STATISTICS AND RESEARCH METHODS
What does the data say?
During the research process, there are some challenges that arose during data collection. We made it convenient for the participants by using a google form for our pre-survey, however, some participants still completed the survey late despite multiple reminders and submitted it after their first service-learning session is over, which compromises the data of the pre-survey and subsequently the accuracy of our research results.
Looking at the quantitative data, it shows a positive trend for community self-efficacy and civic responsibility. However, when looking at the qualitative data, there are some discrepancies. Many of the participants view their self-efficacy as stagnant due to their previous experience in service-learning and half of the participants reported that contributing to the community is not their civic responsibility, contrary to the quantitative data.
After reviewing the data, qualitative data provided more detailed information about experiences and changes in personal growth and civic responsibility compared to the quantitative data. Reason being, the scales used to obtain quantitative data are not person specific and are broad questions that might not cover every aspect of change that occurred during Service-Learning. While qualitative data contain detailed descriptions of the experience, a valuable data unobtainable from quantitative data.
To prevent the situation from repeating, I suggest giving them a hard copy survey instead. This would allow us to ensure the completion of the survey and successful data collection before the due date. Though this method is more labour intensive, it eliminates the risk of skewed data due to late submissions.
