' High School

90%
80%
Academic Performancee

70%
60%
50%
40%
The Bishops' High School
30%
20%
10%
0%
0 5 10 15 20 25
Number of Visits

The Scatter Diagram below represents the relationship between the number of times
students of East Ruimveldt Secondary School visit Facebook to their academic
performance.

East Ruimveldt Secondary School

90%
80%
Academic Performance

70%
60%
50%
40%
East Ruimveldt Secondary
30% School
20%
10%
0%
0 5 10 15 20 25
Number of Visits

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The Diagram below represents the comparison between the different levels of comments
received by students to their Academic performance in the subject area of English
Language.

Chart comparing the Academic performance

of students to the comments recieved per
photo during a weeks' period
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
1 to 10
11 to 20
Comments 21 to 30
Comments 31 to 40
Comments 41 to 50
comments
Comments

ERSS BHS

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 ANALYSIS OF DATA

An analysis is a systematic examination and evaluation of data or information, by

breaking it into its component parts to uncover their interrelationships, opposite
of synthesis, thus providing basis for problem solving and decision making.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/analysis.html#ixzz45ZAYxVi5.
The researcher will be using (3) analytical tool in order to analyze the data collected
from the survey, which are;
1. The Measure of Central Tendency
2. The Measure of Relationship
3. The Measure of variability

The Measure of Central Tendency

When using the measure of central tendency, the researcher will be analyzing the
Academic Performance of no more than 15 participants of The Bishops’ High School and East
Ruimveldt Secondary School, in which the mean, mode and median will be ascertained.
http://www.mathgoodies.com/glossary/term.asp?term=measure%20of%20central%20tendency

The group of numbers below represents the academic performances of 30 students from The
Bishops’ High School and East Ruimveldt Secondary school.

67 56 80 62 52 90 70 61 86 56 79 50 85 93 97
64 75 60 56 70 95 88 64 74 69 62 90 86 72 65

Mean (x̄)

Formula =

= 67 + 56 + 80 + 62 + 52 + 90 + 70 + 61 + 86 + 56 + 79 + 50 + 85 +
93 + 97 + 64 + 75 + 60 + 56 + 70 + 95 + 88 + 64 + 74 + 69 + 62 + 90
+ 86 + 72 + 65

30

= 2164
_________
30

= 72.13%

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Mode
Is the number that occur the most frequently

Hence from the group of Academic Performances the modal number is 56.

Median
Is the middle number obtained after arranging the data into ascending or descending order.

50 52 56 56 56 60 61 62 64 64 65 67 69 70
70 72 74 75 79 80 85 86 88 90 90 93 95 97
70+70
= 2

140
= 2

= 70

Hence the median of the set of academic performance is 70%.

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The Measure of Relationship
In order to analyze the relationship between student’s grades and the number of comments
received per photo the researcher will be using correlation and regression. Correlation is done in
order to measure the strength of a relationship i.e. between two variables while regression is
used to predict future relationships. https://explorable.com/statistical-correlation

Formula
𝑠𝑥𝑦
Correlation / r =
𝑠𝑥∗𝑠𝑦

∑𝑥 ∗ ∑𝑦
𝑠𝑥𝑦 = ∑𝑥𝑦 −
𝑛

2
(∑𝑥)
𝑠𝑥 = √ (∑𝑥) − 2
𝑛

2
(∑𝑦)
𝑠𝑦 = √ (∑𝑦)2 −
𝑛

Regression 𝑦 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑥

a = y – bx
∑𝑥∗∑𝑦
b = ∑𝑥𝑦 −
𝑛

______________________________

(∑𝑥)2 (∑𝑦)2
√ ∑𝑥 2 − ∗ √ ∑𝑦 2 −
𝑛 𝑛

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 Comments Academic
Received per Performance (xy) 𝑥2 𝑦2
Photo

9 98% 882 81 9604

12 80% 960 144 6400

43 50% 2150 1849 2500

20 62% 1240 400 3844

14 74% 1036 196 5476

11 82% 902 121 6724

18 66% 1188 324 4356

32 56% 1792 1024 3136

15 70% 1050 225 4900

10 96% 960 100 9216

25 58% 1450 625 3364

28 52% 1456 784 2704

13 72% 936 169 5184

9 90% 810 81 8100

11 86% 946 121 7396

∑𝑥 = 270 ∑𝑦= 1092 ∑𝑥y= 17758 ∑𝑥 2 = 6244 ∑𝑦 2 = 82904

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 ∑𝑥∗∑𝑦
 𝑠𝑥𝑦 = ∑𝑥𝑦 −
𝑛
270∗1092
= 17758 –
15

= 17758 – 19656
= - 1898

2
(∑𝑥)
 𝑠𝑥 = √ (∑𝑥)2 −
𝑛

72900
=√6244 − 15

= √6244 − 4860

= √1384

= 37.2

(∑𝑦)2
 𝑠𝑦 = √ (∑𝑦)2 −
𝑛

1192464
= √82904 −
15

= √82904 − 79497.6

= √3466.4

=58.36

𝑠𝑥𝑦
r=
𝑠𝑥∗𝑠𝑦
−1898
=
37.2∗58.36
−1898
=
2170.992
= -0.87
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Regression 𝑦 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑥
a = y – bx
∑𝑥∗∑𝑦
b = ∑𝑥𝑦 − 𝑛

______________________________

(∑𝑥)2 (∑𝑦)2
√ ∑𝑥 2 − ∗ √ ∑𝑦 2 −
𝑛 𝑛

270 ∗ 1092
= 17758 −
15
_______________________

72900
√ 6244 −
15

17758 − 19656
=
6244 − 4860
− 1898
=
1384
= − 1.37

 The x value was found by calculating the mean of the x values which is 18.
 The y value was found by calculating the mean of the y values which is 72.8.
(18, 72.8)

𝑦 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑥

a = y – bx

=72.8 – (-1.37) (18)

=72.8 – (-24.66)

=97.46

Y = 97.4 + (-1.37) x

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The Measure of Variation
Variance is defined as the average of the squared differences from the mean. While the
standard deviation is the measure of how spread out numbers are. In this analysis the researcher
will be using analyzing the variance and standard deviation of the academic performances of
students. http://www.mathsisfun.com/data/standard-deviation-formulas.html .

Formula

∑( 𝑥−𝑚) 2
S=√ 𝑛

(x̄) = 72.13

Academic Performances of Deviation Squared Deviation

Students d = x-x d 2 = (x-x) 2
X

67 -5.13 26.3169

56 -16.13 260.1769

80 7.87 61.9369

62 -10.13 102.6169

52 -20.13 405.2169

90 17.87 319.3369

70 -2.13 4.5369

61 -11.13 123.8769

86 13.87 192.3769

56 -16.13 260.1769

79 6.87 47.1969

50 -22.13 489.7369

85 12.87 165.6369

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 93 20.87 435.5569

97 24.87 618.5169

64 -8.13 66.0969

75 2.87 8.2369

60 -12.13 147.1369

56 -16.13 260.1769

70 -2.13 4.5369

95 22.87 523.0369

88 15.87 251.8569

54 -18.13 328.6969

74 1.87 3.4969

69 -3.13 9.7969

62 -10.13 102.6169

90 17.87 319.3369

86 13.87 192.3769

72 -0.13 0.0169

65 -7.13 50.8369
2 2
Total ∑𝑑 = ∑( 𝑥 − 𝑥) 5781.467

∑( 𝑥−𝑚) 2
S=√
𝑛−1

5781.467
S=√
30−1

S = √199.36092

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S = 14.12 cor. to 2 decimal place

Hence the variance of the students’ academic performance is √199.36092 and the standard
deviation is 14.12.

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 Interpretation of Data
Data interpretation refers to the process of critiquing and determining the significant of
important information, such as survey results, experimental findings, and observation or
narrative reports. www.ehow.com/facts_5848339_definition-data-interpretation.html

In this phase of this project the researcher will be interpreting the information provided
after analyzing the data from the survey to ascertain the meaning of the calculations done in the
analysis section to see the link between students’ academic performance and the time spent on
Facebook on a weekly basis, in which the researcher made use of (3) analytical tools including;
the measure of central tendency, the measure of relationship and the measure of variability.

After calculating the measure of tendency it was observed that the mean of the students’
academic performance was recorded as 72.13%, the modal percentage as 56 since it was the
most obtained percentage of the students while the median was recorded as 70%. It was also
observed that 53.33% of the students scored below the average performance of 72.13%, while
the remaining 46.67% of students scored above the average percentile.

On the other hand, correlation is a technique which tells us if two variables are related. It
is denoted by the symbol “r” and measure from +1.0 to -1.0 and indicates the strength of a
relationship. When r > 0 there is a positive relationship, when r < 0 there is a negative
relationship and when r = 0 there is no relationship or they are independent.

After calculating the correlation, it can be stated the students’ grade compared to the
number of comments received per photo on a weekly basis had a correlation of -0.87 indicating
a strong negative relationship between the two variables. Hence the slope of the scatter diagram
is a negatively (inverse) sloped. However the regression coefficient of -1.37 indicated that as the
comments received per photo on a weekly basis increase the grade of the students will decrease
by 1.37%.

In addition, standard deviation is used to measure the dispersion of a set of data from its
mean. The more spread a part the higher the deviation, while a low standard deviation shows
that the data are clustered closely around the mean. Hence it was observed that the academic
performances of the students have a dispersion of 14.12 and a variance of √199.36092
indicating that the information is reliable.

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 Recommendation
 It is firstly recommended that students of both schools, The Bishops’ High School
and East Ruimveldt Secondary School reduce the time spent on Facebook, since it
was observed that too much time is spent on the site.

 It is also recommended that students establish a study timetable and follow it in

order for them to create a sturdy link so they can study and not spend more leisure
time on Facebook.

 Last but not least the parents of these students should monitor the usage of their
children when it comes to Facebook, since it was found that students who spent
more time on Facebook, commenting on photos ascertain low academic
performances.

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 Conclusion
It can be concluded that students of both schools academic performances are affected by
the amount of time the students visit the site, the amount of time they comment on the photos
being upload and the slangs used while dialoguing on a weekly basis. This is so because
students who frequently visit Facebook are the ones who ascertained below the average
academic performance. This was seen as the analysis calculation in the measure of relationship
showed a strong negative correlation between the numbers of comments received and the
academic performances of the students.

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 Bibliography
The following list of sites where of importance use to the researcher while completing this
project;

1. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/analysis.html#ixzz45ZAYxVi5
2. http://www.mathgoodies.com/glossary/term.asp?term=measure%20of%20central%20te
ndency
3. https://explorable.com/statistical-correlation
4. http://www.mathsisfun.com/data/standard-deviation-formulas.html .
5. www.ehow.com/facts_5848339_definition-data-interpretation.html

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