CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHOD
This chapter will discuss the research methodology that will be used in the study.
Particularly, this part will contain a description of the research method, population, the
instruments to be use, the procedure to be use in the data gathering, and the statistical
treatment of data.
Method of Research
The study applied the descriptive approach. Survey-Questionnaire is the main
instrument in data gathering. The Cooperatives members were the immediate
respondents of the study since they directly oversee the operation of the study since
they directly oversee the operation of the Cooperative. As cited by Mamaril (2013), a
descriptive research method describes and interprets the what is. It reveals conditions
and relationships that exists, practices that prevail, beliefs or points of view or attitudes
that are held, processes that are going on or otherwise, effects that are being felt, or
trends that are developing and the descriptive research attempts to interpret the present.
Population of the Study
This study was limited to the members of multi-purpose cooperatives in the City
of Caloocan, Valenzuela and Pasay. The distribution of the respondents were as follows:
Table 1
Population
COOPERATIVES
Caloocan Multi-purpose Cooperative
Valenzuela Multi-purpose Cooperative 1
Valenzuela Multi-purpose Cooperative 2
Pasay Multi-purpose Cooperative 1
Pasay Multi-purpose Cooperative 2
Pasay Multi-purpose Cooperative 3
TOTAL

SURVEYED MEMBERS
8
6
4
9
8
9
44

Description of Respondents
The respondents of the study were the members of the cooperative. The
respondents were classified as the General Assembly, the Board of Directors, the
Committees, the General Managers, and the group of Other members which includes
the position such as, Chairperson, Secretary, Treasury, etc., who are the highest
contributors and decision makers in terms of the internal policies and procedures of the
cooperative. They are the ones responsible for the implementation of the internal control
practices of the cooperative for the sustainable development of the organization.
Sampling Technique
Purposive sampling was used since the selected respondents are believed,
based on prior information, provide the data needed. Purposive Sampling (Sendaydiego,
2014) is a non-scientific sampling based on selecting individuals as samples according
to the purposes of the researchers as their controls. Moreover, an individual is selected
as part of the samples due to good evidence that he is a representative of the total
population.
Research Instrument
Data for the research undertaking were obtained through the use of
questionnaires or survey forms which were distributed by the researchers personally to
the respondents.
The instructions were indicated at the beginning of the questionnaire. The
content of the questionnaire were grouped into three categories. First, the respondents
profile which include name, age, gender, position and length of service in the
cooperative. Second, the cooperatives perspective which includes kind of cooperative,
number of years in operation, number of members, total members share capital, and the
most current total assets and net surplus. Third, the perceived level of assertion as to

the internal control practices inside the cooperative in terms of effectiveness and
efficiency of operations, reliability of financial reporting, and the compliance with the
Philippine Cooperative Code. Lastly, the problems encountered by the cooperative
regarding its internal control and the possible solutions to the problems presented will be
rated by the said respondents. After the questionnaires have been filled out, these were
collected, tallied, tabulated and interpreted.
The Likert SPT Scale was used to shed light on the assertion of the cooperative
members on the existing internal control systems in the cooperative.
Data Gathering Procedure
The researchers prepared a letter to the cooperatives to conduct a study relating
to the Assertion of the Cooperatives Internal Control and their policies and procedures
as perceived by the members of the Cooperative. And through this, they would
recommend alternative courses of actions on how this can be improved to lessen
problems encountered. The researches expect a favorable consideration from the
management for granting permission to continue and go on with this study. The data will
follow then.
Statistical Treatment of Data
In the analysis of data that will be collated, the following statistical technique and
procedure were used. This method determined the distribution of the subject according
to the frequency of responses on the problems that will be presented in this study.
1. Weighted Mean
This will be used to evaluate the assessment of cooperative members to the
Level of Assertion of the Cooperatives Internal Control. The same shall also be used to
evaluate the assessment of the problems encountered by the cooperative and the
solutions the respondents think that the cooperative should do.
WM = (fw) / N

Where: WM = weighted mean

= summation
fw = sum of the products of the frequency and the unit weight
N = total number of respondents
The items were verbally interpreted using the 5PT-Likert Scale method as the
criterion which served as the basis for the interpretation of data. The weighted mean
values and verbal interpretations are:
Table 2
Assertion of Cooperatives Internal Control by its Members
WEIGHT

MEAN VALUE

VERBAL INTERPRETATION

5
4
3
2
1

4.51 5.00
3.51 4.50
2.51 3.50
1.51 2.50
1.00 1.50

Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Neutral
Somewhat Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Table 2 was used in the analysis of the qualitative equivalent of the ratings as
assessed by the respondents on the level of effectiveness of their respective
cooperatives internal control. The same shall be used to analyze the qualitative
equivalent of the ratings as assessed by the respondents on the problems encountered
by the cooperative and the proposed solutions that cooperatives should take to solve the
problem.
2. Percentage
Questionnaires will be tallied and computations will be facilitated through the use
of table of frequency and percentage. The formula to the use is:
P=

( Nn )

Where: P = percentage
n = number of respondents
N = total number of respondents
100 = constant
3. Frequency Distribution

x 100

A frequency distribution is an arrangement of the values that one or more

variables take in a sample. Each entry in the table contains the frequency or count of the
occurrences of values within a particular group or interval, and in this way, the table
summarizes the distribution of values in the sample.