Research design on the influence of finances and performance of administrative duties
The study was hinged on descriptive research survey design. According to William
(2006), descriptive studies are more formalized and typically structured with clearly
stated investigative questions. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2009) descriptive
research determines and reports the way things are. It is restricted to fact finding and
may result in the formulation of important principles. A survey design was suitable for
this study since the researcher intended to get information that describes the current
status of factors influencing principals’ performance of administrative duties in public
day secondary schools in Mwingi East Sub -County, Kitui County, Kenya.
Target population
Cooper and Schindler (2003) define target population as the list of the elements from which
sample size is actually drawn. According to the sub county Director of Education Mwingi
East (2016), there are 20 public day secondary schools in Mwingi East Sub -County, Kitui
County. The target population was therefore the 20 principals of these schools.
Sampling techniques and sample size
Best and Kahn (2004) define a sample as a small portion of the population that is selected for
observation and analysis. Kothari (2004) suggests that if the population for the study is small
(less than 30) then the whole population is taken. The researcher therefore used census hence
the sample size was 20 respondents.
Research instruments
Data for this study was collected using questionnaires. According to Mugenda and Mugenda
(2009), a questionnaire is a written set of questions to which subjects respond in writing.
Questionnaires ensure anonymity of the respondents, thus it is expected to enhance their
honesty (Orodho 2005). Questionnaires allow the respondents to freely express themselves
(Mugenda & Mugenda 2009). Items in the questionnaires were designed based on the
objectives of the study. The questionnaires consisted of five sections: A, B, C, D and E.
Section A sought for respondents’ demographic information while section B to E consisted of
items addressing the various independent variables of the study namely: finances, h u m a n
resources, infrastructure and the community around the school.
Validity of research instruments
Validity is the degree to which results obtained from the analysis of the data actually represent
the phenomena under study (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2009). The researcher tested for content
validity. Kothari (2003) defines content validity as the extent to which a measuring instrument
provides adequate coverage of the topic under study. Supervisors’ opinions were sought to
check on the content validity of the instruments. They read through the draft instruments and
thereafter their recommendations were incorporated while coming up with the final
instruments that were used for data collection.
Reliability of research instruments
Best and Khan (1993) defines reliability as the ‘degree of consistency that the instruments or
procedure demonstrates whatever it is measuring, it does so consistently. Borg and Gall
(1989) defines reliability as the level of internal consistency or stability over time of the
measuring research instruments. They further state that the split-half method can be used to
establish internal consistency. This involved splitting the instruments into two; one half of
even-numbered items and the other of odd-numbered items. The correlated results value
provides the internal consistency of one half that is the degree to which the two halves of the
test are equivalent or consistent in terms of items. A Pearson’s product moment correlation
coefficient formula was used to compute the correlation coefficient (r ) between the scores of
the two halves as shown.
r = NΣxy − (Σx)(Σy)
[ NΣ( x)
2
− (Σx)
2
][ NΣ( y)
2
− (Σy)
2
Where r – pearsons correlation coefficient,
∑x - is the sum of scores in x distribution
∑ y - is the sum of scores in y distribution
∑x2 – the sum of square scores of x distribution
2
∑xy - is the sum of the product of paired x and y scores
n - is the number of paired x and y scores
The reliability test revealed a coefficient of 0.721. According to Mugenda and Mugenda
(2009), a coefficient of 0.70 or more showed that there is high reliability of data.
Data collecting procedures
The researcher first obtained an introductory letter from the Board of Post Graduate Studies of
South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) which she used to get a research permit from the
National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI). A copy of the
permit was presented to the deputy County Commissioner and the Sub County Director of
Education Mwingi East Sub County and thereafter to the principals of the selected schools.
With the school principals, the researcher booked appointments on when to administer the
questionnaires. On arrival to the schools, the researcher created rapport with the respondents
who are the principals. The researcher then administered the questionnaires and collected
them once they had been filled in.
Data analysis techniques
Analysis of data started with editing in order to identify errors made by the respondents such
as spelling mistakes and any other wrongly answered or un- responded to items. Data on the
questionnaires was then edited by inspecting the data pieces before coding them. The process
helped in identifying those items which were wrongly responded to, spelling mistakes and
blank spaces left by the respondents. The data was then coded to facilitate data entry into the
computer to allow for statistical analysis. The researcher used Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 to organize the quantitative data collected from the respondents
into manageable information that would be understood. The data analysis was based on the
research objectives. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and averages were
used to analyse the data and data was presented in form of figures and tables.
Ethical considerations
In research, ethics may be defined as the norm for the conduct that distinguishes between
acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in a scientific investigation (Wambugu, 2015). The
considerations for ethics are very important within the course of the research process. The
researcher should not embarras, perpetrate pain, or impose other disastrous effects on the
respondents. The researcher observed and adhered to some research ethics. In adhering to the
ethical issues, the researcher safeguarded against doing anything that will harm the
participants in the study. The researcher also sought permission from the participants to have
them participate in the study. The researcher also ensured that participants were informed to
the extent possible, about the nature of the study. It was the responsibility of the researcher to
interpret the data and present evidence so that others can decide to what extent interpretation
is believable. Informed consent allows the respondents to choose to participate or not Kombo
and Tromp (2006). In this study the participants’ informed consent was used when sampling
the participants. Confidentiality and anonymity was achieved by not asking participants to
write their names on the questionnaires.
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