Abstract

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY

Purpose of the Study

In the reviewed literature, cyberbullying and school bullying have been identified as the risk factors of social media (Underwood & Ehrenreich, 2017). However, even with the identified risks of social media, there has been increasing in penetration of internet access and growing use of the telephones and social media networking sites exposing teenagers to more danger. Schools have and others are adopting e-learning which creates space for students to interact on social media.

Considering the environment that we are living, in some cases, teachers are not aware of the impact of the cyberbullying and school bullying to academic performance. In other cases, students do not report incidences of the cyberbullying and school bullying which means they continue to suffer in silence. It is within this basis that this study is conducted which will seek to identify the connection of the cyberbullying and school bullying and their effects to the academic performance for grade 8 and 9 students.

Research question and hypothesis

RQ: Is there a positive relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying for experimental school and control school for girls aged 13-14 years and how they influence academic performance?

Ho1: There is no significant positive relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying for experimental school and control school for girls aged 13-14 years and how they influence academic performance.

Ha1: There is a significant positive relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying for experimental school and control school for girls aged 13-14 years and how they influence academic performance.

According to the research question cyberbullying and school bullying are dependent variables while academic performance will be an independent variable.

Research Design

A quasi-experimental design will be used for this study. This is because the research project entails the control and treatment group. For the control group, the sample of the students will be extracted and will not be exposed to cyberbullying but for the treatment groups, the selected sample will be exposed to the cyberbullying. Therefore, considering the nature of the information that will be required and types of the samples that will be needed, the quasi-experimental design is most appropriate and specifically when control and treatment experiments are carried out (Aussems, Boomsma & Snijders, 2011).

Target Population and Sample

In the study, will include only girls students aged 13 -14 years selected from both public school and private schools. There will be a total sample size of 100 students with 50 from public school and 50 from the private school. To be considered to be part of the sample, students must allow for the incubation for three months, must have an email address and Facebook accounts.

In each school, the school will be apportioned equally into two groups, that is, twenty-five each group. In the public school, girls students with age of 13-14 years and those have never experienced cyberbullying will be identified. Using random sampling, 50 students will be picked and then divided by two. One group of 25 will form the control group and the other 25 will form the treatment group. The same procedure will be used in private schools. The 25 students in private school and 25 students in the public that form control group will be exposed to the same condition and the same will happen to the other half. This will help to form the ultimate sample size for the control group equal to 50 and the same to treatment group. Therefore, n1=50 and n2=50.

Procedures

Participants to the project will be girl students within the age of 13- 14 years picked from two identified schools, that is, private and public school. In total, a sample of 100 girls students will be used who will be used in the study. Students that forms must have not have been exposed to the cyberbullying or school bullying before. The student that will form the control group, that is 25 in private and 25 in the public school, they will be exposed to cyberbullying. For the purpose of the study, students in the treatment group will be required to provide their email and Facebook. Using their emails and Facebook accounts, they will be exposed to cyberbullying for a period of three years. For the control group, they will not be exposed to cyberbullying.

For the purpose of the analysis, a similar exam will be administered to the control and treatment group and have their results analyzed. This will be regarded as pre-test examination. Finally, after the end of the three months, another exam will be administered to the control and treatment group and have their scores recorded.

Scores from the control and treatment group will be used to establish whether cyberbullying and school bullying influences academic performance. In each of the samples, independent T-test will be carried out to test the means of the differences between means of the scores attained (Kim, 2015). For the treatment group, it would be expected that there would be a means of the difference between the two means scores which would mean the cyberbullying affects influences academic performance. Second, regression analysis would be carried out with independent variable being pre-test scores and post-test scores. Pre-test and post-test scores would be used to measure the level of academic performance. It would be expected that post-test scores decrease with increase cyberbullying.

Finally, using a questionnaire, the incidence of cyberbullying and school bullying would be collected. This would provide crucial information in establishing the relationship that exists between cyberbullying and school bullying. After collection of the data on the incidences of cyberbullying and school bullying, correlation analysis would be used to establish if there is a positive or negative relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying (Samuel & Okey, 2015).

Potential contributions of proposed study-to stakeholders and expected results

From the study, it is expected that there is a positive relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying to a treatment group of 13-14 aged students. This means exposure of the students’ cyberbullying facilitates school bullying. Further, it is expected that both types of bullying contribute to poor academic performance and as indicated in the treatment group.

Projects study play a critical role because it will suggest approaches and interventions that teachers should pursue to reduce incidences of cyberbullying in the schools. Second, project study recommends the need for addressing cyberbullying and coming up with strategies for identification of cyberbullying to avoid causing school bullying. Projects also make a recommendation to the government on the need to developing policies that will enhance the monitoring of internet and activities carried out on the internet to help address the problem of cyberbullying.

Ethical Considerations

In the project study, it is good to take into consideration that email and Facebook accounts of the treatment group will be used to expose them to cyberbullying. However, e-mail addresses and Facebook accounts provided by the participants should not be used or any other purposes other than within the scope of this project. Second, participants will be required to provide truthful information.

Finally, in the study, all information and data obtained will be in compliance with international data privacy principles and six data protection of PDPO will be applied (Lee, Zankl & Chang, 2016). Tools that will be used to collect and store information will adhere to data and information protection policies. Data will be collected from the control and treatment group over a period of 3 months. This data requires to be stored and necessary measures will be taken to ensure storage devices are encrypted and data is not disclosed to any unauthorized person. Confidentiality and privacy of the information are guarded and given top priority. Databases and information systems require thorough check-up and upgrades which helps to reduce vulnerabilities.

Methodological Strengths and Weaknesses

Considering strengths, correlational research helps to understand the complex relationship between two variables. For example, in the project study, we will be able to establish the relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying. Second, quasi-experiment helps in establishing a cause-effect relationship. For example, through use of the control and treatment groups, it will be easy to establish that poor academic performance is caused by cyberbullying and school bullying. Therefore, a general conclusion can be made that cyberbullying and school bullying for the girls' students contributes to poor academic performance.

On the other hand, when weaknesses are considered, in the correlational analysis, the relationship of the variables will be established but the cause and effect relationship can be determined which demand use of the quasi-experiment. Second, when quasi-experiment is used, it may be assumed that conditions set for the control group will be applied to the general population but this may not happen. For example, in the project study, it is assumed that control group will not be exposed to cyberbullying and school bullying but practically, measures put in place may not be adequate to prevent control group from being exposed to cyberbullying and school bullying. This may hamper with the accuracy and reliability of the expected results.

References

Aussems, M. C. E., Boomsma, A., & Snijders, T. A. (2011). The use of quasi-experiments in the social sciences: a content analysis. Quality & Quantity, 45(1), 21-42.