Data Sources

According to Creswell (2014), there are four basic types of gathering

qualitative data – these are conducting interviews, observations, and
documentation of audio and visual materials. In the same manner, this
undertaking collected data through in-depth interviews and focus group
discussions to determine a situation and discover new ideas about the
phenomena (Akinyode & Khan, 2018). Hence, the informants were asked to
answer pre-set open-ended questions (Jamshed, 2014). Apparently, the
primary source of the study was the response of my participants during the
In-Depth Interview.

An In-depth interview is an important form of data collection for qualitative

research in which the researcher gathers data through direct contact with
the involved participants. It is an essential means of collecting the subjective
opinions, significant experiences, and formed behavior of the sample under
study. It is always purpose oriented (Showkat & Parveen, 2017). During in-
depth interviews, the person being interviewed is considered the expert, and
the interviewer is considered the student. Wherein, the respondents must
answer pre-set open-ended questions (Jamshed, 2014).

In the context of my study, during the in-depth interview participants

answered in their own words. Meanwhile, I made some modifications as to
the order and flow of the questions and ask additional questions if needed to
probe for greater details and to clarify the answers given. Thus, these served
as valuable insights to discover the real story and to support certain themes.
As an interviewer, I ensured that I did not make any hints or clues that
influenced the responses of the participants.

Meanwhile, focus group discussions are semi-structured discussions with

groups of 4–12 people who aim to explore a specific set of issues. This is
believed that it encourages participants to explore and clarify individual and
shared perspective (Nyumba et al., 2018). Thus, it was used for data
triangulation.
In my study during the focus group discussion, I allowed them to do the
brainstorming which may be of help in generating data as they shared freely
their ideas based on their experiences about the questions given. They were
eager to express their thoughts especially if they can relate with the opinion
given by their peers. Moreover, I gave follow up questions just to delve
further with the topic discussed and so with their opinions. This would help
me gather multiple perspectives to form and support certain themes.

Furthermore, all the research data gathered in the 7 in-depth interviews and
8 focus group discussions were considered as the primary data. These were
reflected in the results section of the study.

Also, I used secondary sources such as articles, journals, and books that
represented various opinions, findings, and data of different authors that
supported the research topic. Moreover, the goal of this research was to gain
insights, views, and opinions of the ICT students in grade 11 and 12 from
Southern Davao National High School (SDNHS) about the issue of internet
scarcity. Thus, conducting in-depth interviews and focus group discussions
was a big help to collect research data compared to the other data collection
method. I believed that these methods were suited in gathering the needed
information for data analysis and to get the intended meaning of the
participants’ views.

Data Collection Procedure

There are different steps in collecting the research data from the
participants. Data can be collected through focus group interviews,
observations of the research environment, and video recording (Yuksil &
Yildirim, 2015). In the forms of data collection, I conducted interview and
audio and video recording through face to face interviews.
The participants were chosen based on the inclusion
criteria. I made sure that the participants were informed about the nature of
the study and the purpose as well. Hence, a on-site orientation was done
prior to the scheduled face to face interview. All the participants were
oriented about the main purpose of the study. When everything was
explained to the participant, I requested them to record our discussion. I
assured the participants that the record of our discussion will solely be used
as our reference and would not be posted to any social platforms. Moreover,
they were assured that their responses would remain confidential.
Lastly, the conduct of In-Depth Interview
and Focus Group Discussion followed. The In-Depth Interview was done first,
and another schedule was set for the Focus Group Discussion. The whole
process for the In-Depth Interview and Focus Group Discussion, since it was a
face to face interview, were both video and audio recorded in order not to
miss any information and to revisit if there would be confusion. Before the
interview, I made sure to ask the first permission of the participants for the
recording. The written and recorded responses were used to analyze the data
carefully to address the research questions. Moreover, before the conduct of
in-depth interviews and focus group discussion, research guide questions
were formulated that were aligned to the statement of the study to get the
significant information from the participants and to attain the purpose of the
study. It was also validated by the experts.
All the answers coming from the participants were recorded using the
personal digital gadgets of the interviewer in order not to miss any single
information or to avoid misinterpretation. After recording, the entire
document was stored in the private file in the laptop after the interviewers
send all the recorded information and is stored in the laptop ready for
transcription, making sure that the information remained confidential. Then,
when the transcription was done, thematic analysis followed. In the thematic
analysis, I was assisted by my data analyst to ensure the correct analysis of
the data. The data gathered was
kept on my personal laptop and email account. I made it sure that a
password was set for each word document where the data gathered had
been written. For reference, I would keep the gathered data for (time, ex. 3
years.)

Data Analysis

Akinyode and Khan (2018) postulated that Data Logging, Anecdotes,

Vignettes, Data Coding, and Thematic Analysis are the five steps in analyzing
qualitative data. However, in the context of this study, I highlighted the
usage of data coding and thematic analysis.
Coding is an element of data organization that reduces the
amount of raw data to the most relevant in the research questions and break
down into manageable sections. Through this, the development of themes
will emerge. In addition, the more the same the code occurs or if the code
will repeatedly emerge, the more likely it can be considered to be a theme
(Vaismoradi et al., 2016).
Meanwhile, thematic analysis is identifying the themes that have
emerged from the gathered data. The content analyst chooses between
them before proceeding to the high levels of data analysis. Thus, it aided the
researcher thorough understanding of qualitative data interpretation
(Vaismoradi et al., 2016). In the context of this study, thematic analysis
was done after the initial codes were identified. Then, categorizing and
analyzing all the responses of the participants from general to specific
followed. Responses with similar core ideas were extracted and group
together to formulate comprehensive themes. Each theme should consist of
at least three core ideas to make it valid. Furthermore, in my study, I
assigned code names for each of the participants.

Trustworthiness of the Study

According to Gunawan (2015), a study is only considered as trustworthy if

the reader of the research report judges it to be so. Since the data gathering
was through face to face interview and recording the interaction with digital
tools, the researcher adhered to the guidelines stipulated in the National
Ethical Guidelines (2017) specifically in the use of online and digital tools.
Maintaining privacy and confidentiality for the protection of the participants
was practiced. This was fully manifested by assigning pseudonyms to the
participants, modifying the quotes to prevent immediate retrieval through
search engines, and separating data files for identifiers and responses. In
addition, to observe trustworthiness in a qualitative inquiry, the following
criteria must be adhered to – credibility, dependability, transferability, and
conformability (Lincoln & Guba 1985, as cited by Cope, 2014).

Credibility is the equivalent of internal validity in quantitative research and

is concerned with the truth of the research findings. Also, it establishes
whether the findings represent believable data and correct information
extracted from the participants’ responses and original views. To achieve the
credibility of the study, I utilized triangulation and member check (Korstjens
& Moser, 2018).

Triangulation is a method used in qualitative research to establish the

validity of the study by analyzing the research questions from a different
angle (Vanner & Kimani, 2017). Moreover, triangulation emphasizes the use
of various forms of data collection to fully understand the phenomenon
which is the main objective of the study. Meanwhile, according to Birt et al.
(2016), member checking is a technique for exploring the credibility of
results through returning the results to the participants to check for accuracy.
Credibility was made possible
by means of employing triangulation and member checking. Triangulation
was achieved through the gathered data in the in-depth interview and focus
group discussion. This tested the consistency of data gathered by using
different methods.

After the results were gathered, it was sent back to the participants through
giving a copy for them to check and review what they had said during the
interview. This allowed the participants to confirm for accuracy of data being
transcribed to avoid bias. After that, I asked them to sign the certification as
a sign that they checked and approved the findings presented.
Furthermore, to
encourage the participants to share, the researcher applied iterative
questioning and prolonged engagement technique. Iterative questioning
includes probing to elicit detailed data (Jangu, 2012). Prolonged engagement
with study participants can establish good rapport which would aid the
researcher to gain deeper inputs from the participants (Abdul Hadi & Closs,
2015).

In the context of the study, I employed iterative questioning to my

participants by means of asking questions based on their responses to elicit
more data. Open-ended questions helped me to gather pertinent information
from the participants. It would also be easy for me to gather data from my
participants if I employed prolonged engagement. As the researcher, I
needed to establish rapport to my participants by meeting them in-person
prior to the scheduled interview. This would be helpful for me so that the
next time we would meet in person, we would be both comfortable.

Dependability, according to Bitsch (2005) as cited by

Anney (2014), is the unchanging findings even if it takes many years. It can
be established using peer examination. He also added that peer
examination, overlapping method for the IDI and FGD and audit trail would
help to ensure honesty in this undertaking. Audit trail offers visible evidence
—from process to product (Nowell et al., 2017). Peer examination, on the
other hand, is about discussing reflections and perceptions with a
disinterested peer to clarify a situation to help strengthen and grow as a
professional (Nowell et al., 2017). Overlapping method is the use of carefully
planned methodological triangulation, or multiple data gathering procedures
to create overlapping and therefore cross-validating data (Kabir, 2016).

In the context of this study, all the raw data, interviews,

observation notes, documents, and records in the field gathered in the study
were kept for the inquiry process and to conduct a thorough audit trail. Peer
examination was done by asking assistance from my data analyst to have a
deeper analysis of the data gathered. Also, my work would be a subject for
scrutiny and in-depth checking by the panel of experts during the outline and
final defenses. Meanwhile, the overlapping method was evident in the study
by cross-validating the data in the IDI and FGD.

Transferability concerns the aspect of applicability.

The researcher should convince the reader that the research applies to their
setting by giving an ample description of the participants and the research
process (Korstjens & Moser, 2018).

In the context of my study, I made it sure that there is a thick

description of the methodology of this study. All transcripts and data
analyses should not be appended since they contain sensitive data and could
exposed participants to be highly traceable. The data or information from
the participants was treated with complete anonymity and utmost
confidentiality by means of discrete coding. No individual identities were
used in any reports, presentations or publications resulting from the research
study. All research data or information were kept in locked files at all times
material copies and password protected folder for electronic copies. Only the
principal investigator will have access to the files.

After the research study was completed, the data collected

would be retained for three (3) years and be destroyed immediately
thereafter in a secure manner that would prevent unauthorized access, use
or disclosure to any other party or the public or in a manner prescribed by
law.
 Lastly, confirmability is related to establishing
that data and interpretations of findings are based on the data gathered and
not on our ideas (Anney, 2014). The assumption of confirmability is the quest
of the researcher to attain objectivity. For this study, the researcher did
not rely solely on her knowledge about the phenomenon. As a matter of fact,
the response of the participants in the In-Depth-Interview would give a clear
picture about the phenomenon. Furthermore, the role of triangulation
through conducting Focus-Group Discussion was employed in accomplishing
conformability. To check accuracy, responses were returned to the
participants through member checking. The researcher also gathered varied
literature and studies that would strongly confirm or negate the result of the
study. More so,
studies suggest that conformability is established when credibility,
transferability, and dependability are all achieved in Anney (2014). But in
this study, since conformability was my utmost concern as a researcher
towards objectivity of my study, I did audit trail because it offered visible
evidence from process and product that the researcher did not simply find
what was set out to find so that others can understand how and why
decisions were made.

Therefore, an audit trail is a popular technique to

institute conformability because it plays a significant role in the examination
of the inquiry process and product to validate the data, whereby a researcher
accounts for all the research decisions and activities to show how the data
are to be collected, recorded and analyzed as mentioned by Anney (2014).

Ethical Consideration

This is also called research ethics which refers to as making efforts to

secure the well-being of research participants, or to maximize the possible
benefits of the research and minimize its possible harm (Davis &, Lachlan,
2017). In addition, there are three principles of ethics which will be observed
in this study, namely: Respect for Persons, Beneficence and Justice (Barrow
et al., 2019). To fully understand these principles of ethics, a brief elaboration
and contextualization of the process in this study were comprehensively
indicated.
 Respect for Persons states that all participants involved in research
regardless of the status should be treated equally with full respect. The
principle of respect for persons is that the researchers must provide the
participants an informed consent form indicating the following: information,
comprehension and voluntariness (Barrow et al., 2019).
The first principle which I considered
incorporated at least two basic ethical convictions: first, individuals should be
treated as independent entity, and second, that person with limited
independence or subordinates should be entitled to protection. In protecting
the identity of the participants, I strictly followed the provisions that have
been stipulated in the Republic Act 10173 which is also known as the Data
Privacy Act of 2012. The act includes honoring and protecting the rights of
the participants. This was clearly realized since an Informed Consent Form
(ICF) was given to the participants.

With due respect to the people who were part of this study, I asked
permission to the participants involved in our study as our interviewees that
her answers will be our reference in creating our practical research. Next I
requested the participants to sign a consent form as proof that their
participation was voluntary, and they could withdraw anytime they wanted
to. I informed them of the purpose and objectives of the research study that
they were involved. After receiving their affirmation to be interviewed, I let
them actively participated in the in-depth interviews and focus group
discussions. Participants were informed of the results and findings of the
study.

Beneficence means that researchers should be focusing on the benefits

that the persons involved may get and limiting the risk that the participants
may obtain from the research (Barrow et al., 2019). The researcher was
committed to protect the participants by offering them the advantages that
the study might bring them. The identity of the participants was confidential
to avoid the risk of exposure.

To ensure beneficence, I followed the necessary protocols in the realization of

this study. I assured that the participants are not put into danger or awkward
situation. Instead, the study was beneficial to them for they could express
their sentiments about the struggles facing internet scarcity without being
identified.

This study would be beneficial to the participants since the focal point of the
study concerns them. Also, participants were given a token as an expression
of appreciation.

Justice means that all persons should be treated equally, and the
selection of research subjects should be scrutinized and will not be
systematically selected based on race, ethnicity, class or other factors
(Barrow et al., 2019). In this type of ethical consideration, two about justice
must be complied namely: an equitable selection of the informants and
avoidance of taking advantage of vulnerable populations (Pieper & Thomson,
2017).

To ensure justice and as part

of recognizing the sincere contribution, I scrutinized the selection of my
participants, safekeeping their welfare, privacy, and confidentiality of their
backgrounds. I assured my participants that the value of their testimonies
would serve as an inspiration to those public-school teachers who undergo
alternative work arrangements. Furthermore, the recorded, transcribed,
translated, and encoded raw data were verified by them. This means that I
would be giving updates to the participants and let them read the transcript
to ensure that all the information that were written were correct.

As the researcher of this study, I protected the participants’ privacy and the
data that they have given me. Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as
the Data Privacy Act of 2012, states that it is a law that seeks to protect all
forms of information, be it private, personal, or sensitive. It is meant to cover
both natural and juridical persons involved in the processing of personal
information.

In the context of the study, participants were given code names to hide their
identity. In a similar way, the disclosure of everything that I obtained from
the participants especially the recording of the interviews were securely kept
in a flash drive and were placed in a cabinet and took them with me with
utmost confidentiality.

Since the data gathering was in a form of on-site interview, the researcher
provided a means for the participants to have interconnectivity during the
interview. Interconnectivity would be included in the budget list of the
researcher in the conduct of this study. To protect the participants from any
form of judgment, transcripts and data analysis in the study were included in
the appendices.

This study was accomplished by following the protocols needed

in the conduct of the study. The methodological aspect of the study or even
in any research approach needed to be dealt carefully and in accordance
with the purpose of the study. This might be the shortest section of the
paper, but this paved the way for the development of the results and
discussion. Hence, as the researcher, I needed to plan and scrutinize
everything for the realization of the methodological aspect of the study.