SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This is the last chapter of the thesis and the most important part

because it is here where the findings, and the whole thesis for that matter, are summarized; generalizations in the form of conclusions are made; and the recommendations for the solution of problems discovered in the study are addressed to those concerned. Summary of Findings Guide ines in !ri"ing "#e summary of findings$ The following should be the characteristics of the summary of findings: 1. There should be e brief statement about the main purpose of the study, the population or respondents, the period of the study, method of research used, the research instrument, and the sampling design. There should be no explanations made. Example. !sing the hypothetical study of teaching science in the high schools of "rovince #$. This study was conducted for the purpose of determining the status of teaching science in the high schools of "rovince #. The descriptive method of research was utilized and the normative survey techni%ue was used for gathering data. The %uestionnaire served as the instrument for collecting data. #ll the teachers handling science and a &'percent representative sample of the students were the respondents. The in%uiry was conducted during the school year 1()(*+('. &. The findings may be lumped up all together but clarity demands that each specific %uestion under the statement of the problem must be written first to followed by the findings that would answer it. The specific %uestions should follow the order they are given under the statement of the problem. E%am& e$ ,ow %ualified are the teachers handling science in the high schools of province #.f the /( teachers, 01 or /0./1 percent were 23E graduates and three or /.') percent were 4# degree holders. The rest, &/ or 1&.05 percent, were non*23E baccalaureate degree holders with at least 1) education units. 6ess than half of all the teachers, only &5 or 1/.57 percent were science ma8ors and the ma8ority, 0& or /1.&1 percent were non*science ma8ors. 0. The findings should be textual generalizations, that is, a summary of the important data consisting of text and numbers. Every statement of fact should consist of words, numbers, or statistical measures woven into a meaningful statement. 9o deductions, nor inference, nor interpretation should be made otherwise it will only be duplicated in the conclusion. 3ee the example in 9o. & 8ust above. .nly the important findings, the highlights of the data, should be included in the summary, especially those upon which the conclusions should be based. :indings are not explained nor elaborated upon anymore. They should be stated as concisely as possible. Con' usions 9o new data should be introduced in the summary of findings. Guide ines in !ri"ing "#e 'on' usions$ The following should be the characteristics of the conclusions.

1. ;onclusions are inferences,deductions,abstractions,implications, interpretations, general statements, and<or generalizations based upon the findings. ;onclusions are the logical and valid outgrowths upon the findings.

They should not contain any numeral because numerals generally limit the forceful effect or impact and scope of a generalization. 9o conclusions should be made that are not based upon the findings. E%am& e( The conclusion that can be drawn from the findings in 9o. & under the summary of findings is this: #ll the teachers were %ualified to teach in the high school but the ma8ority of them were not %ualified to teach science.

&. ;onclusions should appropriately answer the specific %uestions raised at the beginning of the investigation in the order they are given under the statement of the problem. The study becomes almost meaningless if the %uestions raised are not properly answered by the conclusions. E%am& e$ =f the %uestion raised at the beginning of the research is: ,ow ade%uate are the facilities for the teaching of science-> and the findings show that the facilities are less than the needs of the students, the answer and the conclusion should be: ?The facilities for the teaching of science are inade%uate>. 0. ;onclusions should point out what were factually learned from the in%uiry. ,owever, no conclusions should be drawn from the implied or indirect effects of the findings. E%am& e( :rom the findings that the ma8ority of the teachers were non*science ma8ors and the facilities were less than the needs of the students, what have been factually learned are that the ma8ority of the teachers were not %ualified to teach science and the science facilities were inade%uate. =t cannot be concluded that science teaching in the high schools of "rovince # was wea@ because there are no data telling that the science instruction was wea@. The wea@ness of science teaching is an indirect or implied effect of the non*%ualification of the teachers and the inade%uacy of the facilities. This is better placed under the summary of implications. =f there is a specific %uestion which runs this way ?,ow strong science instruction in the high schools of "rovince # as is perceived by the teachers and students->, then a conclusion to answer this %uestion should be drawn. ,owever, the respondents should have been as@ed how they perceived the degree of strength of the science instruction whether it is very strong, strong, fairly strong, wea@ or very wea@. The conclusion should be based upon the responses to the %uestion. 1. ;onclusions should be formulated concisely, that is, brief and short, ye they convey all the necessary information resulting from the study as re%uired by the specific %uestions. /.Aithout any strong evidence to the contrary, conclusions should be stated categorically. They should be worded as if they are 1'' percent true and correct. They should not give any hint that the researcher has some doubts about their validity and reliability. The use of %ualifiers such as probably, perhaps, may be, and the li@e should be avoided as much as possible. 7.;onclusions should refer only to the population, area, or sub8ect of the study. Ta@e for instance, the hypothetical teaching of science in the high schools of "rovince #, all conclusions about the faculty, facilities, methods, problems, etc. refer only to the teaching of science in the high schools of "rovince #. 5.;onclusions should not be repetitions of any statements anywhere in the thesis. They may be recapitulations if necessary but they should be worded differently and they should convey the same

information as the statements recapitulated. ;onclusions should not be repetitions of any statements anywhere in the thesis. They may be recapitulations if necessary but they should be worded differently and they should convey the same information as the statements recapitulated. Some Dangers "o A)oid in Dra!ing u& Con' usions *ased on +uan"i"a"i)e Da"a There are some pitfalls to avoid in the use of %uantitative data. 2acani, et al., pp. 1)*/&$ researchers should not accept nor utilize %uantitative data without %uestions or analysis even if they are presented in authoritative*loo@ing forms. This is so because in some instances %uantitative data are either inaccurate or misleading either unwittingly or by design. The data should be analyzed very critically to avoid misleading interpretations and conclusions. #mong the factors that a researcher should guard against are the following: ,$ *ias$ 2usiness establishments, agencies, or organizations usually present or manipulate figures to their favor. :or instance, an advertisement may %uote statistics to show that a given product is superior to any other leading brand. Ae should be wary of the use of statistics in this case because of the obvious profit motive behind. #n individual may also do the same. # respondent to a %uestionnaire or in an interview may commit the same bias o protect his own interests. 6i@e the case of the science teachers in the high schools of "rovince #, they may respond that the science facilities in their respective schools are ade%uate although they are not 8ust to protect the good names of their own schools. # respondent, if as@ed how many science boo@s he has read, may say that he has read many although he has read only a few to protect his name. ,ence, if there is a way of chec@ing the veracity of presented data by investigation, observation, or otherwise, this should be done to insure the accuracy of the conclusion based upon the data under consideration. -$ In'orre'" genera i.a"ion$ #n incorrect generalization is made when there is a limited body of information or when the sample is not representative of the population. Ta@e this case. The #lumni #ssociation of a big university would li@e to conduct a survey to determine the average income of the alumni during their first ten years after graduation. Though the total number of returns may meet the sample size re%uirement, the population may not be properly represented by the actual composition of the sample. This is li@ely to happen because chances are that a great ma8ority of the alumni in the high income brac@et will respond readily but the great ma8ority of those who are not doing well may ignore the survey by reason of pride. =n such a case, the high income group is over represented and low income group is under represented in the sample resulting in the overestimate of the average income of the entire alumni group. This is the result of a built*in sampling bias. /$ In'orre'" dedu'"ion$ This happens when a general rule is applied to a specific case. 3uppose there is a finding that the science facilities in the high schools of "rovince # are inade%uate. Ae cannot conclude at once that any particular tool or e%uipment is definitely inade%uate. 3uppose there is an over*supply of test tubes. ,ence, to ma@e the conclusions that all science e%uipment and tools in the high schools of "rovince # are inade%uate is an incorrect deduction in this case. In'orre'" 'om&arison$ # basic error in statistical wor@ is to compare two things that are not really comparable. #gain, let us go to high schools of "rovince #. 3uppose in the survey, 3chool ; has been found to have &' microscopes and 3chool B has only eight. Ae may conclude that 3chool ; is better e%uipped with microscopes than 3chool B. ,owever, upon further in%uiry, 3chool ; has 1,/'' students while 3chool B has only /'' students. ,ence, the ratio in 3chool ; is 5/ students is to one microscope while in 3chool B the ratio is 70 students is to one microscope. ,ence, 3chool B is better e%uipped with microscopes than 3chool ;. to conclude that 3chool ; is better e%uipped with microscopes than 3chool B based on the number of microscopes owned by each school is incorrect comparison.

A0use of 'orre a"ion da"a$ # correlation study may show a high degree of association between two variables. They may move in the same rate but it is not right to conclude at once that one is the cause of the other unless confirmed so by other studies. =n no case does correlation show causal relationship. Ahen the government increases the price of gasoline, the prices of commodities also starts to rise. Ae cannot conclude immediately that the increase in price of gasoline is the sole cause of the increase in the prices of commodities. There are other causes to consider such as shortage or undersupply of the commodities, increased cost of production, panic buying, etc. To be able to ma@e a conclusive statement as to what is or what are the real causes of the increases in prices of commodities, an intensive investigation is needed. Limi"ed informa"ion furnis#ed 0y any one ra"io$ # ratio shows only a partial picture in most analytical wor@. 3uppose the only information that we have about a certain establishment is that the ratio does not show the @inds of employees leaving and why they are leaving. Ae do not @now whether the losses of employees are caused by death, retirement, resignations, or dismissals. Ae can only surmise but we cannot conclude with definiteness that the causes of the &'C employee turnover are death, retirement, poor wor@ing conditions, poor salary, etc. #void as much as possible ma@ing conclusions not sufficiently and ade%uately supported by facts. Mis eading im&ression 'on'erning magni"ude of 0ase )aria0 e$ Datios can give erroneous impressions when they are used to express relationships between two variables of small magnitudes. Ta@e the following examples. # college announced that 5/C of its graduates passed he ;"# examination at a certain time. #nother college also advertised that 1''C of its graduates who too@ that same examination passed. :rom these announcements we may form the impression that the standard of instruction in the two colleges is high. #ctually only four graduates from the first college too@ the ;"# licensing examination and three happened to pass. :or recommending similar researches to be conducted, the recommendation should be: =t is recommended that similar researches should be conducted in other places. .ther provinces should also ma@e in%uiries into the status of the teaching of science in their own high schools so that if similar problems and deficiencies are found, concerted efforts may be exerted to improve science teaching in all high schools in the country. E)a ua"ion of a T#esis or Disser"a"ion Eenerally, a thesis or dissertation has to be defended before a panel of examiners and then submitted to the proper authorities for acceptance as a piece of scholarly wor@. ,ence, there should be some guidelines in evaluating a thesis or dissertation. The following are offered to be the general criteria in 8udging the worthiness of a thesis or dissertation: I$ T#e su01e'" and "#e 2ro0 ems 1.=s the sub8ect significant, timely and of current issue&.=s it clearly delimited but big enough for ma@ing valid generalizations0.=s the title appropriate for the sub8ect1.#re the sub problems specific, clear, and une%uivocalII$ T#e Design of "#e S"udy 1.=s the research methodology appropriate&.=s the design clear and in accordance with the scientific method of research0.=s the report prepared carefully following acceptable format and mechanics1.#re the documentation ade%uate and properly doneIII$ T#e Da"a 3Findings4

1.#re the data ade%uate, valid and reliable&.#re they analyzed carefully and correctly treated statistically0.#re they interpreted correctly and ade%uatelyI5$ Con' usions 3Genera i.a"ions4 1.#re the conclusions based upon the findings&.Bo they answer the specific %uestions raised at the beginning of the investigation0.#re they logical and valid outcomes of the study1.#re they stated concisely and clearly and limited only to the sub8ect of the study5$ Re'ommenda"ions 1.#re the recommendations based upon the findings and conclusions&.#re they feasible, practical, and attainable0.#re they action*oriented- They recommend action to remedy unfavorable condition discovered$ 1.#re they limited only to the sub8ect of the study but recommend further research on the same sub8ect-