Chapter I:

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In the modern era of technology, many students listen to music while studying. Music is a
cross-cultural, universal phenomenon part of most of our lives as an integral element of
recreational and entertainment activities, a component in religious and spiritual pursuits, a
relaxation and calming tool in times of stressful situations such as examination preparation and
traffic jams. As part of the learning and studying process, information gets encoded and
manipulated for later retrieval. Since working memory plays a significant role in many cognitive
tasks such as reading, comprehension, memorization, problem solving and reasoning which are
important skills used while studying, it can be deduced that working memory plays a significant
role in students’ academic performance. Working memory is therefore the element connecting
music and academic performance. Even today, listening to music while studying and completing
assignments appears to be a worldwide phenomenon, one that has likely increased further with
the availability of portable music devices such as iPods, MP3 players and even mobile phones.

Our love for music has remained constant through the evolution of time. It has been an
integral part of our lives throughout the centuries and even today. Music brings people from
different cultures together. The genres of music are myriad as the cultures in the entire world.
Music is often said to be a state of the mind. Technically, the world never is numbingly quiet,
even in the remotest part of the world. Sounds of various patterns that follow a rhythm strike the
human auditory senses as “music”. Even the daily din of a busy city has got a rhythm of its own,
to listen to which all you need is an empty mind and a keen sense to catch the pulse.

Many students listen to music to alleviate the emotional effects of stress and anxiety
when engaged in complex cognitive processing, such as studying for a test, completing
homework assignments, or while reading and writing. This practice is so common that it would
be beneficial for college students to understand the role that music plays on cognitive
1
performance. Research demonstrating the effects of music on performance is well documented,
but have shown ambiguous evidence on this matter. In studies conducted to learn about the
effects of musical distraction on cognitive task performance, the findings have demonstrated the
idea of music improving cognitive performance, but there has also been research contradicting
those results, where music was found distracting for participants performing cognitive tasks.
However, with the plethora of music genres available to music listeners, it is important to
understand how different types of music impact performance. Additionally, very few studies
address the interaction between the intensity or volume of the music played and its effect on
cognitive processing. The present study aims to understand the effect of listening to different
genres of music played at different volume levels on cognitive task performance.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The study aims to determine the correlation between music and studying. Here the study sought
to answer following questions.

1. When listening to music, are the students can study well and been relax?
2. In listening to music, are the students can do their tasks?
3. When listening in music, are the students can easily think and remember the lessons?

1.3 Conceptual Frame Work: Paradigm

Makes the
mind of the
student active
Personal Rhythm
factors response Improved
mood
Musicality
Arousal
Situational Cultural
control
factor impact 2
Enhanced
performance
1.4 Hypothesis of the Study

The hypothesis has been developed to fulfill the major objective of identifying effects of
music. To conduct the research, following hypothesis has been developing: HO: - There is no
significant relationship between listening to music while studying.

1.5 Scope Limitation and Delimitation of the Study

In general the focus of this study is directed towards the relationship between listening to
music while the students are studying. About the how music been affects the mind and
personality of the students.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The result of the study will be of great benefit to the following:

Students

The result will provide the students some knowledge on Correlation of listening to music
while studying. It gives students some dos and don’ts and what help can be the music while
studying.

Teachers

The given data would guide the teachers to have a deeper understanding about this study
and for them to identify the correlation of listening to music while studying.

3
 Parents

Like teachers, the parents to will understand why their students chose to study while in
music and chose to study in silent place. The given will help them to know and understand their
children to what the children need when studying.

1.7 Definitions of Terms

Music – an art of sounds in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through
the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color, the tones or sounds, employed, occurring
in single line or multiple times and sounded or to be sounded by one or more voices or
instruments or both.

Rhythm – the way that music is systematically divided into beats that repeat a specific number
of times within a bar at a collectively understood speed or tempo.

Arousal – is a state of being excited or alert.

Plethora – a large or excessive amount of something

Phenomenon – a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause
or explanation is in questions.

4
 Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Foreign Studies

“Music and Memory: Effects of Listening to Music While Studying in College Students”

Lara Dodge | Senior Psychology Co-author: Professor Michael C. Mensink, Ph.D. Abstract

Thirty-nine college students participated in an experiment that tested their memory for a
text that they studied while in one of the three different auditory settings. Participants were
randomly assigned to study a text in silence or while listening to either popular music or classical
music. Previous studies have shown mixed performance effects of listening to music while
studying a text. The current experiment focused on how college students enrolled at the
University of Wisconsin-Stout performed on a test of memory after studying a text in varying
auditory environments. The results demonstrated that college students recall more content after
listening to pop music or silence during study when compared to classical music.

Effects Of Listening To Music While Studying in college students studying is a common

activity for college students. Students have an enormous variety of study spaces and situations to
choose from, ranging from quiet study rooms to noisy coffee houses. For many students,
studying informational materials typically involves some type of background noise, such as
television or music. A variety of studies has investigated exactly how music affects learning and
memory; with their results pointing to the notion that there are many different factors associated
with how music influences how people remember information. The current paper seeks to
examine this common and important issue, as listening to music while studying is a Music &
Memory * Lara is in the Honors College of UW-Stout and is a McNair Scholar (Ed.). Journal of
Student Research 204 prevalent behavior for college students. Researchers have recently
examined how background music influences the important cognitive processes involved in
reading. Cauchard, Cane, and Weger (2012) investigated the effects on background speech and
music on the speed of the participants’ reading times via an eye tracking methodology.
Specifically, they were interested in whether music or background speech would interrupt

5
important comprehension processes while of reading as indicated by eye movements. The
researchers had thirty-two University of Kent students between the ages of 18-29 years old
participate in this study. Their eye movement was tracked while they read, and at random points
the reading session, participants were interrupted by background speech and music. Despite the
fact that some participants were interrupted during reading, most participants only slowed down
and re-read the sentences that were interrupted during the noise stimulus. It was also found that
there was no deleterious effects, meaning that no information was lost, during the interrupting
settings. Moreover, that comprehension of materials read after the interruption was actually
better compared to those results from participants that had no interruption at all. While music can
be a distractor for some individuals during performance, it may also provide some benefits. In an
office study, Schlittmeier and Hellbruck (2009) investigated the potential for different types of
music to block outside noise and increase performance. The authors first examined the
detrimental effects of office noise on performance, as well as whether performance could be
increased by having music playing. Participants were asked to learn and recall a set of numbers,
first in silence, and then while listening to legato music, staccato music, continuous music, or
normal office noise. Normal office noise was found to significantly hinder digital recall. In
addition, legato music and staccato music superimposed with the office noise also hindered the
performance of the participants on the digital recall compared to silence. However, it was also
demonstrated that continuous music did help reduce the detrimental effects of office noise on
recall of digits. In addition, Schlittmeier and Hellbruck (2009) asked participants about their
musical preferences afterwards and how disrupting the music and noise was as well as their
preferences for working while exposed to music or noise. Participants 205 responded that,
generally, they preferred to work in silence in the office rather than with outside noise or music.
In a second study, Schlittmeier and Hellbruck’s (2009) also sought ways to reduce the
disturbance of office noise in isolation from the noise they introduced rather than superimposed
with the office. Results showed that only legato music showed any difference in how it affected
test performance in the isolation situation, and it did reduce the disturbance of the office noise.
With regard to learning, a study by de Groot (2006) investigated the ability and speed of learning
a language while in an environment of music or silence. Thirty-six participants, all of whom
were first year psychology students at the University of Amsterdam, were randomly assigned to
one of the two environmental settings, music or silence. They were then taught a number of
6
words of a foreign language in silence or while music played. Participants completed three total
word-learning sessions, and were brought back in one week later to be retested on the language
materials they had learned. Interestingly, participants actually learned foreign language words
better while there was music playing compared to silence. In contrast to the studies summarized
above, other studies have found detriments to studying while listening to music. One such study
investigated the effects of multi-tasking and performance. Variables that were looked at
included; listening to music while writing a work report or any other tasks, or other stimuli
physical or visual, around the main task that interrupt the main task. The study found that there
was a correlation between multi-tasking and impaired performance on the main task (Konig,
Buhner & Murling, 2005). This study shows a further correlation between playing music and
poor performance. In a study done on the self-reported perception of the impact on memory from
playing music while studying, Kotsopoulou and Hallam (2010) found that participants in their
study chose not to listen to music while studying. This observation appeared to be due to the fact
that students perceived that listening to music while studying would impair their ability to study.
A study conducted by Furnham and Bradley (1997) appeared to validate this self-reported claim,
in that cognitive test performances for both extraverts and introverts was marginally lowered in
the presence of music. In a follow up research study to Furnham and Bradley (1997), Music &
Memory Journal of Student Research 206 Dobbs, Furnham, and McClelland (2011) investigated
whether the previously observed difference was due to the task or the presence of background
music versus background noise. One hundred and eighteen female schoolchildren between the
ages of 11-18 years old participated. Participants were assigned to one of the three sound
settings: Silence, background music, and background noise. Participants were then asked to
perform a cognitive task, based on their abilities, as measured using Raven’s progressive
matrices, the Wonderlic personnel test, and a verbal reasoning test. Generally, participants
performed better in silence on these cognitive tasks than with music. However, participants in the
music setting did notably better than those that were in the background noise setting. The study
also showed that there was a positive correlation between extraversion and task performance in
the presence of noise of either type of setting, background noise and background music.
Silverman (2007) did a study that looked at the effects of pitch, rhythm, and speech on the
abilities of 120 undergraduate college students to perform well on a digital recall test. In essence,
it was asking whether students recalled things better if they were simply spoken, or if they were
7
better at remembering things at certain pitches while being spoken. They also wanted to know if
there was any effect on the numbers being sung to the participant in rhythm rather than just
spoken. The participants were asked to try to remember numbers that were presented to them in
four different ways. The first form of stimuli was spoken numbers that they were asked to recall
later; the second was spoken numbers paired with a pitch only; the third was spoken numbers
paired with rhythm, and finally spoken numbers paired with pitch and rhythm. They were asked
to write down the numbers afterwards in the sequence that they were presented. There was no
significance between any of the different scenarios and it was suggested that the primacy and
recently effect both had something to do with that as well as exhaustion since all participants
were subjected to all four stimuli types. While there was no significance, some of the data
suggested that there might have been some extra difficulty for students to recall information in
the rhythm and pitch mixture stimuli. The results of this body of research seem to suggest that
extraneous sound, including music, has a negative effect on academic performance. Other
experiments with regard to 207 memory and music studied the effects of playing a certain type of
music while studying. These experiments looked at whether the information could be more
efficiently recalled when the same music was played during testing on the studied material. It
also was looking at whether it was the tempo, or the musical selection that had the effect on the
ability of the participants to recall the studied material. The results were that the recall score was
unchanged when the musical selection was changed as long as the tempo remained the same.
Conversely, when the tempo was changed, there was a diminished recall score (Balch & Lewis,
1996). The similarities in results across all previously mentioned studies suggest that listening to
music while studying has a potentially detrimental effect on academic performance. Yet, these
studies appear to either stand in contrast to those examined earlier, in which music did not
interfere with or actually enhanced learning: (Alley & Greene, 2008, Cauchard, Cane, &Weger,
2012, De Groot, 2006, Dobbs, Furnham, & McClelland, 2011, Furnham & Bradley, 1997,
Konig, Buhner, & Murling, 2005, Kotsopoulou & Hallam, 2010, Schlittmeier & Hellbruck,
2009, and Silverman, 2007). The present experiment sought to expand on the previous body of
research using a sample of students who were probably adept at studying while listening to
music. One potential issue with the previous studies is that students potentially did not have
much experience studying and learning while listening to music. Specifically the current
experiment sought to investigate the performance of University of Wisconsin-Stout
8
undergraduate students on a learning task while listening to music popular music, classical
music, or silence. We hypothesized that students who listened to music while studying a text
would recall less information and that students who studied in silence would recall the most
information. In addition, we hypothesized that students who listened to pop music while studying
a text would recall the least amount of information and that the students who studied in silence
would recall the most. We based these expectations on the observation that the popular music
contained verbal lyrics, potentially causing the most distraction for the participants during
reading. We also hypothesized that classical music would similarly prove distracting to readers
compared to the silence condition, but not to the extent as the popular music, due to the lack of
lyrics.

2.2 Local Studies

“HOW DOES LISTENING TO MUSIC IMPROVE STUDIES?”

By Mapúa · Published October 28, 2016 · Updated November 2, 2016

College life can be quite difficult especially since students usually juggle academics with
other extracurricular activities. What more if you’re a civil engineering student in a university in
Manila required to do a lot reading and research, study designs, and collaborate with various
groups?
If you are looking to improve your learning experience, try listening to music. Numerous
studies have been conducted to prove that listening to music can help improve certain mental
faculties, including your mental math abilities. Learn more about music and how it can improve
your studies by reading further.

Influence of music while studying 

Some studies conclude that listening to music before doing an assignment can be
beneficial; aside from enhancing one’s mental math abilities, it also improves attention and
memory – two things that are essential when studying. In addition to that, it can also lessen
anxiety and depression as well. However, the effects of music might vary from person to another.
A researcher in the University of Wales studied how background music can impact a person’s
9
ability to recall the things they recently studied. He concluded that although it can be helpful to
some, there are individuals who find it distracting.

The type of music is important

Although listening to music can be quite advantageous, it doesn’t mean that you can
listen to just about any music and you’ll surely ace your exams. The type of music that you are
listening to will also impact your studies. If you are trying to write an essay or read your notes,
you should not listen to music with lyrics. This type of music will activate the language centers
in your brain which are also needed for reading and writing. In the end, it might interfere with
your studies. Stick with instrumental music instead.

Music affects your productivity

Some studies say that music positively affects people’s mood, motivating them to be
more productive. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, this is does not apply to everyone. While
listening to music can improve one student’s concentration, another might find it distracting.
This means that you should test how music affects your productivity; if it motivates you to study
more, then you should continue listening to music. However, if you notice that it is nothing but a
disturbance, then you should stop listening.

Study habits of students can improve  

Aside from listening to music while studying, there are plenty of things that you can do to
ensure that you understand and remember everything that you are reviewing. The following are
some of the things that you should keep in mind when studying:
 Stay in a peaceful and organized environment when studying.
 Avoid playing music that do not particularly appeal to you.
 Think positively when studying and make sure that you are in the right mindset.
 Create an outline and rewrite your notes to retain information easily.
The effect of music may vary from one student to another. This is why it is important to
observe how you react to music while studying first before making it a permanent fixture in your
study routine.

10
2.3 Foreign Literature

2.1 Music

Music is something that is produce by man that can be form into a work of art or
complement the activities (Titon, 2009). Music was defined as a form of entertainment that
lessens boredom (Milliman, 1982). Music can be generalized as type of genre such as Pop, Rock,
and Classical, R&B, and Country, Jazz/Blues, Hip-Hop, Modern Folk, Electronic, Asian,
Comedy, Caribbean and Latin American music.

2.1.1 Type of Music Genre

2.1.1.1 Pop Music

Pop music is different from popular music. Popular music is the same as music which is
for the urban middle class that include different music from classical to heavy metal. However,
pop music had come from the roll n' roll evolution (Lamb, 2013). Pop music appealed to
teenagers that focus on rhythms and romance (thefreedictionary, 2013). The lyric for pop song
contained verses that are repetitive that has usually duration of 2.50 minutes to 5.50 minutes. Pop
music was influenced by other genres in many ways for the past years (Lamb, 2013).
Background Music to Academics Performance | K. Tiu 9

2.1.1.2 Rock

During the 1960s, rock music progressed into three type of metal as follows: country
rock, progress rock, and heavy metal (Bennett, 2001). According to Straw (as cited from
Bennett, 2001), “heavy metal represented a return to the more gritty aesthetic of rock ‘n’ roll
while at the same time ‘retaining from psychedelic an emphasis on technological effect and
instrumental virtuosity’.” The origin of heavy metal were still debated among writers that one
argued that one US band in the 1960s created the form compared to another author who said that
Britain started heavy metal sound. By mid-1980s, there was an expansion of heavy metal to pop
music which can be called ‘soft metal’ due to the popularity of Bon Jovi, that the band

11
diversified the classic heavy metal into a combination of guitar-based sound with keyboard and
string sound of pop music. It featured romantic love and upbeat sound which enticed the female
audience. Yet again, it was short lived and changed into more hardcore “Extreme Metal” that
glorified sex, drugs, and rock n roll. More people, who turned into extreme metal fans, were
encouraged to be more rebellious. They were at risk of having the state of loneliness, or
depression, which people were likely to become the worshipper of Satan (Bennett, 2001).
Background Music to Academics Performance | K. Tiu 10

2.1.1.3 Classical

According to Cooley (2009), classical music is a model that has support of institutions
like the governments and social organizations. It often based on the "written sources such as
music notation and written treatises about the music". Frequently heard in churches, festivals,
celebrations, and more, classical music considered to be renown around the world.

2.1.1.4 R&B

R&B or rhythms and blues music, formerly called "race music" had musical rhythms
from other genre such as jazz, gospel and blues. Originally, for black people, it used to focus on
disco dance rhythms. After 1950s, it evolved into a type of upbeat sound rather than the original
that used the classical instruments such as violin (Nero, 2013; Urban Dictionary, 2013). Notably
for its sexual suggestive lyrics and dancing, famous artists like Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Chris
Brown and Beyonce are good example of this (Artist Direct, 2013)

2.1.1.5 Country

Country music contained a mixture of various musical forms such as old English ballads,
heart songs, guitar tunes, breakdowns and novelty songs. In addition to that, it also included
country blues and religious songs. It had a distinctive sound which gave out a special feeling, the
closeness to reality. The influences of the country music were represented by the contemporary
sounds of the violins, brass, and more (Rublowsky, 1967). Background Music to Academics
Performance | K. Tiu 11

2.1.1.6 Jazz/Blues

12
 Jazz music is from African-American origin that has characteristics of rhythms and
improvisation that uses idioms which exist in numbers of styles like Blues. Blues is one of the
genres under Jazz (thefreedictionary, 2013). Not only that, it was considered to have the
combination of all melodies and rhythms by the people of the New World. The examples of the
artists were as follows: Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, the Supremes, and Bert Keyes (Rublowsky,
1967). Jazz started before the 1850s when some of its characteristics were parts of previous
musical traditions (All About Jazz, 2013). It was considered to be a secular music which evolved
around emotional and spiritual demand of the people. It represented the Negro people's style.
Jazz's ways had been influencing the people on all aspects of popular music today and beyond
(Rublowsky, 1967).

2.1.1.7 Hip-Hop

During the 1970s in New York City, a group of people were fighting because of the
tension from urban renewal programs and recession. The person namely Afrika Bambaataa made
a group that helped people to channel their anger into music and dance rather than physical
brawls. Rap music (or hip-hop music) that can be narrative vocal which was spoken in rhythm
continuously had become a way to communicate in their place. Across the globe and in time,
hip-hop music was incorporated into their local culture that had become the means of cultural
expression (Bennett, 2001). Background Music to Academics Performance | K. Tiu 12

2.1.1.8 Modern Folk

Modern Folk examples were as follows: Bella Hardy's Songs Lost & Stolen, considered
to be beautiful and simple, and Christy Moore's Folk Tale, helping people to address issues of
the day with his voice (Matthews, 2012).

2.1.1.9 Electronic

In the past, electronic was defined to be acoustic in nature that live performers pluck the
strings and more. But in the 1940s, Pierre Schaeffer created first ever studio for electronic music

13
which helped him process pre-recorded sounds. Now, electronic music meant having synthetic
sounds, manipulated by the electronics, not anymore acoustic (Types of music, 2013). Top
dance/club play songs as of September 1, 2013 to September 7, 2013 were from electronic
music. Examples of these songs were Avicii's "Wake Me Up!", and Enrique Iglesias's "Turn The
Night Up" (Billboard, 2013).

2.1.1.10 Asian

Asian music is diverse from different cultures from parts of Asia such as India, Indonesia,
Philippines, China, Japan, Korea and more. In India when they were colonized by the British rule
to date, valuing art (including music) is their tradition. With the support from their government,
Indian musician have many connection to improve their skills and talents. There is even an
academy namely Sangeet Natak Academy that gives out prestigious awards to those deserving it.
Indian music has inspired people such as Ravi Shankar and George Harrison of the Beatles, one
of his students. Some of Indian-based songs from Beatles' album were "Within You, Without
You" and “My sweet Lord" (Reck, 2009). Background Music to Academics Performance | K.
Tiu 13 Those have the influence of the raga (the melodic system) that has its own personality. It
can be associated with emotions, colors, seasons, animals, and more (Reck, 2009). Another type
of Asian music is Korean pop music, or commonly known as K-pop. It is very popular among
teenagers, Asian or non-Asian. It has started shortly after the hit of pop music in Korea. K-pop
can be identified easily by entertainers with their trendy outfits and songs with electrifying tones
(Tesol, 2013).

2.1.1.11 Comedy

The comedy genre was closely associated with amusing actions that partake in plays,
parody videos, comedy rock, and more (thefreedictionary, 2013).

2.1.1.12 Caribbean and Latin American

14
 From the Latin American countries such as Cuba, Latin music was born. It contained
sounds that were from the African religious ceremonies. It is commonly known for its rhythm. It
has elements and styles from Salsa, Tango and Brazilian music (Quintana, n.d.).

2.4 Local Literature

Many students around the world feel they need to listen to music while they study or
revise, believing it helps them ‘concentrate better’. Some even say that without music, they can’t
revise as it’s too quiet. On the flip side, there are those who find music incredibly distracting and
need silence to function best during work or study. So is it really true that listening to music
helps students study better? Or is it really a distraction they’re not aware of? Here’s what science
has to say about it. The theory that listening to music, particularly classical music, makes people
smarter, was developed in the early 1990s. It was dubbed the Mozart Effect by Dr Gordon Shaw,
who conducted research on the brain capacity for spatial reasoning. Along with his graduate
student Xiodan Leng, he developed a model of the brain and used musical notes to represent
brain activity, which resembled that of classical music notes when analyzed. This led them to test
the results of classical music on college students’ brains. In 1993, he reported that a group of
college students increased their IQ levels as much as nine points as a result of listening
to Mozart’s “Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major.” When it was reported, the media ran with it,
proclaiming that ‘classical music helps kids become smarter’. This led to the birth of
development toys involving classical music for children, and advice to pregnant women to place
headphones on their bellies for their babies to hear classical music so that they would,
purportedly, be born smart.

The Mozart effect was later found to be misleading, and some now call it the Mozart
myth. This is due to a number of reasons. Firstly, college students were only tested on spatial
intelligence, which required them to do tasks such as folding a paper or maze-solving, which is
just one type of intelligence. Ten years after the theory became wildly popular, a team of
researchers gathered the results from almost 40 studies conducted on the Mozart Effect,
and found very little evidence that listening to classical music really does help performance of
specific tasks. They found zero evidence that IQ levels can actually increase when listening to

15
classical music. Therefore, it has not been proven that listening to classical music, or any music
for that matter, actually makes a person smarter or more intelligent.

Music does improve your mood

However, listening to music can make you a happier person, as music releases

pleasurable emotions and increases dopamine levels. According to research, listening to music
triggers the release of dopamine in our brains. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that promotes
feelings of happiness and excitement. Studies have found that people may be better at solving
problems when they are in a positive mood compared to when they are in a negative or neutral
mood. Music that is relaxing also helps students with stress and anxiety, thus leading them to
study more efficiently. Research has found that listening to music actually lowers your cortisol
levels. Cortisol is a hormone that is usually responsible for feelings of stress and anxiety. Since
music helps to chill you out, you can also sleep better. When you have better sleep habits, you
tend to be less stressed out, which leads to a more productive day of studying. For long study
sessions, background music is helpful as students are more focused and motivated when they are
in a good mood, which helps them endure studying for a longer time. So if you need music to
relax and get you in a better mood, which leads to a better quality study session, then it’s worth a
try.

It can hinder learning

Several studies show that students who listen to music while completing tasks such as
reading and writing tend to be less efficient, and don’t absorb much information compared to
those who don’t listen to music. In addition, loud or ‘angry’ music has negative effects on
reading comprehension, as well as mood. This makes them less efficient on the tasks. Research
does suggest that music helps with memorization . Theories indicate that by being in a positive

16
mood, memory formation works better. However, students who use music to help them
memorize often find it hard to recall the information later as the test is taken in a silent
environment. Information recall has been proven to be more effective when it’s done in a similar
environment as the one it was memorized in. Therefore, students who prefer studying in a quiet
environment benefit more when it comes to recalling information later on a test.

The type of music does matter

According to a study done at the University of Phoenix, as well as various other studies,
listening to music with lyrics is quite distracting while you read, study, and write.
They found that your brain struggles to process the lyrics and focus on your schoolwork at the
same time. Basically, you are multi-tasking, which according to research, actually can decrease
your IQ by ten points. It makes sense that if you are using your precious concentration levels on
listening and singing along to your favorite tunes, you’re being distracted from focusing on your
studies and writing tasks. However, the Mozart effect may not be a complete myth, after all.
Research does suggest that although listening to classical music might not increase a students’
intelligence, it could help students study better. A study done in France, published in Learning
and Individual Differences, found that students who listened to a lecture while classical music
was played in the background performed better on a quiz when compared to those who went
through the lecture without music. The researchers gathered that the background music put
students at ease, making them more receptive to information. They wrote, “It is possible that
music, provoking a change in the learning environment, influenced the students’ motivation to
remain focused during the lecture, which led to better performance on the multiple-choice quiz.”
In summary, if you find listening to music a distraction, then it’s best not to try using it as a way
to make you a better or smarter student. However, if you find it relaxing and puts you in a
pleasant mood, then try playing soothing music in the background, without lyrics, so it doesn’t
distract you or prevent you from studying efficiently. Like many learning processes, it really
depends on the individual and what works for you.

17
 Chapter 3:
METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, research procedure. The subject of the study,
determination of sample, research instrument and statistical treatment of data.

3.1 Research Design

This study determined the relationships between studying and listening to music of
Bachelor of Secondary education major in mathematics students – correlation method was used
in this study.

The purpose is to find new truth, which may come different forms such increased
quantity of knowledge, a new generalizations, or increased insights into factors, which operating,
the discovery of a new casual relationship, a more accurate formulation of the problem to be
solve and many others.

3.2 Research Approach and Design

A quantitative approach was followed. Burns and Grove (1993:777) define quantitative
research as a formal, objective, systematic process to describe and test relationships and examine
cause and effect interactions among variables. Surveys may be used for descriptive, explanatory
and exploratory research. A descriptive survey design was used. A survey is used to collect
original data for describing a population too large to observe directly (Mouton 1996:232). A
survey obtains information from a sample of people by means of self-report, that is, the people
respond to a series of questions posed by the investigator (Polit & Hungler 1993:148). In this
study the information was collected through self-administered questionnaires distributed
personally to the subjects by the researcher.

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3.3 Research Setting

The study was conducted in Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology at
Alcate, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro. It was an school that has an average students of 2000.

3.4 The Study Population and Sample

According to Burns and Grove (1993:779), a population is defined as all elements

(individuals, objects and events) that meet the sample criteria for inclusion in a study. The study
population consisted of all students of Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in Mathematics, a
second year students.
A convenient sample of 28 students was selected from the class. Mouton (1996:132)
defines a sample as elements selected with the intention of finding out something about the total
population from which they are taken. A convenient sample consists of subjects included in the
study because they happen to be in the right place at the right time (Polit & Hungler 1993:176).
The sample included 12 men and 18 women. Available students were entered into the
study until a sample size of 28 was reached. Subjects who met the sample criteria were identified
by the researcher at the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology at Alcate,
Victoria, Oriental Mindoro.
The sample 12 men and 18 women size of members were the total of students who were
willing to participate in the research and who met the sampling criteria during the period of data
collection.

3.5 The Sampling Criteria

Subjects included in the sample were selected to meet specific criteria. The diabetic
patients had to meet the following criteria to be included in the sample.
They should:
 Know what music is all about
 Be mentally sound in order to consent to participation
 Be willing to participate
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  Be of either sex or any race

3.6 Data Collection Instrument

A questionnaire was chosen as data collection instrument. A questionnaire is a printed
self-report form designed to elicit information that can be obtained through the written responses
of the subjects. The information obtained through a questionnaire is similar to that obtained by
an interview, but the questions tend to have less depth (Burns & Grove 1993:368).

3.7 Data Collection Procedure

Questionnaires were personally distributed by the researcher to students to complete. The
data was collected over a period. Also pictures will also take to present in documentation and
such use as evidence for conducting the research.

3.8 Reliability

Polit and Hungler (1993:445) refer to reliability as the degree of consistency with which
an instrument measures the attribute it is designed to measure. The questionnaire which were
answered by all respondents. Reliability can also be ensured by minimizing sources of
measurement error like data collector bias. Data collector was minimized by the researcher’s
being the only one to administer the questionnaires, and standardizing conditions such as
exhibiting similar personal attributes to all respondents, e.g., friendliness and support. The
physical and psychological environment where data was collected was made comfortable by
ensuring privacy, confidentiality and general physical comfort.
The subjects were offered comfortable chairs in the side ward. Windows were opened for
fresh air. The researcher remained in the inside of room with the subjects. A “do not disturb”
notice was placed on the door to maintain privacy and prevent interruptions. Subjects were
requested to choose to write or not their names on the questionnaires to ensure confidentiality.

3.9 Validity
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 The validity of an instrument is the degree to which an instrument measures what it is
intended to measure (Polit & Hungler 1993:448). Content validity refers to the extent to which
an instrument represents the factors under study. To achieve content validity, questionnaires
included a variety of questions on the knowledge of students about the music. (Polit & Hungler
1993:250). Questions were based on information gathered during the literature review. Content
validity was further ensured by consistency in administering the questionnaires. All
questionnaires were distributed to subjects by the researcher personally. The questions were
formulated in simple language for clarity and ease of understanding. Clear instructions were
given to the students and the researcher completed the questionnaires. All the subjects completed
the questionnaires in the presence of the researcher. This was done to prevent subjects from
giving questionnaires to other people to complete on their behalf. For validation, the
questionnaires were submitted to a researcher and statistician Ma’am Mary Ann Hernandez.
Rephrasing of some questions was done to clarify the questions and more appropriate alternative
response choices were added to the closed-ended questions to provide for meaningful data
analysis (Burns & Grove 1993:373). External validity was ensured. Burns and Grove (1993:270)
refer to external validity as the extent to which study findings can be generalized beyond the
sample used.
All the persons approached to participate in the study completed the questionnaires. No
single person who was approached refused to participate. Generalizing the findings to all
members of the population is therefore justified. If the number of the persons approached to
participate in a study declines, generalizing the findings to all members of a population is not
easy to justify. The study needs to be planned to limit the investment demands on subjects in
order to increase participation. The number of persons who were approached and refused to
participate in the study should be reported so that threats to external validity can be judged. As
the percentage of those who decline to participated increases, external validity decreases (Burns
& Grove 1993:270).

3.10 Data Analysis

After the data was collected it was organized and analyzed. For analysis of closed-ended
questions, was used. Data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Frequency tables were
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drawn and from these the data was presented in pie diagrams and bar graphs. The open-ended
questions were analysed through quantitative content analysis by the researcher with the aim of
quantifying emerging characteristics and concepts. Concept analysis is the process of analysing
verbal or written communications in a systematic way to measure variables quantitatively (Polit
& Hungler 1995:209, 698).
Research Method
I use the Pearson Correlation to test the correlation of two variables: the music and the
studying. The Pearson correlation coefficient is a very helpful statistical formula that measures
the strength between variables and relationships. In the field of statistics, this formula is often
referred to as the Pearson R test. When conducting a statistical test between two variables, it is a
good idea to conduct a Pearson correlation coefficient value to determine just how strong that
relationship is between those two variables.

Score
Person Age (x) (xy) (x^2) (y^2)
(y)

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