my last chapter...chapter 3.... :-)

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 3.0 CHAPTER DESCRIPTION

This chapter contains the research methodology that will be used by the researcher in order to complete this study.  This chapter will explain in detail about the source of data and the formula that the researcher used in order to gain a result.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This section, all method used to gain understanding and answers to the research objectives, and the research questions. The scope that will be discuss including the research design, sampling and data collection, the instruments used for the research, measurement and scaling, and the procedure in data Malaysia. The general concern of the study is to examine the most factors that can influence student’s satisfaction between lecturers’ motivation and service quality.

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

            For this case study, the researchers decided to apply quantitative method. In this method the researchers applied a survey research. A survey research is more appropriate to use because a lot of data and information from the chosen sample can be gathered by the researchers. Quantitative research methodology is more frequently used by academics in examining the consequences of an event which emphasized more than the size of the descriptive interpretation (Zamalia, 2011).

3.3 POPULATION AND SAMPLE

            The population for this case study is the undergraduate students from final semester who are studying in Faculty of Business Management, Uitm Shah Alam. The sample that has been selected for being the respondents is 98 undergraduate students were randomly selected to answer the questionnaires given. The totals of programs involved for this study were Economic, Finance, Operation Management, Marketing and Retail. The questionnaire was used to identify the objectives of this study where it would like to examine the factors that affect student’s satisfaction among undergraduate students in Faculty of Business Management, Uitm Shah Alam.

3.4 INSTRUMENTS

            The instruments used were questionnaires adopted and adapted from the survey done by Tang Swee Mei and Lim Kong Teong (2002). For this study, the use of questionnaire method includes many samples and it is a low cost method which led to comparisons that has resulted in more detailed and high degree of objectivity (Sackman, 1991). The administered instrument consists of three variables; motivation, quality service and students satisfaction and consist of five items each. The questionnaire completed were anonymous and did not contain any identifying data accept for the demographic profile.

3.5 DATA COLLECTION & DATA ANALYSIS

            In order to answer the research questions, the study has employed Statistic Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 20 Amos. The questionnaire consists of two sections. The first section consists of demographic profile which is: gender, year of study, and academic level. While the second section consists of likert scale score which starts with 1 as “Strongly Disagree”, 2 as “Disagree”, 3 as “Neutral”, 4 as “Agree”   and 5 as “Strongly Agree”. These scales then were converted into ordinal scored to be computed. By using SPSS, the data was analyzed through the means of a Pearson Correlation. This is due to its ability to convey the relation between two variables (Chua, 2010).

            The purpose for this study is to identify the level of satisfaction among undergraduate students in UITM Shah Alam. The specific objective of the study is to investigate the most factors that affect student’s satisfaction among undergraduate students in UITM Shah Alam.

3.6 METHODOLOGY

3.6.1 VARIABLE

3.6.1.1 DEPENDENT VARIABLE

The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest to this research.  The dependent variable in this study is student satisfaction in Uitm Shah Alam.  The dependent variable is student satisfaction.

3.6.1.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

The independent variable is the one that influence the dependent variable in either a positive or a negative way.  Each unit increase, the effect is whether an increase or a decrease in the dependent variable.  The independent variables for student satisfaction are quality service and motivation.

3.7 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

Mostly, there are two types of data collection method which are primary and secondary data.  However, this study only focuses on primary data.  The primary data is the data that have been collected by interviewing and conducting questionnaire.  The primary data is used in this study to determine the factors that influence the student satisfaction either it good or not.  This primary data is relevant in this study because it provides a basis for comparison for the data that is collected by various sources besides its helps to improve the understanding of the problem.

3.7.1 PROCEDURE OF DATA ANALYSIS

The raw data is obtained from the primary data that had gone through preliminary preparation by analyzing using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).  The researcher has gone through several data preparation to ensure the data gathered are reliable and related with the topic being studied.

3.7.2 REGRESSION ANALYSIS

3.7.2.1 MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS

A multiple regression analysis is a statistical model which used to predict the variable in the dependent variable by regressing two or more independent variable.  It is a statistical model that will evaluate and analyze the relationship between the dependent variable and two or more independent variable.

3.7.2.2 DATA AND SOURCES

In this project, the usage of primary data was very effective due to the availability of the data as compared to the secondary data.  All the data was collected by conducting a questionnaire.

salam....haii...this is my second chapter for my proposal...sory for being late..   :-)

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter addresses on the literature review needed to support the study, particularly in the developing the conceptual framework, the theoretical framework and also to look into previous studies related to the area of this study.  According to Uma Sekaran (Sekaran, 2007) literature review is the documentation of a comprehensive view of the published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data in the area of special interest to the researcher.  In this chapter, prior studies on factors that influence the level of student’s satisfaction are discussed.  Literature reviews are dividing into several parts.  First part focused on the study between student satisfaction and quality service.  Second part shows the relationship between student satisfaction and motivation. 

2.1 STUDENT SATISFACTION

Nek Kamal, Salomawati and Ahmad Zainal (2010) had conducted a research to investigate the relationship between motivation, empowerments, service quality and Polytechnic students’ level of satisfaction in Malaysia. Based on the questionnaire they distributed, it was found that the students gave the lowest rating to the items pertaining to quality service and thought that the lecturers were not always available and accessible to provide guidance out of lecture hour. The researcher argued that the lecturer shall be given more opportunity to conduct a clear consultation through e-mail or by appointment. This will increase student’s satisfaction in learning experience and at the same time would strengthen the bond between these two parties so that the lecturers would be more motivated to meet them out of the lecture hours.

Ainon and Peng (2006) in their research found that Unitar’s student satisfaction as a private intuition really depending on the service quality that includes facilities, management as well as teaching and learning. The students were satisfied and comfortable in using English as the medium of course content which was successfully implanted by the lecturers. This study had successfully showed the fact that the students’ satisfaction is affected by the ability of a lecturer to conduct a class professionally.

Since customer satisfaction has been considered to be based on the customer’s experience on a particular service encounter, (Cronin & Taylor, 1992) it is in line with the fact that service quality is a determinant of customer satisfaction, because service quality comes from outcome of the services from service providers in organizations.

2.2 QUALITY SERVICE

Definition of quality revolves around the idea that quality has to be judged on the assessment of the user or consumer of the service. The construct of quality as conceptualized in the services literature is based on the perceived quality.

Generally, Service quality refers to the assessment from the customer’s perception towards the services provided. It focuses on how well the services meet the customer’s expectation. According to Mei and Teong (2002), there are four important dimensions in describing education service qualities which are; teaching, assessment, guidance and courses. Teaching requires lecturer to act and practice in a specific ways so that the students would experience the learning and discover their potential. Assessments focus on the survey towards the students on how the perceived their lecturer’s quality. While guidance and courses are pertaining to the syllabus provided by the institution.

On the other hand Russell (2005) reveals that the important goal for higher education institutions is delivering perceived service quality to students. This act can lead to generate much desired additional income for institutions. Also, a valuable source of income is overseas fee-paying students who sometimes can be educated at lower cost.

2.3 MOTIVATION

Motivation refers to reasons that underlie behavior that is characterized by willingness and volition. Intrinsic motivation is animated by personal enjoyment, interest, or pleasure, whereas extrinsic motivation is governed by reinforcement contingencies. Motivation involves a constellation of closely related beliefs, perceptions, values, interests, and actions. Motivation within individuals tends to vary across subject areas, and this domain specificity increases with age.

Motivation is such an important element in improving work productivity, every educational administrator needs to have a firm understanding of how it relates to job satisfaction and reward systems. Yorks (1976) stated that "Motivation" can be defined as those forces within an individual that push or propel him to satisfy basic needs or wants. The level of needs will determine what rewards will satisfy an employee.

According to McShane (2013), motivation is the forces within a person that affect his or her direction, intensity and persistence of voluntary behavior. Motivated employees are willing to exert a particular level of effort (intensity), for a certain amount of time (persistence), towards a particular goal (direction).

2.4 STUDENT SATISFACTION AND QUALITY SERVICE

Oliver, 1997 stated that, customer satisfaction is defined as “the customer’s fulfillment response, it is a judgment that a product 114 or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment”. Consumer satisfaction and service quality continue to attract the attention of researchers and practitioners in a wide variety of disciplines. This is not surprising, since a number of studies have shown a moderate to strong relationship between these constructs and consumer loyalty or repeat purchasing behavior.

Assistant Professor PhD Suleiman AL KHATTAB and Associate Professor PhD FARES FRAIJ as cited as Abu Hasan et al., 2008; Petruzzellis et al, 2006; Arambewela and Hall, (2009) stated that the customer is the foundation of the business and keeps it in existence. A satisfied customer will repeat the purchase of the product or service and convey positive messages about it to another. Besides that, a dissatisfied customer is more likely to switch to an alternative product or service that is provided by another company. A dissatisfied customer may well be negative by word-of-mouth and this could have a serious and damaging effect on the business.

Service quality is increasingly being recognized as of key strategic value by organizations in both the manufacturing and service sectors. The terms of customer service and service quality have become very important in a variety of fields such as industry, academia and government over recent decades, having taken on different meanings through the years.

Suarman (2015) stated that one of the major responsibilities of the staff and lecturers is providing effective service and teaching. The efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning are the priority of every higher learning institution and it is also one of the Government‘s important agendas, which is improving the quality of teaching and learning particularly at the tertiary level of education. Higher learning institutes have to adopt a sustainable culture of providing quality teaching and better learning. Quality teaching and better learning would always refer to appropriate teaching process, fulfilling teaching needs, and having the ability to anticipate clients and stakeholders’ expectations in teaching and learning, the appearance of conducive physical facilities, friendly staff, and great administration services.

2.5 STUDENT SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATION

Satisfaction aspect indicated that students were satisfied with the flexible education system, open class for discussion and non-focus on grade. At the same time, there were some unsatisfied points. There were problems about insufficient communication for international students, about teaching style that lacks of motivation, and about the support from teachers, these are what should be improved in the perspective of the students.

Human motivation works as an internal factor that explains human real needs. Human motivation concept is used in this research in order to support internal factors as it is one of the factors influencing students to study. According to the Maslow’s theory of human motivation (Sochipan Chantasuwanno and Sineenat Suasungnern (2011) as cited as Maslow (1943), he believed that man is a wanting animal and it is difficult that human will meet the stage of complete satisfaction because human need is unlimited. In the theory of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Maslow defined that when human is satisfied in one thing, he will demand to be satisfied in other things continuously. Maslow said that the desires of human have been innate carrying and these desires will normally step up from the basic need to the higher levels.

Choi Sang Long (2014) stated that teaching and learning are two dimensions of the academic world and both depend on lecturers capabilities therefore, an effective lecturer has been conceptualized as one who produces desired outcomes in the course of his duty as a lecturer. Therefore, upon the observed deterioration in the academic accomplishments, attitude and values of students, one curiously wonders if the high failure rates and the poor quality of the students is not a reflection of the teaching quality or lack of lecturer’s competencies.

The studies has shown that the relationship between lecturer competencies and students outcome. They discover that the teaching quality is directly related to the students’ achievement and it is very important for lecturers to develop strong teaching competencies in order to deliver quality teaching. One of the lecturer competencies they specifically mentioned in their study was lectures subject knowledge because without having subject knowledge, the lecturer is unable to comprehend the students with relevant knowledge and skills required for that particular subject. Therefore, the subject knowledge is essentially important for lecturers so that students could meet the desired learning outcome and are satisfied with their learning (Choi Sang Long, Zaiton Ibrahim and Tan Owee Kowang (2014) as cited as Matzler and Woessmann (2010).

Salam....haiii...how's your day today??hee....today i will post my chapter one for my proposal...hee...sorry for being late...just because i am not feeling well.... :-( so, this is my first chapter... :-)

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.0 CHAPTER DESCRIPTION

This first chapter consists of an introduction and background to the study towards the factors that influenced student’s satisfaction.  This chapter also includes the problem statement, objectives of the study.  Besides that, it also briefly discusses the significance of the study and limitations during the process in completing this study.

1.1  BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Higher education has become a vibrant business in Malaysia and it is importance to cultivate the creative and innovative intellectual human capitals that are needed for the future growth of the economy. Today, higher education is no longer the privilege of the wealthy few, but providing opportunities to all qualified students, both locally and internationally. The demand for education will rise as people or parents have higher aspirations for their children’s future.

This study aims to uncover the factors that affect student’s satisfaction in UiTM Shah Alam. Therefore, students from higher education institutions are considered as the main customers to be satisfied and need of valuable educational experiences and marketability. In the other words, the students have the right as a client to receive the service quality provided relying on the fact they are paying for it.

1.2  INTRODUCTION

Students’ satisfaction surveys are important in ascertaining whether colleges and universities are fulfilling their mission. It is well known that the most important product of educational institutions is qualified graduates. In order to best prepare students so that they are sought after by employers upon graduation, an effective curriculum is needed. Students must understand the value of their education and be satisfied with their overall experience in order to promote and support their higher educational institution as a student and as an alumnus.

According to Kotler (2012), Customers usually face a broad array of products and services that might satisfy a given need. In choosing these markets offering, customers form expectation about the value and satisfaction that the offering will give. Satisfied customers will raise the possibility to buy or to tell others about their experiences. Dissatisfied customers often switch to competitors and disparage the product to others.

According to Mei and Teong (2003), customer satisfaction can be measured by after the service had been provided or during on-going after sales activities. In the case of higher education, Mei and Teong stated that students shall be given a set of survey before and after the course sessions of the semester. 

1.3  PROBLEM STATEMENT

A few studies had been done focusing on the how student satisfaction factors affect perceived learning in higher education institution. However, there is still a need for a study that focuses on the factors affecting student’s satisfaction among this type of institution. This is due to the fact that the globalization has taken place in the atmosphere of higher education in Malaysia. The emergence of national and international private universities and colleges has increase the scope of selection made by the students. This is based on the belief of they are paying for the certificate that they will be receiving. In this scenario, the academic staffs are the one to be put under pressure as they are bound to customer-company relationship motto which is “customers always right”. Therefore, institution would face the tendency of higher rate of turn over.  This will eventually affect the performance of the institution.

1.4  RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The purpose for this study is to identify the level of satisfaction among undergraduate students in UITM Shah Alam. The specific objective of the study is to investigate the most factors that affect student’s satisfaction among undergraduate students in UITM Shah Alam.

1.5  RESEARCH QUESTION

Research questions are a statement of the purpose of a study.  Research questions is about what the researcher want to investigate and study besides the questions become a beginning in doing the research and have to be answer in the end of the study. This paper has a several questions that researcher want to find out the answer. The questions include:

i.          What is the level of satisfaction among undergraduate student in UITM, Shah Alam?

ii.         What are the most factors that affect student’s satisfaction among undergraduate students in UITM Shah Alam?

1.6  SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

In the context of public higher education, the students are considered as the main customers to be satisfied. In other words, students’ need of valuable educational experiences and marketability have to be fulfilled. The measurement of student satisfaction can be useful to post-secondary institutions, to help them to pinpoint their strengths and identify areas for improvement. Satisfaction ratings go beyond teaching assessments, which have a narrow focus, to include broader aspects of the student learning experience. To grasp the complexity of that learning experience, it is not enough to know the degree to which students are satisfied, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to student satisfaction.

1.7  LIMITATION OF STUDY

The limitation of this study is small population of samples which are 98 undergraduate students from Faculty of Business Management, UITM, Shah Alam. UITM is a public higher education institution in Malaysia. So the perceptions received are very limited just only among the undergraduate students in that university. Research will be expected to involve a larger sample so that the data obtained can reflect the situation of the most close to the real situation. If time allow good also if researchers involves the entire population. Because the information obtained through the questionnaire is limited, interviews and observation methods should also be used to the purpose of obtaining more detailed data.

1.8  CONCLUSION

In conclusion, every higher education institution must know the factors that can affect student’s satisfaction in learning process. 

Salam everyone....sorry for not updating my blog...hee...actually i have change my topic...that's why i am not updating my post...sorry....so, for my latest topic is to investigate the "FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT’S SATISFACTION IN UITM SHAH ALAM". The reasoned why i choose this topic and change my topic is because there are no much info for my first topic that is about GST or Good and Service tax in Malaysia. it is because, GST is new in Malaysia and have just implemented on 1st April 2015. Therefore, the information about GST is not much as another country that have been implemented GST for a long period.