Chapter 3
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
conducting the study which includes the research design, participants of the study, data
collection tools, validity and reliability, data collection procedures, data analysis, and ethical
Research Design
The research methodology chosen for this study is qualitative research. Qualitative
research is a form of exploratory research that seeks to understand and describe the
experiences, behaviors, and attitudes of individuals in their natural setting. This approach is
typically used to gain insights into complex phenomena that are difficult to quantify, such as
human emotions, beliefs, and values. The purpose of qualitative research is to provide a
detailed and comprehensive understanding of the research topic. This method is useful in
academic pressure.
essential structure, through the lived experiences of individuals who have experienced the
phenomenon.
towards the personal experiences of high-performing students, how their mind works, and
how they act towards academic success. By studying their experiences we will be able to
identify the elements that helps them to succeed and also provide additional information on
The main objective of this study is to explore the lived experiences of high-achieving
STEM students of academic pressure. The research will consist of a minimum of 8 students
from Leyte National High School, who are chosen purposively from two different grade
levels, namely grade 11 and grade 12, with four students selected from each grade level. All
of these students are accomplished in the STEM track, and their academic background will
assist in comprehending the research queries while providing a diverse range of perspectives.
Data will be collected through a semi-structured interview and the participants will be
informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time, for what ever reason. This is to
give respect to their privacy and additionally, all participants will be referred to by
pseudonyms to protect their identities. Gender will not be a factor in choosing the
participants, nor will the STEM subjects they are currently studying be considered in the
selection process. To guarantee that they can offer valuable insights for this study, all
participants will be selected through purposive sampling. The participants will be identified
philosophical origins. It guides the researcher to further understand and gather information
from the participants such as lived experiences, issues and more. Moreover, Umanailo (2019)
stated that phenomenological study is an instrument to further elaborate and express the
experiences, observations and human mind against social reality in our society.
The participants will be chosen based on their availability, academic background and
willingness to provide information. The researchers will choose high achieving senior high
school students in STEM strand at Leyte National High School as the participants in the
study. Their availability will provide answers needed for this study by doing an interview to
gather data. Researchers selected these participants to have a further knowledge about the
pressure, we will employ two primary data collection tools: semi-structured interviews and
reflective journals.
among participants, semi-structured interviews will be conducted. These interviews will taIke
place either face-to-face or virtually, depending on the participants' preference. With the
participants' consent, the interviews will be audio-recorded. The interview questions will be
provide detailed responses. No information will be left out while conducting these interviews.
Reflective journals will be used to supplement the interviews and allow participants to
Participants will be asked to complete weekly journal entries for a total of four weeks. The
prompts for these entries will be provided by the researchers and will be related to their
experiences of academic pressure during that week. Participants will be able to choose
whether they want to write their journal entries on paper or in an online format.
3) Have you ever felt overwhelmed by academic demands? If so, how did you handle it?
4.) How do you manage your time to balance your personal life and your studies?
5.) Can you share an experience where you felt proud for having academic achievement?
These following questions serves as a guide for the participants to write their entry
1.) Is there a particular academic task or responsibilities where you feel pressure to
2.) What kind of emotion did you experience knowing that you feel pressured?
3.) What technique or method did you use to manage the pressure that you were feeling?
4.) Has there been someone who sends support and encouragement to you, during that
time?
5.) If you could turn back the time, will you act differently or the same?
To ensure construct validity, the researcher will use the phenomenological approach,
which is a recognized research design for exploring subjective experiences. This approach
will allow the participants to provide in-depth and detailed accounts of their experiences with
academic pressure.
To ensure reliability, the researcher will use a semi-structured interview guide and
reflective journal prompts. The semi-structured interview guide will be used to ensure
consistency in the questions asked to each participant, while the reflective journal prompts
will be used to ensure that participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their
Before the data collection procedure begins, the participants will be notified of their
participation in the study, the nature of the study they are in, and the significance of their
response in the study. In conducting the study, the researchers will conduct a semi-structured
interview with high achieving STEM students at Leyte National High School. To gain deeper
high achievers deal with pressure, what causes them pressure, and many others, the
researchers will ask them questions using the interview guide and allow them to freely
respond. Participants are required to respond fairly, and questions in the interview are
established in English language but in order to gain proper responses from the participants,
the interview process can also be conducted using their mother tongue language. The
interview will be audio-recorded, and it is expected that the conversation will flow naturally
and give the participants the feeling of comfortability and impression that they are simply
having a free and easygoing conversation. To make sure that the collected information is
reliable and can be duplicated in future researches, the participants will also be asked to
complete weekly journal entries for a total of four weeks, as participants' responses may
change gradually. This is to assure that the data collected from the participants is not
influenced by any type of factor during the interview, thus providing more accurate data for
the study. Following the collection of the data needed, the record of interview will be
transcribed and translated in English language by the researchers. Once they are done with it,
the researchers will perform a thematic analysis of the data. To find common themes in the
Thematic Analysis
The first step of the thematic analysis will involve the transcribing and coding of the
interview data. Each interview will be listened to and transcribed, and then analyzed for
relevant codes and patterns that may emerge. The researchers will review the transcripts
Next, the researchers will develop a list of potential themes based on the codes and
patterns identified in the data. These themes will be refined and revised through an iterative
Once the final list of themes is developed, the researchers will examine the data to
ensure that each theme is well-supported and represented across the interviews. The
researchers will also conduct a member-checking process to confirm the validity and
The researchers will interpret the themes and their relevance to the study. They will
examine how the themes are related to the research questions and what they reveal about the
experiences of STEM students who have achieved high academic success and how they
handle academic pressure. The use of thematic analysis is a flexible and thorough method for
examining qualitative data. It helps to identify and analyze themes that arise from the data in
a structured way and provides an opportunity to investigate the intricacies and difficulties of
Ethical Considerations
commencing it, covering its objectives and potential impact on the participants after the
interview. The researchers recognize the topic of academic pressure may be sensitive or
personal to the participants, and will be cautious to minimize any potential emotional distress.
The participants will also be informed of the possible emotional impact of the study and will
be provided with appropriate support if they feel overwhelmed during or after the interview.
Prior to that, the participants will be encouraged to share their stories candidly, without any
fear of being judged. Along the interview process the researchers will also tell their personal
stories to establish trust and credibility of this research. The researchers will also ensure that
the participants are all free to withdraw from the research at any stage if they want to. Lastly,
to ensure the trustworthiness of the results of the study, the data gathered will be returned to
the participants to check for the accuracy and resonance of their experiences.
In general, the researcher will ensure the safety and respect the authority of the
participants throughout the study and will conduct the research in a way that is courteous,