Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Space

Introduction. (Paragraph Form, Indented, justified)

Example:

CORRELATES OF SMOKING INITIATION AMONG ADOLESCENT 10 TO 17 YEARS OLD,

BARANGAY 704, SAN ANDRES, MANILA, PHILIPPINES

The chapter includes the study design, the method of subject selection, tools and

instruments used, the detailed methodology, and the statistical tool employed during the

conduction of the study.

Space

The Methods of the Research Used (Bold, Left Justified)

Space

This study utilized a cross-sectional design. Primary data was obtained from the adolescent

residing at Barangay 704 of San Andres, Manila. In this study, the prevalence of smoking initiation

among the youths was identified through selected factors (socio-demographic, individual

characteristics and environmental factors). Similarly, the characteristics associated with smoking

initiations among the 10- to 17-years-olds adolescents were identified. The association of

environmental factors (parental, peer and media influences) will serve as guide in designing

appropriate preventive intervention.

Space

POPULATION FRAME, SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE (Bold, Left Justified)

Space

A simple random sample of residents of Barangay 704, San Andres, Manila was used in this

study. From the household roster, respondents were chosen using the table of random numbers.

The sample population consisted of smoking adolescent categorized into: early adolescence (10 to
12 years of age), mid-adolescent (13 to 15 years of age) and late-adolescence (16 to 17 years of

age). Preliminary subject selection was conducted to determine the sample size. Adolescents, who

were illiterate, resided in the area for less than six months and married, were excluded from the

study. All eligible adolescent with the consent from parents and the freedom to participate were

included for sampling. Of those visited, 55 (4.5%) adolescents were dropped from the study for the

following reasons: refusal to participate, incompleteness of forms, and inconsistencies of

responses.

Out of the partial 1,200 subjects that were obtained, a total number of subjects included in

the analysis were 1,145 adolescent who were asked during the time of interview if he has ever

tasted one or a few puffs of cigarettes.

Space

Instrumentation (Bold, Left Justified)

Space

A Smoking Initiation interview questionnaire was prepared prior to data collection proper. It

consisted of 42 items and required approximately 15 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is

divided into three parts: demographic profiles, individual factors and smoking initiation factors. The

demographic profiles included in the study were age, gender, educational background of the

respondents and the socio-economic status.

Individual factors are measures about the adolescent attributes which include self-esteem,

self-efficacy and intention to smoke. The self-esteem items were adapted from the Hare Self-

esteem tests validated by Zarco (1979). Self-efficacy items pertains to specific situation such as

when his friend is smoking, when he is alone, when his friend is smoking, when his mad at an

authority, when sibling is also smoking and when he just wants to relax. The first two attributes

were scored, as follows: 1 (lowest), 2 (low) and 3 (high). Respondents were asked to answer the

intention to smoke in one, three and five years either ‘Yes’ for those who have an intention to

smoke and ‘No’, for those who have no intention to smoke.

 Smoking initiation factors are environmental factors associated with smoking initiation,

which are divided into the following: a) Parental influence, will be assessed in two ways: by

perceived parenting and parental modeling. The perceived parenting is conceptualized as

composite of four smoking-specific dimensions: parental monitoring, parental communication,

negative parental response and easy access of tobacco. The perception of adolescent and not the

self-report parenting behavior are not the measure of interest here. While, parental modeling item

was assessed by determining the smoking behavior of one or both parents. b) Peer influence item

will asked whether an adolescent is exposed to current cigarettes use of friends. And, c) Media

influence, where adolescent will be asked of the five dimensions of the effect of cigarette

advertisement. Scoring in each item was categorized into ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Space

Data Gathering Procedure (Bold, Left Justified)

Space

This should be detailed. You can divide the procedure into subheadings, as follows:

A. Approval for the Conduct of Study

B. Distribution of Questionnaires
C. Data Collection

Example:

A. Approval for the Conduct of Study

A letter (Appendix A) was sent to the Dean of the College of Nursing with the letter noted

by the Research Adviser for the approval of the research. Upon approval, a letter of information for

the conduction of the study (Appendix B) was transmitted to the Barangay Captain of Barangay

704, San Andres, Manila.

Space

B. Selection of Respondents
 With consent from the respective barangay, letters (Appendix C) were sent to the parents

of the respondents asking for permission for their children to participate in the study. Five days

after the distribution, households were visited within the study site to identify the respondents.

Parents who approve their children to participate in the study were asked to write the names of the

smoking adolescent and affixed their signature as a gesture of approval in the List of Respondents

(Appendix D). However, adolescent who decline to participate despite the consent of the parents

will be excluded. Illiterate adolescent, those who have resided in the area for less than six months

and married were excluded as well. Also, despite the presence of guardians, adolescent in the

absence of parents were not included in the study.

Subjects were refined further with the following criteria: those who decided to refuse

participation during the interview, incompleteness of forms and inconsistencies of responses.

Space

C. Conduct of Study

All eligible subjects from different respective household were interviewed right after the

consent to participate. They were asked to locate a spot most convenient for the conduction of the

study. They were informed of the objectives and purpose of the study and instructed of the

directions in answering the interview. The researchers address questions raised by the

respondents before the interview begun.

During the interview proper, the researchers asked the questions in politeness and unclear

items where elaborated if the needs arises. No follow up questions was made in each items after

an answer was made. The interview lasted approximately 15 minutes.

Afterwards, the respondents were assured of confidentiality of the responses made during

the interview. Then, the researchers appreciated the time and participation extended to this study.

At the end, the respondents received an item from the researchers containing Smoking Information

pamphlet and grocery bag.

 D. Data Collection

After the interview, the data (demographic profiles, individual and environmental factors) are

collected. Encoded data was entered using Microsoft Excel and processed with SPSS Version 14

to determine the correlates of smoking initiation.

Space

Statistical Treatment (Bold, Left Justified)

Space

Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to arrive at the results. The following

statistical tool was employed, as follows:

Frequencies, Percentage Distribution and Proportion. These were computed to present

the demographic profiles of the respondents in terms of age, gender, educational attainment,

socio-economic status. The formula to compute such are as follows:

Percentage Distribution (% Dist.)

Formula where:

Proportion

Formula where:

Chi-square Test. This was employed to determine whether the difference across the

categories of individual and environmental factors were significant. The computation for such as

found below:

Formula where:

Crude Odds Ratio. This was calculated to determine the relationship of selected

demographic factors, individual attributes and environmental factors with smoking initiation, as

shown below:

Formula where: