in a key vocational area.
Stake (1995), in discussing the case study approach, commented that a case study can generate data in several ways. Among those ways are observation (including participant observation), analysis of previously published (i.e., secondary) data, interviews, and surveys employing tested or newly designed questionnaires. Often when a research issue is inherently complex, a case study may include more than one of these strategies for collecting data. In the present study, a level of complexity related to both stakeholder groups and to attitudes toward ESP was present. Therefore it was decided that both a survey involving disparate groups of stakeholders and interviews would be employed to gain access to a wealth of data and opinion.
Several discrete groups of stakeholders were included in the study. Among ESP students at PAAET, only final year students were included. A convenience sample was generated by simply mailing copies of the survey instrument (to be discussed below) and a cover letter explaining the objectives of the research and ensuring confidentiality and a stamped, return envelope to all students in the ESP programs at PAAET.
The following listing identifies the number of students potentially able to participate in the study by vocational track along with the number of students who returned a completed questionnaire.
CBS: 150 students, 138 returned questionnaires
CHS: 50 students, 48 returned questionnaires
CBE: 50 students, 40 returned questionnaires
CTS: 50 students, 44 returned questionnaires
As Cohen and Manion (1989) have pointed out, the goal was to collect information from a smaller group or subset of the population in such a way that the knowledge gained is representative of the total population under study. For this reason, only final year PAAET students were selected for participation in the study.
A second grou...