1. Background of the study
Reading as an interactive process requiring a variety of mental operations must be performed simultaneously or very close in time. When students read, they tend to proceed from the processing of text in a smaller unit conceptual language for the larger units (Perfetti, 1985).
for that this study will discuss the extent to read in school is concerned, the most important thing is for you to realize the different strategies available to you and to use that right in the right situation. This is a bad habit to start reading an academic text by going right to the beginning and continue to read each sentence one by one, searching for each word you do not know in the dictionary. First you need to ensure that the text is something that you want to read! Imagine you want to move to a new home, or you want to buy a new car and you go to see this new house / car to see if you want it. What's the first thing you do? Well, I think the first thing you do is look outside to see if it is what you want. Do you stand back and look from different angles to see if it meets your needs? If it looks OK, then you go inside and begin to investigate carefully. Similarly, academic texts you need to make sure that it is what you want before you go in it - that is, before you start reading it carefully. The 'stand back and look from different angles' is important. This is when you see the title, author, when written (what we sometimes call 'survey' text) and you skim and scan. When you scan the text you are looking through it quickly to find key words or information. After scanning the text you need to know if it has reference to things you want to know. Skimming is a quick look through the text to get a general impression of what it is. You can often do this by just reading the titles and sub-header text, and the first sentence of each paragraph. You can do all this type of reading without using a dictionary! Remember the house - you have not stepped in it yet, you still see from the outside. Survey the text (title, author, date, etc.) and skimming and scanning an academic skills essential reading for you and for native English speakers as well that also need to develop these skills. The trick is to have the confidence to jump through the text's ignore the whole bit. It may seem strange for you to do this. It may even feel like you're cheating! But it is an important element to be ACTIVE readers.
Chapter two
Review of Literature
Skimming and scanning are two techniques that can help readers quickly gain information from a book, magazine, newspaper or website without having to read every word. When used well, both skimming and scanning can save readers time and allow them to study more efficiently.
Part One: Skimming
Skimming
• Readers skim a text when they look it over quickly to get a general idea of the subject-matter. The reader is not interested in all the detail, getting the gist is enough. Skimmers run their eye down the page or screen looking for pointers that sum up the contents. Subheadings or bullet points attract their attention, as do the introductory phrases of paragraphs and the concluding ones. In longer texts, skimmers check the contents lists, the opening and closing paragraphs of chapters, and any introductions, conclusions or summaries.
Skimming Advantages
• Skimming is useful when you have to decide if a long piece of writing is worth close study. If a student with an hour to do some research is presented with 10 textbooks and, there won't be time to read them all. It makes sense to swiftly appraise them and choose the most relevant one. Skimming can also be an effective way of quickly reviewing something that has been read previously, so that the reader can recall the most significant parts. The Reading and Study Skills Lab at Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland, estimates skimming can be done at approximately 1,000 words a minute.
Skimming Disadvantages
• Skimming a book, article or webpage only gives the reader a general idea of its contents. Nuances, vital details and caveats are easily missed. This can produce a confused or misleading impression. Skimming works well when dealing with clear subjects that lend themselves to a general overview, such as a chronological description of an event. Skimming is far less effective in making sense of complex discussions or detailed arguments.
Remind students that “skimming” is used to quickly find the main ideas of a text, and that skimming is often done at a speed three to four times faster than normal critical reading speed. Ask: When might you use skimming? In what situations is it useful? Suggest to students that skimming is useful if they have a great deal of material to read in a short amount of time, or to quickly ascertain whether a text (such as the daily newspaper) merits a closer read.
Review the following skimming strategies with students as you write them on the board:
* Read the first and last paragraphs of an article first.
* Notice the titles and headings and subheadings.
* Look at the illustrations, graphs or other visuals on the page.
* Read the captions of the visuals.
* Read the first sentence of each paragraph.
Once the class is clear on the strategies, each student should skim the front page of The New York Times. Next, have a class discussion about the various stories that caught their attention and why.
The Learning Network’s Daily News Quiz invariably takes most of its material from that day’s printed front page of The Times, though it is possible that not every question is from there. Have students go to today’s quiz and see how many questions they can answer based on their skimming. When the class is finished, students should discuss which skimming strategies were most effective, and then report out to the larger group.
Part Two: Scanning
Scanning
• Readers scan a piece of writing when they quickly search it for specific information. For example, a reader might scan a biography of Abraham Lincoln, looking out only for significant dates. The reader would skip over descriptions of Lincoln's upbringing, his struggles and his achievements, stopping only to note the years. Scanners will make use of a book's index and contents page. When running their eye over the text, they will look out for keywords relevant to their search.
Scanning Advantages
• Scanning allows the reader to efficiently gather information, which may be scattered throughout a long piece of writing. It encourages the reader to research in a purposeful way and avoid distractions. According to Anne Arundel Community College's Reading and Study Skills Lab, scanning can be done at approximately 1,500 words a minute, or even more.
Scanning Disadvantages
• Scanning can be monotonous and the technique is not suited for long periods of study, as it is easy to lose concentration. Although scanning is a good way to quickly gather facts, it is not always thorough and a key fact may be overlooked. The context in which a fact appears may affect its meaning. Without reading the surrounding text, it is easy to misinterpret a fact's true significance.
Remind students that scanning is a technique they already employ, such as when looking up a word in a dictionary or trying to find a specific phrase or number on a printed page. When they are scanning, they move their eyes to find specific words, numbers or phrases.
Begin by asking students to identify differences between skimming and scanning. If it is not mentioned, add the idea that scanning often comes before skimming. For example, scanning can be used to determine if a resource has the information you are looking for. Once the resource is scanned, it can then be skimmed for more detail.
When they are scanning, remind students to look for words in boldface or italics, and to pay attention to details like font (typeface), as well as to numbers.
Introduce a scanning game. For this game, choose three to five vocabulary words and write them on the board. Tell students that they will have a contest to find how many times the word appears on the front page of The New York Times.
Another way to play this game, to work on both scanning and vocabulary, is to have students scan the front page of The New York Times for vocabulary words that they do not know, look them up and record the definition, then have each team challenge another team to find their words. (You may wish you use our New York Times Vocabulary Log handout for this activity.)
Scanning Vs. Skimming?
• It is impossible to say which technique is better, as it depends on the reader's purpose. According to the Advanced Institute of Management Research at Cranfield University, in the United Kingdom, skimming and scanning have their place, but only if you "match your reading strategy to the reading purpose." If you need a general idea of a book's subject-matter, choose skimming. If you need to gather specific information from a newspaper article, choose scanning.
Chapter three
Research method
Methodology
This section presents an overview of the methods to used in the study. Areas covered include theresearch design, population, sample and sampling techniques, data collection and analysis.
Research Design
The study will involve the evaluating the role of Internal Auditors in the good governance of theorganisations in the public sector. Consequently, the research will be designed to achieve theobjectives set out by the researcher.
Population
The public sector of Ghana is the biggest employer of Internal Auditors and involves severalorganisations including Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The public sector alsoincludes Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies MMDAs). The targeted populationfor the study thus includes the following:
1.Chief Directors and Directors of all MDAs.
2.Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers and other staff of MMDAs.
3.Heads and staff of internal Audit Departments (IADs) of MDAs and MMDAs.
Sampling and Sampling Technique
It obvious from the definition of the population above that a census is not feasible in this study.Accordingly, the researcher will adopt the survey type of research in which a sample from the
target population will be used for the study. In total, a sample of 185 elements will be selectedfrom a targeted population of 300. Details of the sample are as follows:
•15 Chief Directors and 30 Directors of MDAs.
•20 Coordinating Directors, 20 Finance Officers and 20 other staff of MMDAs.
•40 Heads of IDAs and 40 Internal Auditors of MDAs and MMDs.
The study will adopt a multistage stratified sampling method to select elements. First, the population will be divided into MDAs and MMDAs. Next, the MDAs will be grouped intoMinistries, Departments and Agencies and the MMDAs into Metropolitan, Municipal andDistricts. This will ensure a fair representation of each group of institutions since their operations are significantly different.
Data Collection
The focus of study is on attitudes and perception and the importance of primary data cannot beover-emphasised. However, secondary data will also be collected to augment the studies.Before the actual data collect the researcher will collect introductory letter from the School of Business of the University of Cape Coast to the sampled institutions. The initial visit to theselected institutions will therefore be to introduce himself, familiarize himself with thoseinstitutions as well as seek their consent for the study.
Data collection instrument
The researcher will collect data by administering a questionnaire. The questionnaire will usestructured questions, consisting of approximately 20 questions divided into three sections ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’. Section ‘A’ will consist of seven questions seeking to answer the first researchquestion. Section ‘B’will consist of six questions covering the second research questionwhereas Section ‘C’ will consist of questions to test the hypothesis and also answer the thirdresearch question.
Sample investigative questions:
Table 1 below provides samples of the investigativequestions.
Table 1:
Sample Investigative Questions
Section
‘A’
Research Questions
•What account for the lowsupport for Internal Audit by public sector managers?
Investigative Questions
•Are you aware of the role of the Internal Auditor in you organisation?
•How important do you think is the role of theInternal Auditor to your organisation?
•In your view, is the Head of Internal Audit placedappropriately on the organisational chart?
‘B’
•What actions are necessary toget the support of management of internalauditing in the public sector?
•
Generally, how will you rank the relevance of Internal Audit in your organisation?
•What reasons account for your answer above?
•What do you consider the three most importantactions needed to promote Internal Auditing inthe public sector?
‘C’
•Is there a link between thequality of service the InternalAuditor provides for hisorganisation and the attitudeof managers towards theInternal Audit function?
•What do you consider to be the highest achieve of your internal audit department?
•Would agree to the statement that one’s perception of the Internal Auditor is influenced by how they perceive his role in the company?
•Will your attitude towards Internal Audit bedifferent if they help you achieve your objectives?
Most of the structured questions will be the close-ended type and respondents willbe asked to mark the appropriate box matching the correct answer. Otherquestions, however, will require respondents to give opinions.
Research proposal – SB/MAC/08/0005
Data Analysis
The responses to the structured close-ended questions will be rated in percentages. The percentage of respondents for each alternative will be given and analysed. The data collectedwill be analysed using the computer software known as Statistical Package for Service Solution(SPSS).
Timescale
June – July 2009:
review of literature
August 2009:
draft literature review
September 2009:
agree research strategy with supervisor
October 2009:
agree formal access to organisations for collection of primary data
November 2009:
compile, pilot and review questionnaire
December 2009 - January 2010:
administer questionnaire
February 2010:
final collection of questionnaire
March 2010:
data analysis
April – May 2010:
final writing of project report.
Limitations
The researcher cannot cover all the ten regions of Ghana. The research will therefore be restricted to fiveout of the ten regions.
3.5 instrument of data collection
Data are the “raw materials” with which an evaluation is built. Evaluation data are systematically collected information relevant to your program that will be used in assessing whether your program achieved its objectives. Evaluation data can come from the content of surveys, questionnaires and interviews, tallies from logs, information from scales and self-assessments. Your instruments may produce both qualitative data (e.g., notes from interviews, open-ended questions on a survey, observation notes) and quantitative data (e.g., test scores, statistics, ratings). Data collection itself involves administering instruments as well as gathering and organizing responses and measures for analysis. A well-planned data collection strategy is critical to obtaining reliable, consistent and useful information about the effects of your program.
Steps in Data Collection:
1. Identify Data Types and Sources
2. Identify Who Will Be Involved
3. Set a Schedule
4. Train Your Data Collectors
5. Pilot Test Your Collection Processes
6. Implement Your Data Collection
