CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter deals with the method of research used in the study. The

techniques used under the methodological approach are stated and will be

further explained in this chapter as well as the techniques used in developing the

software and the data gathering procedure.

Research Design

The design encompasses the method and procedures employed to

conduct a scientific research. The researchers used the descriptive method to

understand the nature and function of the study. This has been selected to

develop the FACTS attendance monitoring system ensuring that the system will

run accordingly. As the researchers consider possible study designs, analysis,

and final reports about the study, questions will determine the appropriate

approach to the investigations and its resulting methodology. (Knupfer and

McLellan 2011).

Descriptive methodology is concerned with the description of the existing

distribution of variables, as opposed to theory building. Or, in plain language,

descriptive studies focus on answering the basic W questions: Who, what, when,

where. This will help the researchers to plan and carry out the study, designed to

provide rich descriptive details.

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 Hence, descriptive method was used. The proponents made use of

inreview, research and observation to clearly identify and analyze the proposed

study.

Subject of the Study

FACTS Event Reminder and Attendance Monitoring System with SMS and

E-mail Based Capability is a study presented to the College of Computing and

Information Technology which intends to provide an SMS and e-mail based

attendance monitoring system. The researchers conducted several sets of

interviews to be able to obtain the user requirements.

Data Gathering Instruments

The proponents used different instruments in order to gather relevant data

for the development of the attendance monitoring system. The instruments used

are techniques which consist of interview, research, and survey.

Interview. The proponents conducted interview with several FACTS

organization officers and advisers and with some of the students in order to

acquire necessary information needed in the study.

The proponents constructed an interview guide to identify the problems

and difficulty encountered with the traditional FACTS attendance monitoring. To

address the need for comprehensive information, the proponents used open-

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ended questions. Through the means of the interview, the proponents noted

specific problems encountered by the organization. It was also then, the

advantages for developing the system were clarified.

Research. The proponents conducted research through books, articles,

journals and unpublished thesis in order to obtain related information. Such, it is

also then that the proponents used internet as a source to gather additional data

as related to the proposed thesis topic. This helped the proponents to strive for a

logical approach in searching for pertinent information on the specific topic or

problem.

Survey. In order to gather necessary information, the proponents

conducted a survey to be able to collect various responses from chosen

respondents. Survey was conducted to be able to distinguish the advantages and

disadvantages between the manual from the electronic attendance monitoring

system and to be able to evaluate the system after the system presentation.

Data Gathering Procedures

Upon the development of the system, the proponents performed several

steps and procedures, from data gathering to conclusive system implementation.

The proponents conducted interviews, research, and survey in gathering data

needed in the proposed system.

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 Breaking down into details, the proponents started gathering necessary

data and information regarding their thesis topic. This was accompanied by

researching, observing and conducting several interviews and surveys to be able

to fully comprehend what the study is all about, what it can do, and how

beneficial it could be to the department.

Researching was accomplished using the internet, published articles and

books, and unpublished theses. The data gathered from these materials were

brought together to acquire a logical approach in dealing with system

development.

Second, observation was done through the means of analyzing given

circumstances occurring at the present state of manually monitoring students’

attendance within the organization.

Lastly, interviews with some faculty members, CCIT students, and non-

CCIT students were conducted to thoroughly understand and reckon the pros

and cons of an attendance monitoring system, and to know their insights about

the study itself. The data gathered using these procedures were then analyzed

and studied by the proponents to be able to provide necessary response.

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 Figure 2 shows the picture of the prototyping methodology.

Customer
Satisfied

Figure 2
Prototyping Methodology

As shown in Figure 2 are the different phases in the prototyping

methodology. The proponents conducted data gathering through interview with

several of the faculty members of CCIT in order to determine the existing

process. It was also conducted with random students and other FACTS officers

to be able to identify the user requirements for the proposed system. After the

requirements have been identified, the designing part for the system was started.

In this phase, the features and the outline of the system was structured.

The development of the system was properly schemed and the proposed

system was tested and evaluated to see the functionalities. During this phase,

additional features can be added in order for the proponents to analyze in coming

up with a prototype that consists of necessary changes. The proponents also

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used application software, Visual Basic. Net as the front end of the system and

SQL server 2010 as the back end for storage and retrieval of the student

information, sent reminders and notifications.

The proponents utilized various tools in the study to simulate the process

of manual and proposed system to manage the FACTS Event Reminder and

attendance monitoring as well as to remind the students about the upcoming

announcements.

Figure 3 also shows the Level 0 of the Context Flow Diagram of the

existing system of FACTS Event Reminder and attendance monitoring

Figure 3
Context Flow Diagram of Existing System

Figure 3 shows the context flow diagram of the manual process of

reminding the students for the upcoming FACTS events. The FACTS President

is responsible for giving the event information of when and where an event will

be held. It is also then that attendance sheets are given as a basis for the

students participation in a specific event. Hereby, the student will manually sign

in the form as a proof of attending the meeting. After the event, the students are

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 required to answer the evaluation form given. It is for the organization to know

the suggestions, insights and improvements written by the attendees regarding

the held event.

Figure 4 elaborates the existing reminding process of the students FACTS

event and attendance monitoring.

Figure 4
Data Flow Diagram of the Existing System

As shown in the Figure 4, the existing FACTS event reminding and

attendance process is done. The FACTS President posts the events and

information to the students as their event reminder. Once the event is held the

FACTS adviser gives the attendance sheets to the students. As soon as the

students received the attendance sheets, the students will sign in it with their

corresponding names and sections. And at that point the adviser will collect the

attendance sheets as to gain information about the status of the students’

participation regarding the said event. The students are also required to fill up the

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evaluation sheets as feedback. Lastly, the FACTS President will have the list of

attendees in the said event and also the signed evaluated forms.

Figure 5 shows the Context Flow Diagram of the proposed system.

Figure 5
Context Flow Diagram of the Proposed System

Figure 5 shows the proposed context flow diagram of reminding the

students about the respective events and activities through SMS and e-mail

notifications. The students are able to access their account in order to view

their attendance or participation in specific events. Moreover, the FACTS

President will have the list of attendees and non-attendees in the events. On

the otherhand, the other user, which can be secretary or the FACTS officer has

the ability to add events throughout the CCIT Department.

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 Figure 6 shows the whole process of the proposed FACTS Event

Reminder and attendance monitoring with SMS and Email-based Capability

Figure 6
Data Flow Diagram of the Proposed FACTS Event Reminder and
Attendance Monitoring System

Figure 6 shows the proposed FACTS Event Reminder and attendance

monitoring system with SMS and E-mail Capability wherein the FACTS adviser

as the administrator, will register student information into the database of the

system thus, reminding the students about the upcoming events through SMS

and e-mail notification. The system will notify the students for the recent

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upcoming events to participate. The other user of the system which can be the

department’s Secretary or the FACTS officers has the ability to manage the

events through adding or deleting upcoming events to be held within the entire

CCIT Department.

Figure 7 shows the Hierarichical Input Process Ouput chart of the FACTS

Event Reminder and Attendance Monitoring System.

Figure 7
HIPO Chart

Figure 7 shows

the system interface

and modules of the

proposed FACTS Event

Reminder and Attendance Monitoring System which consists of the administrator

and user’s log in module. Below the log in module for the administrator are the

manage student option, settings, email reminder, sms reminder, attendance

monitoring module, help, and reports; the same options appear on the user’s

module, except for the settings. Using the manage student option, the admin can

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add, edit, and delete student information. With the SMS and Email reminder, the

students will be able to receive notifications of the upcoming events within the

organization. Another is the settings module which gives permission to the

administrator to manage changes such as to add, edit and delete respective

fields such as students’ data, course, year and section, and its respective

adviser. Another module is the report module which allows the user to print a

hard copy the list of students records and data. Last is the help module which is

designed to guide the user in using the system. It provides detailed information

for the frequently asked questions and deliberately explains the functionalities of

every field contained within in the system.

Table 1 shows the database relationship of FACTS Event Reminder

and Attendance Monitoring System. Each table consists of table names,

attributes, contents, data types and primary/foreign key.

Table 1
Data Dictionary

Primary Key /
Table Name Attribute Name Contents Data Type
Foreign Key
tbladmin username Administrator username Varchar(100)
password Administrator password Varchar(100)
name Administrator name Varchar(200)
Administrator email
eadd Varchar(50)
address
contact Administrator contact Varchar(50)

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 number
tblattendance studnum Student number Varchar(20)
studname Student name Varchar(50)
course Student course Varchar(50)
timein Student time in Varchar(8)
timeout Student time out Varchar(8)
aremark Attendance remarks Varchar(50)
eid Event id Varchar(50)
timeinok Student time in queue Varchar(10)
alimit Time out validation Varchar(50)
etitle Event title Varchar(200)
tblevent eid Event id Varchar(200)
etitle Event title Varchar(200)
elocation Event location Varchar(200)
edate Event date Varchar(20)
etime Event time Varchar(50)
course Course Varchar(100)
attendance Attendance remark Varchar(50)
endtime End time Varchar(50)
tbleventboard event Event title Varchar(200)
date Date at the event Varchar(50)
eid Event ID Varchar(50)
remind First event reminder Varchar(50)
remindtwo Second event remminder Varchar(50)
tblplaces place Event place Varchar(200)
tblsettings id Course ID Varchar(5)
course course Varchar(20)
adviser adviser Varchar(30)
tblsrecord snumber Student number Varchar(200)
course Student course Varchar(200)
name Student name Varchar(200)
birthday Student birthday Varchar(200)
address Student address Varchar(200)
adviser Student adviser Varchar(200)
contact Student contact number Varchar(20)
email Student email address Varchar(50)
image Student image mediumblob
FACTS Representative
tbluser username Varchar(200)
username
FACTS Representative
password Varchar(200)
password
FACTS Representative
name Varchar(200)
name
FACTS Representative
eadd Varchar(50)
email address
FACTS Representative
contact Varchar(15)
contact number

Figure 8 shows the Gantt Chart used in making the system. The

proponents based their scheduling on this chart which depicts all the

activities, processes, and consultations that they have undergone during

the development of the system and documentation.

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 Figure 8
Gantt
Chart

Statistical

Treatment of

Data

The

Researchers used Slovin’s Formula and the researchers used stratified random

sampling wherein the percentage of respondents from each was considered a

sample population. Out of 800 students, 267 students were selected to answer

the survey questions. Below is the formula for the computation.

1 + Ne2

Where:

n = sample size

N= population size

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E= 5% margin error (0.05)

Below is the computation of a survey:

n= 800

1+ (800) (0.05) 2

n= 20

n = 267 Result of the survey

This was used to analyze the data collected from the surveyed sample

population. Below is the formula used for analyzing the data.

p= n * 100%

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