researcher also took some notes at the same time. This instrument helped in achieving the third objective of the study in that the researcher was able to get
the perceptions of tour guide firms‟ managers on the ESP course offered to tour
guides.
3.7 Data Analysis and Presentation
Qualitative and quantitative data was obtained through the instruments of data collection adopted in the study.
The statistical analysis of questionnaires was carried out using SPSS version 17.0 and then the percentages and frequencies of the target and language
learning needs with the goal of comparing the perceptions of students, teachers and employers. First, data obtained from students through a questionnaire was
analysed by getting the means and percentages of the importance attached to various tasks as outlined in the questionnaire see appendix A. The analysis
was based on the various tasks that fall under the four language skills just as Zhu and Flaitz 2005 stated that studies focussing on target needs by the
approach of task analysis have provided useful information about the academic tasks students are expected to perform and the materials they must work with.
This helped in achieving the first objective of the study. Second, data obtained from teachers through the use of a questionnaire see appendix B was also
analysed by getting the means, standard deviation scores and percentages attached to the various tasks and hence the second objective of the study was
realised. Third, data obtained from tour guiding firms‟ managers was
transcribed and then interpreted. Descriptive analysis which included
segmentation of data to establish the needs of Tour Guide students with regard to their perceptions, and those of teachers and prospective employers was also
done. Data was presented using tables.
3.8 Ethical Considerations
It is generally agreed that research involving human participants must meet basic ethical standards. In view of this, research ethics is crucial in any
research. Ethics can be defined as the norms of conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Therefore, a researcher should
strive to uphold acceptable behaviour in the course of research. According to McNabb 2004 as cited in Nthiga, 2010, research ethics should apply at four
stages of research, that is, the planning stage, data gathering stage, the processing and interpretation of data stage and the dissemination of the
research results stage.
Only participants who know why they are volunteering to participate in the research should be selected. This should be based on the principle of voluntary
participation which requires that people should not be coerced into participating in research but should instead do so through informed consent.
The requirement of informed consent requires that the prospective research participants must be fully informed about the procedures and risks involved in
a particular research. Equally, honesty should be maintained when observing behaviour and conducting interviews. In addition, ethical standards require
honesty in the interpretations made from the data and any conclusions made should emanate from the data.
Finally, the researcher must minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy and autonomy of the participants. This indicates
that the researcher must ensure that respondents are fully informed of the intention of the study and they be assured that any information provided is not
used against them. The researcher in the present study upheld all the aforementioned ethical
considerations by ensuring that the respondents gave their oral consent as acceptance to take part in the study; maintained high standards of honesty in
the stages of planning, data gathering, processing, interpretation and dissemination of research results; respected human dignity, privacy and
autonomy of the respondents. To sum up, this chapter has presented the methodology adopted in the study
and the subsequent chapter will give the analysis of data, presentation and discussion.
CHAPTER FOUR DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction
