AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHOICE FACTORS OF COMPUTING DEVICES AMONGST

STUDENTS OF JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA UNIVERSITY

BY

AYODELE OYETAYO ALO

1703030004

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, JOSEPH

AYO BABALOLA UNIVERSITY.IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.Sc.) DEGREE IN COMPUTER

SCIENCE.

SEPTEMBER 2020
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this project was carried out by Ayodele Oyetayo Alo, matriculation number

1703030004, and is been submitted to the Department of Computer Science, College of

Agricultural and Natural Sciences, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, in partial

fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Computer

Science.

--------------------------- --------------------

PROFESSOR A.A. ELUDIRE Date

Project Supervisor

--------------------------- --------------------

Dr. V.A. OLUTAYO Date

Head of Department

i
 DEDICATION

I dedicate this project to the Almighty God for His endless love and unlimited grace during the

course my study, and upon my life. He knows the end from the beginning and has guided and

guarded me until now, helping me in the completion of this course and kept me alive throughout

this period. Also dedicated to the great family of Dr. and Mrs. Isiaka Alo.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am forever grateful to the Most High God. The Author and Finisher of my faith, for giving me

the strength and wisdom to complete my programme here without any delay and setbacks and

has shown me much grace and love throughout the period of this course. To Him be all the glory.

My profound gratitude goes to my supervisor Professor A.A. Eludire, whose generosity with his

time and ability cannot be over emphasized.

I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of my lecturers in the department; Mr. Fadare, Dr.

Olutayo, Dr. Mrs. Olayemi, Mr. Lawal, Dr. Afeni, Miss. Oloyede and Miss Azeez for their

impact in my life.

Furthermore, I wish to acknowledge the efforts of my parents, Dr. and Mrs. Alo for the role they

played in my life as my supporters, friends and guardians, to my siblings course mates and

friends, for their moral support which saw me through hard times, thank you for your efforts.

iii
 ABSTRACT

To a student, owning a laptop nowadays, is an essential need rather than a luxury. Laptops play a

vital role in the life of a student especially to students whose course of study demand the use of a

laptop computer. This study examines the various issues and factors responsible for purchasing a

laptop by students in Joseph Ayo Babalola University. The study was performed with results

obtained from 40 random respondents. The study revealed that 90% of the respondents own a

laptop and 87.5% make use of their laptops for personal use. The most preferred brand for

Joseph Ayo Babalola University students is HP which is 36% of available market brands. We

found out through this research that brand, design, features, performance and price are factors

that influence students in the course of laptop purchase. The main factor noted was performance,

when observed from another angle is synonymous with price. As a result of the economic

situation, the prices of goods of various categories have seen a rapid increase in the last 5 years

or more.

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Table of Contents
CERTIFICATION ......................................................................................................................... i

DEDICATION............................................................................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................... iii

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iv

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... viii

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ x

CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ 1

1.2 DEFINITION OF PROBLEM ......................................................................................... 2

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY .......................................................................................... 3

1.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................. 4

1.4.1 AIMS......................................................................................................................... 4

1.4.2 OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................... 4

1.5 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 4

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT ........................................................ 5

1.6.1 SCOPE ...................................................................................................................... 5

1.6.2 LIMITATIONS ......................................................................................................... 6

1.7 ORGANISATION OF THE PROJECT ........................................................................... 6

CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 7

2.2 HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE LAPTOP SELECTION PROBLEM. ..................... 13

2.3 HISTORICAL EMERGENCE OF THE LAPTOP SELECTION PROBLEM. ............ 16

2.4 CURRENT TREND OF LAPTOP SELECTION .......................................................... 19

2.5 IMPORTANT BUYING FACTORS: WHEN PLANNING TO BUY A LAPTOP. ..... 22

2.5.1 The Processor (CPU) .............................................................................................. 22

2.5.2 Random Access Memory (RAM) ........................................................................... 26

2.5.3 Internal Storage ....................................................................................................... 27

2.5.4 Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) ........................................................................... 28

2.5.5 Battery Life ............................................................................................................. 30

2.5.6 The User .................................................................................................................. 31

CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................... 33

3.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND METHOD OF SOLUTION ..................................... 33

3.2 THE SOLUTION METHOD ......................................................................................... 35

3.2.1 Collection of data .................................................................................................... 35

3.2.2 Steps in analyzing data............................................................................................ 35

3.2.3 Deriving Result ....................................................................................................... 36

3.2.4 Flowchart of the method ......................................................................................... 37

3.3 Justification for Using Frequency Analysis ................................................................... 37

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 3.4 Technological Resources................................................................................................ 38

CHAPTER FOUR....................................................................................................................... 39

4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 39

4.2 System Requirements ..................................................................................................... 40

4.2.1 Hardware Requirement ........................................................................................... 40

4.2.2 Software Requirements ........................................................................................... 40

4.3 Discussion of the Input Used. ........................................................................................ 41

4.4 Data Analysis and Interpretation .................................................................................... 43

4.5 Discussion of the Output Obtained ................................................................................ 50

4.6 Making use of the survey ............................................................................................... 51

CHAPTER FIVE ........................................................................................................................ 53

5.1 Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 53

5.2 Recommendation ............................................................................................................ 54

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................ 55

APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................. 59

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2. 1: The First-Generation Computer. ................................................................................. 8

Figure 2. 2: A Second-Generation Computer. ................................................................................ 9

Figure 2. 3: A Third Generation Computer. ................................................................................. 10

Figure 2. 4: A Fourth Generation Computer. ................................................................................ 11

Figure 2. 5: A Fifth Generation Computer.................................................................................... 12

Figure 2. 6: A Laptop Computer ................................................................................................... 13

Figure 2. 7: Kotler’s Buyer Decision Process. .............................................................................. 16

Figure 2. 8: A standard laptop processor. ..................................................................................... 23

Figure 2. 9: The Intel Core I processor family.............................................................................. 24

Figure 2. 10: Intel’s Processor Model numbers. ........................................................................... 25

Figure 2. 11: A RAM stick/module. ............................................................................................. 27

Figure 2. 12: A Hard Disk Drive (HDD) ...................................................................................... 28

Figure 2. 13: A Solid-State Drive (SSD) ...................................................................................... 28

Figure 2. 14: An AMD GPU. ........................................................................................................ 29

Figure 2. 15: A NVIDIA GTX 1160 GPU .................................................................................... 29

Figure 2. 16: A Laptop battery. ..................................................................................................... 31

Figure 4. 1: The Google form ....................................................................................................... 39

Figure 4. 2: SPSS variable view .................................................................................................. 42

Figure 4. 3: Data entry for each response ..................................................................................... 43

Figure 4. 4: Percentage of Students that Own a Laptop ............................................................... 43

Figure 4. 5: Percentage of students that use different brands of laptops ...................................... 44

viii
Figure 4. 6: Percentage of Students that prefer known or unknown laptop brands ...................... 45

Figure 4. 7: Percentage of Students that Consider the Purpose for which a Laptop is Purchased 46

Figure 4. 8: Percentage of Students that Prefer Certain Features in a Laptop .............................. 47

Figure 4. 9: Percentage of Students that Consider Certain Attributes while Purchasing a Laptop

....................................................................................................................................................... 48

Figure 4. 10: Percentage of Students that Consider a Certain Price Range while Purchasing a

Laptop ........................................................................................................................................... 49

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 4. 1: The Analysis of Questionnaire administered. ............................................................. 41

Table 4. 2: Percentage of Students that Own a Laptop ................................................................. 43

Table 4. 3: Percentage of Students that use Different Brands of Laptops .................................... 44

Table 4. 4: Percentage of Students that prefer Known or Unknown laptop brands...................... 45

Table 4. 5: Percentage of Students that Consider the purpose for which a Laptop is Purchased . 46

Table 4. 6: Percentage of Students that prefer certain Features in a Laptop ................................ 47

Table 4. 7: Percentage of Students that Consider certain Attributes while Purchasing a Laptop . 48

Table 4. 8: Percentage of Students that Consider a Certain Price Range while Purchasing a

Laptop ........................................................................................................................................... 49

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU) is located in Ikeji – Arakeji. There are 42

departments in the school system categorized into four (4) colleges. The primary focus of this

study is the student body, with greater emphasis placed on the students of various departments

that require computers in their everyday life in the University, towards the pursuit of their

respective degrees. Computing devices form a large foundation to students in general, having a

wide range of applications, which range from communication to research including providing

means of improving oneself and engaging in various activities aimed at sourcing funds towards

the pursuit of one’s career. Needless to say, prior to the incorporation of computers in the

society, the availability of computers and similar devices, basic things that are taken for granted

these days were seen as luxuries even by the elite of the society. Before now, technology was

mostly employed in the professional environment (offices mostly), with the majority of

computations being relatively basic because the number of users was low, as one required a

certain level of expertise for most companies/institutions to put such valuable devices in the care

of any individual. As such, most students at that time had no access unless one had been

“deemed worthy”, possessing the pre-requisite talent/skill/know-how to efficiently operate one.

For the purpose of communication while students struggled to keep in contact with each other

over longer distances, our counterparts in other international communities were practically raised

alongside computers and similar technologies. With respect to research, the main source of

materials for students at the time was limited to their various school libraries, it is very crucial to

know that the knowledge that could be gained from a school library is limited, this is because a

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number of the available materials provides only information relating to basic concepts as it

doesn’t seem possible to cram the entire digital library into a building.

While this is true for students in general, it is more so for students pursuing a career pertaining to

technology or construction, to mention a few. In a world devoid of computers, simple sketches

that could be achieved through the use of software like AutoCAD would need to be manually

carried out on a paper. The cost of such an endeavor to the average student is mind-boggling.

Similarly, when computers weren’t as commonplace as it is now, having a chance to practice

various programming theories wasn’t possible unless one had a strong backing.

In essence, people didn’t care to know the intricacies of computers earlier on, which would have

made updating our knowledge base much easier. Individuals attempting to delve into computers

are now face with so much information that they do not know where to begin.

The key issue here is that, students cannot make decisions as to the computers they need and its

applications in their areas of interest even with so many available due to their poor knowledge-

base.

1.2 DEFINITION OF PROBLEM

The lack of knowledge displayed by students and people as a whole with regards to selecting a

laptop computer is daunting to say the least, in a world where IT semi-professionals and their

like do not know their way around resolving common computer related issues and even don’t

know what computer systems they need in order to carry out their tasks efficiently and increase

productivity is really an eye opener. It is safe to say that people are unable to choose because of

their inadequate knowledge base. The research work is aimed at determining the extent to which

2
the students of Joseph Ayo Babalola University know what selecting a laptop to aid in their

respective academic disciplines entail. In the course of this project, we will try to determine

whether or not students know how to select laptops that will perform well and what the reason as

to why they can’t make the choice.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

In my time as a student of Joseph Ayo Babalola University as well as my 3-month industrial

attachment at ehealth4everyone, I could be described as an IT enthusiast. I’ve been approached

numerous times by individuals seeking advice on issues and challenges which they could have

found solutions to, if they had taken extra time and effort.

Most people believe the machine they own is an alien or a fragile creature that could be damaged

by been too curious. Students especially are afraid to know more about what they possess and the

extent that their laptops can be pushed and if it actually suits their needs.

Hence, there is a growing complaint of a laptop being slow and under-performing. And even

worse is the replacement of existing laptops with ones possessing similar specifications. This

leads to a cycle that could have been avoided if proper research had been performed.

In view of the rapid incorporation of computers in the academic environment, it has become

important to choose the right computers that will fulfil the need for which it was acquired. This

study will ascertain if:

a. Students have sufficient knowledge about computers that will aid in the selection of one.

b. Students can determine what laptop computers they need for their chosen courses of

study or professional us
3
At a casual glance, one can see that while a good number of students have a laptop, said laptops

isn’t up to standard for their course of study. For example, an architecture student who makes use

of AutoCAD and a computer science student who is trying to build a software and is trying to

make use of a laptop possessing and Intel Pentium processor. This leads to inefficiency and

failure to meet up with deadlines. The fault doesn’t stem from the students’ work ethic, but from

the laptops the own.

1.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.4.1 AIMS

The aim of this study is to conduct an analysis of the Choice Factors of Computing Devices

amongst Students of Joseph Ayo Babalola University.

1.4.2 OBJECTIVES

• To know the personal views of people regarding choices among various branded PC/

Laptop.

• To study which branded PC/ Laptop is mostly preferred by people as per their choices.

• To find out the factor influencing the people at the time of purchasing Laptop regarding

Quality, Durability, Variety, Price.

1.5 METHODOLOGY

The research will be a quantitative one, where the answers to the questions will be obtained by

providing options from which the individual will be required to select one, which is a

4
characteristic of closed-ended surveys. Conclusions would then be derived by analyzing the

number of responses to each question.

As this is a quantitative research method that focuses on examining random students in JABU, I

will be employing statistical methods to transform raw data into numerical data, the numeric data

would then be represented with the aid of graphs or charts.

Questions would aim at determining whether or not students are able to make the choice as to

what laptop computer would serve them best, while considering cost/affordability.

The results obtained should be in line with the observed trend that has been noticed among the

students of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, which is, a number of them are unable to make the

choice as to what laptop computers is most suitable for their discipline.

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT

1.6.1 SCOPE

The scope of this research work is determining if students possess the requisite knowledge

needed that will guide the laptop selection process especially in the changing times when one can

walk into computer stores and tells the attendant what he/she needs. The work is scoped over

students at JABU but can be applicable to students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

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1.6.2 LIMITATIONS

Although this project is relevant and will help the University body in general, I can only do so

much with the little time and resources at my disposal. Some of these resources include:

• Cost of printing more questionnaires

• Research costs (data subscription)

1.7 ORGANISATION OF THE PROJECT

• Chapter one contains the introduction, background of the study, definition of problem,

significance of the study, aim and objectives, methodology, scope and limitations.

• Chapter two is the literature review. It examines the existing solution to the problem of

choosing laptops for personal, office or professional use. The current trend of the solution

and proposed area of improvement.

• Chapter three is the methodology. Which is the use of questionnaire for data collection.

• Chapter four is the data analysis and evaluation results. The use of IBM SPSS Statistics

data analysis software to evaluate collected data and then produce a visualized form of

the results.

• Chapter five is the conclusion and recommendation.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 HISTORY OF THE COMPUTER

The computer as we know it today had its beginning with a 19th century English mathematics

professor name Charles Babbage. He designed the Analytical Engine and it was this design that

the basic framework of the computers of today are based on. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

Generally speaking, computers can be classified into five generations. Each generation lasted for

a certain period of time and each gave us either a new and improved computer or an

improvement to the existing computer. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

First generation: The period of first generation was from 1946-1959. The computers of first

generation, which is shown in figure 2.1, used vacuum tubes as the basic components for

memory and circuitry for CPU (Central Processing Unit). These tubes, like electric bulbs,

produced a lot of heat and the installations used to fuse frequently. Therefore, they were very

expensive and only large organizations were able to afford it. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

In this generation, mainly batch processing operating system was used. Punch cards, paper tape,

and magnetic tape was used as input and output devices. The computers in this generation used

machine code as the programming language. Some Computers of this generation were:

EDNIAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC, IBM-701 and the IBM-650. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

7
Figure 2. 1: The First-Generation Computer.

Second generation: the period of second generation was from 1959-1965. In this generation,

transistors were used that were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more

reliable and faster than the first-generation machines made of vacuum tubes. In this generation,

magnetic cores were used as the primary memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks as

secondary storage devices. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

In this generation, assembly language and high-level programming languages like FORTRAN,

COBOL were used. The computers used batch processing and multiprogramming operating

system. A second-generation computer is shown in figure 2.2. Examples of second-generation

computers are; IBM 1620, CDC 1604 and UNIVAC 1108. (Tutorialspoint, nd)

8
Figure 2. 2: A Second-Generation Computer.

Third generation: The period of third generation was from 1965-1971. The computers of third

generation, an example is given in figure 2.3, used Integrated Circuits (ICs) in place of

transistors. A single IC has many transistors, resistors, and capacitors along with the associated

circuitry (Tutorialspoint, 2020).

The IC was invented by Jack Kilby. This development made computers smaller in size, reliable,

and efficient. In this generation remote processing, time-sharing, multiprogramming operating

system were used. High-level languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1,

BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used during this generation. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

9
Figure 2. 3: A Third Generation Computer.

Fourth Generation: The period of fourth generation was from 1971-1980. Computers of fourth

generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having about 5000

transistors and other circuit elements with their associated circuits on a single chip made it

possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation. A fourth-generation computer is displayed

in figure 2.4. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

10
Figure 2. 4: A Fourth Generation Computer.

Fourth generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. As a

result, it gave rise to Personal Computer (PC) revolution. In this generation, time sharing, real

time networks, distributed operating system were used. All the high-level languages like C, C++,

DBASE etc., were used in this generation. Some of the computers in this generation were; DEC

10, STAR 1000, CRAY-1. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

Fifth Generation: The period of fifth generation is 1980-till date. In the fifth generation, VLSI

technology became ULSI (Ultra Large-Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production

of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components. A fifth-generation computer

is shown in figure 2.5. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

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Figure 2. 5: A Fifth Generation Computer.

This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence)

software. AI is an emerging branch in computer science, which interprets the means and method

of making computers think like human beings. All the high-level languages like C and C++,

Java, .Net etc., are used in this generation. Some computer types in this generation are;

Notebooks; Desktops; Laptop. (Tutorialspoint, 2020)

A laptop is a personal computer designed for mobile use and small and light enough to sit on a

person's lap while in use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop

computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a

trackpad, and/or a pointing stick), speakers, and often including a battery, into a single small and

light unit. The rechargeable battery (if present) is charged from an AC adapter and typically

stores enough energy to run the laptop for two to three hours in its initial state, depending on the
12
configuration and power management of the computer. (Venkateswarlu, 2008). A typical laptop

is displayed in figure 2.6.

Figure 2. 6: A Laptop Computer

2.2 HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE LAPTOP SELECTION PROBLEM

(Schiffman & Kanuk, 2007) defines customer decision making as the process of making

purchase decisions based on cognitive and emotional influences such as impulse, family, friends,

advertisers, role models, moods, and situations that influence a purchase.

(Peter & Olson, 2004) defines consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups or

organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose on products, services,

experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer

and the society. Consumer behavior is a process that not only happen when consumer gives over

money to seller in turn get good or service, but also the process that include the issues that

influence the consumer before, during, and after purchase (Solomon, 2011).

13
The study is undertaken with the assumption that consumers put more efforts, perceive various

risks, and give more time for information searching to purchase a product which costs high and

have the property of being more durable. Product like laptop is one of the breakthroughs in the

IT sector. It has eased the work as it provides mobility and compactness. Usually it is used for

business but now a days it has become a necessity for non-business units also. A laptop is useful

to an employee, a student, an entrepreneur, a media person equally. The present study is an

attempt to find consumers inclination towards buying laptop. (Solanki, 2013)

Consumers can prefer certain products, brands or companies over others. However, consumer

purchase decisions vary deeply depending on the product to be purchased. Consumers’

demographic profile, purchase perceptions, and their attitudes towards products or brands

influence their purchase decisions. (Tania, 2012)

(Jarvenpaa & Tedd, 1996) identified many factors that affect a consumer’s electronic purchase

decision which include product understanding, shopping experience, customer service, and

consumer risk. (Geisler & Hoang, 1992) identified five steps in the decision process to purchase.

The authors concluded that services companies follow a relatively logical and analyzable

decision process. According to decision making model, consumers process the environmental

cues; the physical factors of the product, psychosocial cues, such as advertising, and consumers

put these cues into a set of perceptions that shape their preferences (Hong & Lerch, 2002).

Based on these preferences, consumers make their choices subject to situational constraints, such

as price (Hong & Lerch, 2002). According to Hong and Lerch (2002), people evaluate various

objective features when buying an IT product, and because of imperfect information and

14
simplifications according to the decision rules people often abstract these various features into

few perceptual dimensions such as ‘usefulness’ and ‘price’.

(Kim et al, 2002), in another research, identified performance and price as two of the most

important attributes in PC purchase decisions. (Nasir V. et al, 2006) identified seven factors that

influence consumers’ laptop purchase decisions which are core technical features, post purchase

services, price, peripheral specifications, physical appearance, value added features, and

connectivity and mobility.

There are many features to be considered while purchasing a laptop. Analyzing the purchase

decision of the consumers is very important for Computer Manufacturing Companies to focus on

Successive Sales and development. When deciding upon which laptop is best for someone, it

needs to determine the type of work one will most frequently use the computer to perform. If it is

to use to check email, browse the internet or listen to music, it doesn’t need anything too

powerful. However, if anyone plans to travel with computer, store many files or documents and

access information then a device with a long battery life, adequate hard-disk space, a memory

card reader, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections is needed. (Tania, 2012)

Purchasing a laptop would constitute complex buying behaviour. This type of behaviour is

characterized by a ‘high level of consumer involvement with significant perceived differences

among brands’ (Kotler, 2010). Laptops would warrant a high-involvement product as they are

expensive and are not purchased frequently (McDonald, 2013). Another reason why buyers are

highly involved is due to the complexity of understanding new technology and the perceived risk

of wasting a lot of money on purchasing the wrong product. (Ahmad, 2015)

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2.3 HISTORICAL EMERGENCE OF THE LAPTOP SELECTION PROBLEM.

Figure 2. 7: Kotler’s Buyer Decision Process (kristelveracuerpo, 2013)

As observed from Figure 2.7, the components of the decision-making process are five and begin

with the recognition of a problem. This is a need which is triggered by stimuli; be it internal or

external (Kotler, 2010). We’ll be employing the case of a 24-year-old male journalist living with his

family who requires a new laptop as a case study. The subject specifically is looking for a device that

can meet the basic requirements of a typist yet is advanced enough to be utilized for media-savvy

purposes, all the time being economically priced as well. In this case it is the journalist who has

recognized the need to purchase a new laptop for his work. (Ahmad, 2015)

As a journalist it is important that the laptop that is purchased meets his requirements. This is

typically the ability to run software packages, browse the internet and access multimedia on

various platforms. This drive to satisfy one’s needs is illustrated by Maslow’s Hierarchy (1970)

16
who classified human needs into five levels; psychological, safety, social, self-esteem and self-

actualization needs. The lowest being the most fundamental need and vice-versa. To demonstrate

this, the consumer may be persuaded to purchase an Apple MacBook as it is heavily marketed as

an absolute necessity for good journalism. An article on the Apple website extensively promotes

the MacBook as ‘the perfect solution for media-fluent journalists. Further contributing to this

notion is the statement of an individual who has extensive experience in this field, the Associate

Dean of the Missouri School of Journalism who stated, “The MacBook can really transform

journalism” (Apple, 2015).

Secondly an equally important personal characteristic that must be taken into consideration is the

economic status of the buyer. Basic economic theorem states as the price of a normal good

increase (laptop), the demand for the good decreases (Sloman, 2013). This linear relationship

combined with the ‘middle class’ average salary of journalist being £22250 (Journalists at Work,

2013) is likely to result in the consumer resorting to a cheaper product at the expense of the

features that would come with a premium laptop.

This need drives him to the next stage in the decision-making process which is the information

search. The information search is a vast sphere for gathering knowledge as the sources of

information can fall into four main groups; personal, public, commercial and experiential

(Kotler, 2010). The personal group is likely to consist of friends and family who already have a

laptop and can be turned to for advice. The public and commercial realm consists of consumer

rating websites as well as advertising companies whilst experiential means the knowledge from

the information search is going to be gained through physically handling the product to be

purchased (which can be done in the personal and commercial domain). (Ahmad, 2015)

17
The information search leads the consumer into the third stage which is the evaluation of

alternatives. As expected, the consumer will evaluate different products based on its attributes

using the knowledge sourced from the second stage. Due to the high involvement of buying a

laptop, it is likely that the consumer will be researching a number of laptop producers in order to

find the best one (B2B Marketing, 2015). Moreover, the attitude of the consumer towards a

brand after brand evaluation will determine the choice made (Kotler, 2010) as the consumer will

buy the product he feels will satisfy him the most.

The purchase decision is the penultimate stage where the consumer finally makes the choice as

to what brand of laptop he will purchase. However, according to (Kotler, 2010) this stage may be

disrupted by unforeseen circumstances such as a job loss. Additionally, knowledge which may

not have been encountered in the information search has now become present and changed the

mind of the consumer. An example of this would be negative feedback from a previous laptop

buyer that would force the consumer to re-evaluate his decision.

The last and arguably the most critical stage for marketers will take place after the purchase

when the buyer will have two outcomes. The post purchase behaviour of the consumer will be

either satisfied or dissatisfied. Satisfaction can result from the laptop meeting or excelling the

needs of the journalist. However, if it happens that the journalist is disappointed by his purchase,

it may result in negative assumptions of the company that can diminish brand loyalty which is

why it is absolutely critical that companies should be very careful to create positive post-

purchase communication (B2B Marketing, 2015).

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 2.4 CURRENT TREND OF LAPTOP SELECTION

Consumer behaviour is also influenced by social factors such as reference groups and families

(Kotler, 2010). Reference groups serve as direct or indirect points of comparison (Kotler, 2010)

and in this case may well be co-workers as they share the same occupation and are likely to have

purchased a laptop for the same reasons as the subject. The previous buying knowledge and

experience of a co-worker instils a sense of trust and will in turn influence the buyers brand

preference and choice, in other words lead the market trend (Kotler, 2010).

Buying a laptop can be expensive, and therefore, a significant amount of time is put into which

one is bought. Buying a laptop can be a headache at times, but not if there are a set of principles

set in motion to make the decision on which laptop should be purchased. (Tania, 2012)

According to (Sutherland, 2020), Buying a laptop can be an exciting experience, but you want to

choose the right one — and there are some serious pitfalls that you want to avoid. It’s tempting

to get all the best features, but it’s more important to have a laptop that you know how to use,

and one that suits your needs. Buyer’s remorse is real, and it’s often a costly lesson to learn.

Consider these mistakes to avoid when buying your next laptop.

i. Buying the cheapest available laptop: There are some great budget laptops out there, but just

because they’re cheap doesn’t mean they’re going to do the job you want or have all the

features you need. Rather than jumping for the lowest price, it’s best to find the laptop that

will actually serve your needs and then cross-reference that with your budget.

ii. Paying too much: Conversely, the best laptops in the world might tick every box, but if you

pay for features or hardware you don’t need, you’re just wasting your money.

19
 iii. Buying a laptop “for today”: It’s an old bit of advice, but it still holds true. Unless you are

obsessed with getting the latest tech, a new laptop should last a few years, and likely more if

you want to save money on another purchase. Instead of buying a laptop exclusively for

your needs right now, you should buy one for where you think you’ll be in a couple of

years.

iv. Ignoring ports and compatibility: Not all laptops include the ports you depend on. Many

modern laptops, like our favorite Dell XPS 13, only have Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C ports. If

you need USB-A or an SD card reader, make sure your chosen laptop has those specific

ports before buying or budget for an adapter.

v. Opting for the highest available resolution: A device boasting a 4K display is certainly

worth more than a cursory glance, but it’s not always the right choice as smaller screens

don’t let you enjoy the full benefit of the higher resolution. Worse still, 4K screens can have

a big impact on your device’s battery life.

vi. Not trying before buying: If you can, always give the laptop you’re considering a proper test

drive before buying. It’s easy to overlook the importance of features absent from the spec

sheet.

vii. Thinking size doesn’t matter: Size matters, especially when it comes to a laptop. Whereas a

bigger display allows for a more expansive and often better viewing experience, it also cuts

into the portability factor.

viii. Becoming obsessed with one specification: Tunnel vision is bad news when buying a laptop.

While it’s fun to pit spec sheets against each other, avoid picking out one particular

specification as your favorite and only looking at that factor. While you should have a

20
 baseline specification in mind — to make sure that you get the performance you need, don’t

obsess over maximizing on any single specification.

ix. Not buying enough power: Ultrabooks have risen to become one of the most popular types

of laptops, and it can be very tempting to automatically assume they are the best choice for

you. Professionals might need workstation-class hardware to handle the intensive software

needed for their job. In particular, you may need something with a powerful graphics card,

while most 13-inch ultrabooks use an integrated one.

x. Assuming a 2-in-1 is the same as a laptop: Tablets, 2-in-1s, and laptops are distinct

categories. They aren’t interchangeable. While you can perform many tasks with a tablet

and keyboard that you can with a laptop, the similarities soon end. Tablets remain far more

constricting when it comes to multitasking, fast web browsing, using complex apps, or

running demanding software.

xi. Misunderstanding laptop graphics: Laptop graphics are important if you plan on using your

laptop for a lot of entertainment or gaming, but their graphics systems aren’t always well

understood. Don’t just look at the amount of video memory in gigabytes (GB) when

comparing graphics cards, because this does a poor job of telling the full story. Instead, first

look to see if the GPU is integrated, discrete, or (more rarely) a combination of both. An

integrated GPU connected to the processor is fine for most average laptop tasks and very

common, especially in more affordable laptops. But if you want the best performance you

can get, you will want a powerful discrete GPU — and as with desktops, the most popular

options are from Nvidia and AMD. Pay attention to how much VRAM is specifically

allocated to the discrete GPU when making comparisons

21
2.5 IMPORTANT BUYING FACTORS: WHEN PLANNING TO BUY A LAPTOP.

Buying a new laptop is an investment, one can make the best possible choice only after

thoroughly assessing your requirements. Whether you're buying a laptop for the first time or

have been using one for ages, before venturing on a new purchase, there are several factors that

need to be considered. These factors are:

i. Processor (CPU)

ii. Random Access Memory (RAM)

iii. Internal Storage

iv. Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)

v. Battery Life

vi. The User

2.5.1 The Processor (CPU)

A laptop's central processing unit (CPU) has advanced power-saving features and produces less

heat than one intended purely for desktop use. Typically, laptop CPUs made after 2018 have four

processor cores, although 6-core and 8-core models are also available. For low price and

mainstream performance, there is no longer a significant performance difference between laptop

and desktop CPUs, but at the high end, the fastest desktop CPUs still substantially outperform

the fastest laptop processors, at the expense of massively higher power consumption and heat

generation; the fastest laptop processors top out at 56 watts of heat, while the fastest desktop

processors top out at 150 watts. (Wikipedia, 2020)

22
There have been a wide range of CPUs designed for laptops available from both Intel, AMD, and

other manufacturers, a sample is shown in figure 2.8. Many laptops have removable CPUs,

although this has become less common in the past few years as the trend has been towards

thinner and lighter models. In other laptops the CPU is soldered on the motherboard and is non-

replaceable; this is nearly universal in ultrabooks. (Wikipedia, 2020)

Figure 2. 8: A standard laptop processor.

In the past, some laptops have used a desktop processor instead of the laptop version and have

had high performance gains at the cost of greater weight, heat, and limited battery life, but the

practice was largely extinct as of 2013 until the recent release of the Alienware Area 51m.

With Intel processors being preferred to their AMD counterparts, mainly due to the latter’s

questionable durability regarding overheating, which could damage the processor itself or the

motherboard. Intel has seen a witnessed a rise of users in the last decade.

Intel processors boast a number of processor types, but the 3 main types to be evaluated are the

Core i3, i5 and i7, as shown in the figure 2.9. An Intel Core i7 is better than a Core i5, which in

turn is better than a Core i3. The trouble is knowing what to expect within each tier. Things go a

little deeper. (Patkar, 2018)

At initial launch, the Core i3 series has only dual-core processors, while the Core i5 and Core i7

series have both dual-core and quad-core processors. Quad-cores are usually better than dual-

cores. But things changed with the 8th generation line of the intel core processors with all three

processors having a minimum of 4 cores. (Sagar, 2019)

Intel releases “families” of chipsets, called generations. The current one is the 10th-generation

series called Ice Lake. Each family, in turn, has its own line of Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7

series of processors. (Patkar, 2018)

You can spot which generation a processor belongs to by the first digit in its four-digit model

name. For example, the Intel Core i3-8250 belongs to the 8th generation. The other three digits

are Intel’s assessment of how the processor compares to others in its own line. For example, an

Intel Core i3-8145U is superior to the Core i3-8109U because 145 is higher than 109. (Patkar,

2018)

24
 Figure 2. 10: Intel’s Processor Model numbers.

As seen in figure 2.10, the model number will typically be followed by one, or a combination of

the following letters: U, Y, T, Q, H, G, and K. Here’s what they mean:

U: Ultra Low Power. The U rating is only for laptop processors. These draw less power and

are better for the battery.

Y: Low Power. Typically found on older generation laptop and mobile processors.

T: Power Optimized for desktop processors.

Q: Quad-Core. The Q rating is only for processors with four physical cores.

H: High-Performance Graphics. The chipset has one of Intel’s better graphics units in it.

G: Includes Discrete Graphics. Typically found on laptops, this means there is a dedicated

GPU with the processor.

K: Unlocked. This means you can overclock the processor above its rating. (Patkar, 2018)

According to (Patkar, 2018), generally speaking, here’s who each processor type is best for:
25
 • Intel Core i3: Basic users. Economic choice. Good for browsing the web, using

Microsoft Office, making video calls, and social networking. Not for gamers or

professionals.

• Intel Core i5: Intermediate users. Those who want balance between performance

and price. Good for gaming if you buy a G processor or a Q processor with a

dedicated graphics processor.

• Intel Core i7: Power users. You multi-task with several windows open at the same

time, you run apps that require a lot of horsepower, and you hate waiting for anything

to load.

Intel also has a top-end, high-performance range of processors called the Intel Core i9. Typically,

these have more cores (10 to 18 on desktop), leading to higher speed. But for most people, the

extra performance is not really worth it. (Patkar, 2018)

The Core i9 is only useful if you’re a hardcore gamer who also streams live, or a video editor

working on multiple tasks. For everyone else, the Intel Core i7 should be good enough, and

maybe even the Intel Core i5.

2.5.2 Random Access Memory (RAM)

According to (Wikipedia, 2020), most laptops use SO-DIMM (small outline dual in-line memory

module) memory modules, as they are about half the size of desktop DIMMs, as shown in Figure

2.11. They are sometimes accessible from the bottom of the laptop for ease of upgrading, or

placed in locations not intended for user replacement.

26
Figure 2. 11: A RAM stick/module.

Most laptops have two memory slots, although some of the lowest-end models will have only

one, and some high-end models (usually mobile engineering workstations and a few high-end

models intended for gaming) have four slots. Most mid-range laptops are factory equipped with

4-8 GB of RAM. with higher-end laptops containing 16 GB of RAM or more. (Wikipedia, 2020)

Netbooks are commonly equipped with only 1–2 GB of RAM and are generally only expandable

to 2 GB, if at all. Laptops may have memory soldered to the motherboard to conserve space,

which allows the laptop to have a thinner chassis design. Soldered memory cannot be easily

upgraded. (Wikipedia, 2020)

2.5.3 Internal Storage

Traditionally, laptops had a hard disk drive (HDD) as a main non-volatile storage, as shown in

figure 2.12, but these proved inefficient for use in mobile devices due to high power

consumption, heat production, and a presence of moving parts, which can cause damage to both

27
the drive itself and the data stored when a laptop is unstable physically, e.g. during its use while

transporting it or after its accidental drop.

Figure 2. 12: A Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

With the advent of flash memory technology, most mid- to high-end laptops opted for more

compact, power efficient, and fast solid-state drives (SSD), seen in figure 2.13, which eliminated

the hazard of drive and data corruption caused by a laptop's physical impacts. (Edwards, 2012)

Figure 2. 13: A Solid-State Drive (SSD)

2.5.4 Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)

According to (Wikipedia, 2020), on most laptops, a graphical processing unit (GPU) is

integrated/embedded into the CPU to conserve power and space. This was introduced by Intel
28
with the Core I-series of mobile processors in 2010, and similar accelerated processing unit

(APU) processors by AMD later that year. Prior to that, lower-end machines tended to use

graphics processors integrated into the system chipset, while higher end machines had a separate

graphics processor. In the past, laptops lacking a separate graphics processor were limited in

their utility for gaming and professional applications involving 3D graphics, but the capabilities

of CPU-integrated graphics have converged with the low-end of dedicated graphics processors in

the past few years.

Figure 2. 14: An AMD GPU.

Figure 2. 15: A NVIDIA GTX 1160 GPU

Higher-end laptops intended for gaming or professional 3D work still come with dedicated, and

in some cases even dual, graphics processors on the motherboard or as an internal expansion

card. Since 2011, these almost always involve switchable graphics so that when there is no

29
demand for the higher performance dedicated graphics processor, the more power-efficient

integrated graphics processor will be used. Nvidia Geforce, GTX and RTX as well as AMD

Radeon are examples of this sort of system of switchable graphics. (Wikipedia, 2020)

Prime examples of an AMD and Nvidia switchable graphics processor are shown above in

figures 2.14 and 2.15 respectively.

2.5.5 Battery Life

After the laptop has gone through a full single charge and the power adapter is unplugged, the

average life of a laptop battery can be anywhere between one and six hours. This time is

dependent on the battery, its capacity (mAH). A standard laptop battery is shown is figure 2.16

below. What's being done on the laptop, and how old the battery is. Over time, the laptop

battery's capacity decreases, which means the battery will not last as long as it did when you first

got the laptop and will continue to decrease over time. A laptop computer battery should last

between two and four years, or around 1,000 full charges. (Computer Hope, 2018)

30
Figure 2. 16: A Laptop battery.

2.5.6 The User

With the basics of the laptop covered, we’ll be proceeding to more specialized details of what

laptops are suitable use by students. The students will be divided into two, namely:

• The Everyday User

• The Professionals

2.5.6.1 The Everyday User

The average student (in departments excluding Computer Science, Engineering and

Architecture), makes use of the computer system primarily for light to medium weight activities.

These activities range from research, listening to audio files, watching video content, internet

stream, typing documents etc. the desired laptop, is one which is fast with snappy responses,

reliable and very affordable, light and portable with a great battery life. A student possessing a

laptop possessing these basic features sees an increase in productivity when compared to another

student possessing a laptop not offering these functions.

The laptop should possess the following specifications at the very least:

• Processor – Intel Core i3, 4th generation and above

• RAM – 4GB

• Storage – 500GB HDD or equivalent SSD

• Battery life - 4 hours minimum

A laptop computer possessing the above specification will cause no issues in the long run unless

the user wishes to increase his/her workload.

31
2.5.6.2 The Professional

The ‘professional’ refer to the category of students who make use of specialized software to

perform various tasks. These software are demanding and require a lot of resources to run. The

laptop could be used for content creation (audio, video, image production), programming,

hosting remote servers, gaming, simulations, designs, etc. These laptops are expensive to use,

require proper maintenance and can be used for a variety of tasks. Furthermore, they can be used

for a long period of time before they can be considered outdated.

The laptop should possess the following specifications at the very least:

• Intel Core i5 (Latest Generation or Above)

• Minimum RAM: 8GB RAM, Recommended 16GB (If you multi-task)

• Avoid buying a laptop that doesn’t come with SSD.

• Minimum Storage: 500GB

• Display: 13-inch for people who prefer small screens, 15.6-inch for everyone.

• GPU: Integrated Graphics Card for non-gamers.

• For people who want to game, consider buying the one which comes with the NVIDIA

graphics card which is compatible with your game.

• Battery Life: The higher the better, but 5hrs of backup should be suffice. If using the

machine for gaming, get the one which comes with at least 6hrs+ backup. The reason for

this is that powerful processors and GPUs need more resource in terms of power used,

hence, a standard 4-hour battery would not suffice.

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 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND METHOD OF SOLUTION

The problem to be solved is the issue of selecting a laptop computer for personal, office or

professional use, using Joseph Ayo Babalola University as a case study. I made use of the

quantitative method, i.e. the use of questionnaire alongside numerical measurement. We looked

at the number of people that are associated with the issue of laptop selection.

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of

gathering data. Questionnaires can be thought of as a kind of written interview. They can be

carried out face to face, by telephone, computer or post.

Questionnaires provide a relatively cheap, quick and efficient way of obtaining large amounts of

information from a large sample of people. Data can be collected relatively quickly because the

researcher would not need to be present when the questionnaires were completed. This is useful

for large populations when interviews would be impractical.

However, a problem with questionnaire is that respondents may lie due to social desirability.

Most people want to present a positive self-image and so may lie or bend the truth to look good,

Questionnaires can be an effective means of measuring the behaviour, attitudes, preferences,

opinions and, intentions of relatively large numbers of subjects more cheaply and quickly than

other methods. An important distinction is between open-ended and closed questions.

Questionnaires come in two forms, closed and open. For the sake of this study, we’ll be making

use of the Closed Questions. Closed questions structure the answer by only allowing responses

which fit into pre-decided categories.

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Data that can be placed into a category is called nominal data. The category can be restricted to

as few as two options, i.e., dichotomous (e.g., 'yes' or 'no,' 'male' or 'female'), or include quite

complex lists of alternatives from which the respondent can choose (e.g., polytomous). The

polytomous category was selected for the purpose of this study. Polytomous gives a wider range

of possible answers from which the respondents can make a choice, and if their choice isn’t

mentioned there’s the ‘other’ option that allows the respondent to add their input.

Closed questions can also provide ordinal data (which can be ranked). This often involves using

a continuous rating scale to measure the strength of attitudes or emotions. For example, strongly

agree / agree / neutral / disagree / strongly disagree / unable to answer.

Strengths of Closed Questions

• They can be economical. This means they can provide large amounts of research data for

relatively low costs. Therefore, a large sample size can be obtained which should be

representative of the population, which a researcher can then generalize from.

• The respondent provides information which can be easily converted into quantitative data

(e.g., count the number of 'yes' or 'no' answers), allowing statistical analysis of the

responses.

The questions are standardized. All respondents are asked exactly the same questions in the same

order. This means a questionnaire can be replicated easily to check for reliability

Limitations of Closed Questions

• They lack detail. Because the responses are fixed, there is less scope for respondents

to supply answers which reflect their true feelings on a topic.

34
The questionnaire which consisted of multiple-choice questions was distributed with the aid of

Google Forms, which is a tool for creating surveys and collecting data. This was the preferred

method of distribution at the time, it was chosen due to the influence of the Corona Virus

pandemic which restricted movement and interaction. The questionnaire data was then subjected

to frequency & descriptive analysis, which aided in the formulation of a suitable conclusion.

3.2 THE SOLUTION METHOD

The solution method is shown in figure 3.1

3.2.1 Collection of data

Data collection was achieved through the use of questions that were distributed via Google

Forms. At the time when this project work was been carried out, a nation-wide lockdown was in

effect which restricted the use of manual methods of questionnaire distribution and retrieval; this

prompted the use of computerized methods. Forms created with Google forms can be distributed

in three different ways, via email, link or html. I made use of a shareable link, the set target was

to have 40 respondents, google forms shows the number of respondents that have participated in

the survey. The number of respondents was closely monitored as soon as the target number was

reached, the accept responses option was disabled which prevented further entries.

3.2.2 Steps in analyzing data

Upon retrieval of questionnaire, the response to each question was given a numerical value to act

as a placeholder (the data was coded in the variable view). The questions and corresponding

answer in terms of numerical value then served as input to the SPSS data analysis tool. Although
35
SPSS was used to analyze the questionnaire data, Google forms can do the same. It should be

known that either can be used for analysis, but due to the circumstances I find myself, with the

COVID 19 pandemic restricting movement and discouraging the use of manual questionnaire

distribution, I had to make use of Google Forms. If a future study is to be performed under better

circumstances, questionnaires maybe be distributed by hand and a data analysis tool would be

needed. Making use of SPSS in this study, shows that google forms and its built-in analysis

function isn’t the only possible approach, hand distributed questionnaires and SPSS can be

considered.

After data input, frequency and descriptive analysis was then performed. SPSS has an in-built

frequency analysis function that computes the inputs to derive the output, and then presents the

output in tabular form as well as its graphical form from which conclusions were drawn.

3.2.3 Deriving Result

The result obtained after data analysis was then used to derive a conclusion. Each question was

answered by 40 respondents, with each respondent picking an option from each question. The

data analysis software takes in the data and in the course of processing, notes the number of

respondents that selected each option, SPSS then presents its findings on a table and a pre-

selected graph i.e. bar graph, pie chart or histogram.

36
3.2.4 Flowchart of the method

Data Data Result

Collection Analysis Derivation

Figure 3.1: Flowchart of the research method

3.3 Justification for Using Frequency Analysis

(Tampi et al, 2016) made use of the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) to accomplish their

study titled, “Consumer Decision Making In Selecting Laptop Using Analytical Hierarchy

Process (AHP)”. According to (Taylor, 2013) the AHP, develop by Thomas Saaty, is a method

for ranking decision alternatives and selecting the best one given multiple criterion. The AHP

generates a weight for each evaluation criterion according to the decision maker’s pairwise

comparisons of the criteria. AHP combines the criteria weights and the options scores, thus

determining a global score for each option, and a consequent ranking.

While this method of analysis provided the desired results, it couldn’t be employed for my

project work primarily due to its sophisticated nature. AHP requires a higher level of

mathematics and is based on the concept of eigen vectors, while there are tools that can automate

this process, a solid foundation n advanced mathematics is required. Therefore, I made use of

frequency analysis as it is more direct and standard approach. Though this approach is not the

37
best, but because this method is cost effective and relatively less time consuming, I decided to

use this approach.

3.4 Technological Resources

• Google forms- Provided a platform to host the questions as well as an avenue for

respondents to provide input and store responses. It could also be replaced with

manually distributed questionnaires.

• IBM SPSS Statistics- this data analysis software was chosen primarily due to its ease

of use; data entry and organization is relatively easier than STATA or other similar

tools in the hands of a non-professional. Furthermore, it can quickly create charts

which can be exported into different file formats

38
 CHAPTER FOUR

IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULTS

4.1 Introduction

The collected data from respondents on the selection of laptops for various uses are analyzed in

this chapter. From the analysis, the output of results is produced in form of tables and charts. The

obtained results were also discussed in this chapter.

Figure 4. 1: The Google form

Google forms served as a platform for hosting and distribution of questionnaire as well as

collecting and storing responses as seen from the response tab in figure 4.1
39
4.2 System Requirements

4.2.1 Hardware Requirement

I made use of IBM SPSS Version 25 with a newest existing version being version 26. According

to (The University of Rhode Island, 2020), the minimum and recommended hardware

requirements are:

Processor: Intel or AMD 32- or 64-bit running at 1.6GHz or higher

Memory: 4 GB RAM and above

Minimum free drive space: 2GB.

4.2.2 Software Requirements

IBM SPSS 25 works on Windows 10 (32-bit or 64-bit versions), and Windows 7, 8 & 8.1 (32-bit

or 64-bit versions)

40
4.3 Discussion of the Input Used.

The input to the SPSS software is primarily in figures, each multiple-choice answer was

coded/transformed into its equivalent numerical form with the first option being ‘1’, the second

being ‘2’ and so on.

Data was collected by means of administering a questionnaire via shared links to different

people.

Table 4. 1: The Analysis of Questionnaire administered.

S/N Particulars Description

1. Title An analytical approach to selecting a laptop computer

for personal, office or professional use, using Joseph

Ayo Babalola University as a case study.

2. Sample size 40

3. Sample unit Students

4. Sampling procedure Random sampling

5. Research design Descriptive

6. Research instrument Online Questionnaire

The data to be analyzed was coded into SPSS via the variable view as seen in figure 4.2.

41
Figure 4. 2: SPSS variable view

42
Figure 4. 3: Data entry for each response

Each respondent data was then served as input to the program, each number corresponds to an

option for the various questions in the questionnaire as observed in figure 4.3.

4.4 Data Analysis and Interpretation

➢ Do you own a laptop?

Table 4. 2: Percentage of Students that Own a Laptop

S/N OPTIONS NO OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGES

1 Yes 36 90%

2 No 4 10%

3 Total 40 100%

Figure 4. 4: Percentage of Students that Own a Laptop

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 90% of the students have laptop and 10% do not

have laptops.

43
 ➢ If yes, which brand is it?

Table 4. 3: Percentage of Students that use Different Brands of Laptops

S/N OPTIONS NO. OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS

1 Hp 13 36.1%

2 Dell 5 13.9%

3 Apple 8 22.2%

4 Lenovo 6 16.7%

5 Other 4 11.1%

6 Total 36 100%

Figure 4. 5: Percentage of students that use different brands of laptops

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 36.1% of students have Hp, 13.9% of students have

Dell, 22.2% of students have Apple, 16.7% of students have Lenovo and the remaining 11.1%

have either Sony, Acer Toshiba or Compaq.

44
 ➢ Would you rather buy a laptop from a known brand than an unknown brand having

similar specifications?

Table 4. 4: Percentage of Students that prefer Known or Unknown laptop brands

S/N OPTIONS NO. OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS

1 Known Brand 38 95%

2 Unknown Brand 2 5%

3 Total 40 100%

Figure 4. 6: Percentage of Students that prefer known or unknown laptop brands

Interpretation: The above table and figure indicates that 95% of students prefer known brands

while 5% prefer unknown brands.

45
 ➢ What is the purpose for which the laptop is purchased?

Table 4. 5: Percentage of Students that Consider the purpose for which a Laptop is

Purchased

S/N OPTIONS NO. OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS

1 Personal 35 87.5%

2 Work 5 12.5%

3 Total 40 100%

Figure 4. 7: Percentage of Students that Consider the Purpose for which a Laptop is

Purchased

Interpretation: The above table and figure indicates that 87.5% of students purchase their laptops

for personal use while 12.5% of students purchase theirs for work.

46
 ➢ What feature do you find the most attractive in a laptop?

Table 4. 6: Percentage of Students that prefer certain Features in a Laptop

S/N OPTIONS NO. OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS

1 Great Display 1 2.5%

2 Large Memory (RAM 10 25.0%

and ROM)

3 Long-lasting Battery 14 35.0%

4 Powerful Processing 15 37.5%

power (CPU and GPU)

5 Total 40 100%

Figure 4. 8: Percentage of Students that Prefer Certain Features in a Laptop

Interpretation: As indicated in the table and figure above, 2.5% of students prefer laptops with a

great display, 25% of students prefer laptops that have a large memory (RAM and ROM), 35%

of students 37.5%

47
 ➢ What attribute do you consider while purchasing a laptop?

Table 4. 7: Percentage of Students that Consider certain Attributes while Purchasing a

Laptop

S/N OPTIONS NO. OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS

1 Brand 4 10.0%

2 Design 1 2.5%

3 Features (number of 6 15.0%

ports, screen size, etc.)

4 Performance 23 57.5%

5 Price 6 15.0%

6 Total 40 100%

Figure 4. 9: Percentage of Students that Consider Certain Attributes while Purchasing a

Laptop

Interpretation: As indicated in the table and figure above, 10% of students consider brand, 2.5%

of students consider design, 15% of students consider features (number of ports, screen size,
48
etc.), 57.5% of students consider performance and 15% of students consider price while

purchasing a laptop.

➢ What price range would you consider while purchasing a laptop?

Table 4. 8: Percentage of Students that Consider a Certain Price Range while Purchasing a

Laptop

S/N OPTIONS NO. OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS

1 30,000 – 60,000 6 15.0%

2 60,000 – 100,000 12 30.0%

3 100,000 – 200,000 14 35.0%

4 Above 200,000 8 20.0%

5 Total 40 100%

Figure 4. 10: Percentage of Students that Consider a Certain Price Range while Purchasing

a Laptop

Interpretation: As indicated in the table and figure above, 15% of students consider a price of

30,000 – 60,000, 30% of students consider a price of 60,000 – 100,000, 35% of students consider
49
a price of 100,000 – 200,000 and 20% of students consider a price above 200,000 when

purchasing a laptop

4.5 Discussion of the Output Obtained

A student looking to buy a laptop for home personal or office use, should consider a number of

factors, namely:

• Price or Budget. From Table 4.8, the ideal price range considered during the purchase of

a laptop computer is between 60,000 and 200,000 where both prices represent the two

ends of the spectrum

• Performance. Table 4.7 shows that 57.5% of students value performance above other

criteria and 37.5% from figure 4.6 value powerful processing power, it bears mentioning

that performance and price share a directly proportional relationship i.e. the higher the

performance, the higher the price and vice versa.

• Features. Table 4.7 also shows that 15% of respondents place value on the aesthetics and

I/O features of a laptop.

Having a budget has always been a crucial first step in the purchase of any commodity. A budget

for a 75k laptop will not miraculously increase to suite a 150k laptop. When that price range has

been decided upon the next factor to consider ought to be the performance but can be

interchanged with features depending on one’s course of study. The price of a laptop differs

depending on the retailer or store from which inquiry is made, so also the prices of online stores

e.g. Jumia, Konga, etc. the most reliable or accurate price can be determined from the

manufacturers website, although the prices are usually in US Dollars or British Pound, a quick

50
conversion will give its Naira equivalent. This serves as a baseline from which the optimal price

is determined.

Disciplines requiring substantial computational power such as engineering and sciences will

focus more on the type of processor, processing speed, RAM size and RAM speed. Disciplines

belonging to the Arts will focus more on features. As a rule of thumb powerful laptops are

generally heavy and aren’t suited for use on the go except for a select few that are designed to be

light and powerful. The focus for art students will be entry to mid-level performance in a light

chassis.

The results obtained in the analyses shows that students consider the laptop brand to be an

important factor in selecting a laptop, with 36% of respondents selecting HP and 95% of

respondents preferring known brands, though there exist brands that are provide near equal or

equal performance to popular brands at a lower cost. A majority of respondents outlined

performance as a vital attribute to watch out for in the laptop selection process. Performance

shares a directly proportional relationship with price. In that, the higher performance, the higher

the price and vice versa.

4.6 Making Use of the Survey

This survey can be used in any study that makes use of computers, it can be appropriated to

determine the value of computers to a student or selected course of study. It can also be used to

determine the feasibility of using a software, its minimum requirements and real-life effects on a

laptop computer. The use of this survey isn’t limited to the afore mentioned, this study can be

adopted for use as to why a number of students fail courses e.g. programming, certain

51
programming software and packages are demanding, software like Microsoft Visual Studio

cannot be run on any low tier laptop.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusion

A student looking to buy a laptop computer would need sufficient knowledge as is the case with

any smart device in the 21st century. This knowledge comes by understanding and research into

the market trend as well as the core components and functionalities. Proper research demands a

degree of interest as well as the willingness to learn.

For the non-research inclined students, a general overview of the core components of a laptop

computer is sufficient. The knowledge of processor type and speed, RAM size, storage capacity

and battery life will guide in the process of selection. For students whose course of study deals

with specialized software, an accurate way of selecting a laptop is from the software developer’s

minimum system requirement, this has been seen to eliminate the need for research and becomes

a matter of the price of the laptop.

Another important factor is the price, an Intel core i3 laptop with 4GB RAM was priced at

N75,000 in the year 2013 but there has been a significant increase in price in 2020, with an Intel

core i3, 4GB RAM and 500GB of storage going for N150,000 and an Intel core i3, 8GB RAM

and 1TB of storage going for N200,000. An Intel core i7 and the Nvidia GTX 1050 reaching

prices of N450,000 in 2020, while a laptop with equivalent performance standard going for half

the price in 2013, it is no wonder that Intel Pentium laptops are the go-to options for a student

laptop. The key reason for this increase in price is the rise in exchange rates or the devalue of the

Nigerian Naira.

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 To sum it up, this project clarifies the key elements of a laptop computer and what

students consider to be the key components, price range and preferred brand, which is in line

with the stated objectives of the study. This project highlights the performance and the price of

laptops as the major factors considered during the selection of a laptop for personal, office or

professional use.

5.2 Recommendation

After my research and the finalization of this project, I highly recommend that students develop a

proper attitude towards the research of their needs no matter how small, as neglect can lead to

waste and mismanagement of resources. A good laptop computer is similar to a good pair of

shoes in the sense that it is of great value even after a certain period of time.

With adequate knowledge, a number of such problems shall be forgotten, I therefore recommend

that the students should put the products of their research into practice to phase out some of the

problems they go through during laptop selection. Although a laptop is for the sake of

convenience, among other factors, if the laptop doesn’t fulfil students’ needs, it is a bad

investment.

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 APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Do you own a laptop?

 Yes

 No

2. If yes, which brand is it?

 Hp

 Dell

 Apple

 Lenovo

 Acer

 Toshiba

 Sony

 Others, specify___________________

3. Would you rather buy a laptop from a known brand than an unknown brand having

similar specifications?

 Known Brand

 Unknown Brand

4. What is the purpose for purchasing a laptop?

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 Personal

 Work

5. What feature do you find most attractive in a laptop?

 Great Display

 Long-lasting Battery

 Large memory (RAM and ROM)

 Powerful Processing power (CPU and GPU)

6. What attribute do you consider while purchasing a laptop?

 Brand

 Design

 Price

 Performance

 Features (number of ports, Screen size, etc)

7. What price range would you consider while purchasing a laptop

 30,000 – 60,000

 60,000 – 100,000

 100,000 – 200,000

 Above 200,000

60