Objectives:
Present the research objectives and hypotheses. Explain the research approach.
Describe the study sample.
Describe the reliability of the questionnaire.
Describe the administration of the instruments used in the main study. Explain the data analysis tools.
4.1 Introduction
This chapter explains the methodology and procedures used in the empirical part of the study, in order to test hypotheses and achieve the research objectives. As discussed in Chapter One, this study aims to test the following hypotheses:
The shortcomings of the admission system lead to the problems facing students when they try to secure a place at Saudi Universities.
Using a set of commonly agreed indicators for monitoring the admission of students enrolled in Saudi universities, leads to an improvement in the overall admission process and consequently improves the existing national education system in Saudi universities.
Applying a central admission system to Saudi universities will improve the efficiency of the admission process and consequently improve national capabilities in the field of education.
This study also aims to achieve the following objectives:
Describe the current admission system in Saudi universities;
Test the existing admission system in Saudi universities by using a set of commonly agreed indicators for monitoring the admission of students enrolled in universities, in order to improve the overall admission process and consequently improve the existing educational national system in Saudi universities;
4.2 Research approaches
Underlying the many different styles and methods of research are two basic approaches to social research: quantitative research and qualitative research. There has been a great deal of debate about the relative merits of these two different approaches to social research. The strengths of quantitative research are seen as lying in its highly structured nature, its reliability and the representativeness of the data it provides; whereas, the strengths of qualitative research are seen as lying in its investigative nature, its in-depth focus and the detailed complexity of the data it provides (for example see: Dawson, 2002; Chapman, McNeill and Mcneill, 2005 and Creswell, 2009).
Accordingly, the current research is based on a good combination of the quantitative and qualitative approaches, so that they complement one another. It uses the survey method. The quantitative approach is applied through the use of questionnaires, whereas the qualitative approach is applied through interviews carried out during the survey research study.
Research carried out through survey and interviews involves collecting data through asking a set of pre-formulated questions in a pre-determined sequence. The questionnaire or interview is used with a sample of the selected individuals so as to be representative of a defined population (Trochim and Donnelly, 2001). The descriptive and analytic survey is the most well-known form of quantitative and qualitative research in social science (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000).
Descriptive surveys are designed to portray the characteristics of particular individuals, situations, groups and so on (in terms of behaviour, attitudes and readiness to act), and to identify the frequency with which such behaviour occurs in the population being sampled. On the other hand, analytical surveys are concerned with testing hypotheses about the relationships between variables, in order to understand and explain a particular social phenomenon (Bulmer and Warwick, 1993).
Descriptive and analytical research is often essential to provide a descriptive and analytical foundation for developing other more specific lines of investigation. This kind of research is considered important in social sciences. It provides description and analysis of phenomena from the point of view of a systematically selected sample of respondents (for example see: (Osemy and Prodhan, 2001)).
The current research combines the benefits of both a descriptive and analytic survey. It also combines quantitative (via questionnaires) and qualitative (via interviews) research methods in the same study. It is worth also noting that information is obtained from a review of the literature, including theses, periodicals and books as well as government publications and international statistics related to the current research.
4.3 Research sample
If a survey is being undertaken the researcher must find people relevant to the research and representative of it. It would be impractical and serve no purpose to survey the entire population of Saudi. Therefore, it is essential to introduce sampling, as it is rarely the case that we have suitable sufficient time, effort and resources to conduct research on all of those individuals who could potentially be included in a study.
A sample is a segment of the population selected according to a specific method for the purposes of research in a particular area. The sample is chosen to represent the population as a whole and enable researchers to generalise results to the rest of the population (Kotrlik and Higgins, 2001). There are two main types of samples: non-probability and probability samples. Non-probability samples include those in which cases are selected on the basis of their availability. In this type of sample, the probability of each case in a population being selected as part of the potential sample is not known, and it is not clear how results can be generalised to a wider population, especially using statistical inferences. The selection of cases for this type of sample is arbitrary and relies on the personal judgement of the researcher (for example see: (Osemy and Prodhan, 2001)). In contrast, in a probability sample, the probability of each case in the population being selected as part of the potential sample is known and is usually equal for all cases; it is also clear how results can be generalised to a wider population (for example see, (Kotrlik and Higgins, 2001), (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009) and (Zikmund, 2000)). In order to select a scientific sample, the following steps are necessary (for example see, (Kotrlik and Higgins, 2001), (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009) and (Kotler, 2001)):
identify a suitable sampling frame or list of all cases in the population to be sampled based on research questions or objectives;
decide on a suitable sample size, taking into consideration the population size. (Large samples provide more trusted results than smaller ones. However, samples of less than 1 per cent of a population can be reliable with credible sampling procedures (Kotler, 2001, p. 69);
select the most appropriate sampling method (to obtain a representative sample a probability sample should be drawn from the population) and select the required sample; and
check that the sample is representative of the population.
Accordingly, the population of the current study was selected from three of the six universities in Riyadh City. These universities are King Saud University, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University and Prince Sultan University. The sample for research was selected as shown in figure 4.1 below:
Figure 4.1 Research population and sample
The feedback received from both staff and students at all six universities in Riyadh City would provide invaluable insight for the study results. However, the researcher has decided to use only three universities, because it would require too much effort and be too arduous and time- consuming to survey participants from all the universities in Riyadh City. In other words, there was insufficient time and not enough available resources to conduct research in all six universities in Riyadh. Thus, the researcher concentrated on the three largest universities in Riyadh City as a sample frame (see Figure 4.1).
Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University King Saud University Prince Sultan University Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University Alfaisal University
Population and Sample