1

CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Method of the Research

Research is science activity that aims to develop and improve
knowledge (Arikunto, 1998:10), and research method is a way taken in the
investigation. It gives researchers how they could conduct the research
sequentially. According to Kemmis andMcTaggart in Burn (1999: 22), an
action research occurs through a dynamic and complements processes,
which consist of four essential steps; those are planning, acting, observing,
and reflecting.
According to Burn (1999: 30), action research is the application of
fact to practical problem solving in a social situation with a view to improve
quality of action within it, involving collaboration and cooperation of
researchers, practitioners and laymen. She also suggests four characteristics
of action research. First, action research is contextual, small scale, and
localized as it identifies and investigates problems within a specific
situation. Second, it is aimed at bringing about change and improvement in
practice. Third, it provides collaborative work among the teams
colleagues,practitioners and researchers. Fourth, it is based on the collection
of information or date to evaluate the changes in practice.
Action research is a research about something that happened in the
society or target community, and the result will be received by that society.
26

The main characteristic in action research is participation and collaboration

between the researcher and the member of that target community. In this
case, the target community was theeighth grade students of VIII G at SMPN
1 Cilongok in academic year 2011/2012. This research was done
collaboratively in the implementation. The researcher cooperated with the
English teacher of the eighth grade in SMPN 1 Cilongok.
B. Setting of the Research
The subject of this research was the students of VIII G of SMPN 1
Cilongok in academic year 2011/2012. There are thirty-three students in
class VIII G. It consists of eighteen females and fifteen males. The research
was heldfor four months from January until April 2012. The schedule of the
research was as follows:
Table 1
Schedule of the Research
January

Activities
I

Preparation
: Interview,
observation
Making
Proposal
Making
Instrument
Cycle1
Cycle 2
Making
report

II

III

February
IV

II

III

March
IV

II

III

IV

April
V

II

III

IV

C. Design of the Research

This research usedthe design of Kemmis and McTaggart. There are
some steps, and those are planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. These
steps happen in each cycle, and they are useful to make this research
systematic.
This is the visualizationdesign arranged by Kemmis and McTaggart
(Arikunto, 2006: 84).

Figure 1
Kemmis and McTaggart Action Research Model
Furthermore, the activities were applied in classroom action research
as visualized on the design through four steps. They were as follows:
1. Planning
When the problem was focused on how to improve students
comprehension in reading class, the researcher and the teacher discussed the
technique that would be used. Next, they prepared everything relate to

the teaching and learning process such as lesson plan and the material as
well. The observation sheet either for teacher or students and the other
research instrumentswere designed and prepared. The evaluation was also
arranged to know and measure the students reading ability. It was done
by using post-test.
2. Acting
After the plans were developed and agreed to be implemented, the
next step was to implement the plan with the action. In this step, the
teacher implemented Round Robin Brainstorming technique for students
reading comprehension in the class based on the lesson plan and the
researcher as a collaborator observed the teachers and the students
activities in teaching and learning process.
3. Observing
The condition of the teachers and the students activities in
teaching and learning process was observed by using teacher and
students observation sheet. It was important to know how far the
condition in the class because it related to the technique discussion itself
in cycles. To get the data, the researcher took field note, so she knew the
error made by the teacher.
4. Reflecting
The reflection was done after the cycle of actions had been
completed. The researcher and the teacher evaluated the result based on
the data that was obtained from first until third steps (planning until

observing). In this phase, the teacher activity in the classwas reflected.

Thus, the researcher and the teacher knew whether the technique was
successful or not in improving students reading comprehension, it was
related to their decision to continue the next cycle.
D. Methods of Collecting Data
Method for collecting data was aimed to support the success of this
research. It helped the researcher to get the data and the information about
the process of improving students reading comprehension through Round
Robin Brainstorming technique.
In this research, some instruments for collecting datawere applied.
1. Observation
According to Kerlinger in Arikunto (2006: 222), observation is a
common term means all form of accepting data by recording event,
counting, measuring, and writing it. The most effective observation
method is by filling observation form as the instrument. In this occasion,
the researcher observed the English teacher and the students of VIII G
class. Observation was used to collect the data about how good the
teachers performance and students activities. This phase was
doneduring the classroom action research with the object of reading
comprehension by using Round Robin Brainstorming technique. The
expected data was collected from observation in every action during
teaching and learning process. This observation was to know the
activities between the teacher and the students.

On the observation, the researcher provided the teachers and the

students observation sheet or check list as the instrument for collecting
the data. It was provided for observing the teachers activities during the
reading teaching process.
2. Test
According to Arikunto (2006: 150), a test is a sequence of
questions or exercises and another instrument used to measure the skills,
intelligence knowledge, and ability of the individual or group.
In testing reading, the studentswere asked to answer some
questions relating to the texts that were given by the teacher. Reading test
was usedfor the pre-test and post-test not only to measure the students
comprehension competence in reading but also to collect the data. The
post-test was done per cycle.
The comprehension of main ideas, inferences, factual information
stated in a passage, pronoun referents, and vocabulary (direct meaning,
synonym, and antonym) was assessed in the reading test. This research
chose traditional multiple-choice questions to evaluate students reading
comprehension. The numbers of each test was twenty items.
3. Questionnaire
Arikunto (2006: 229) says that a questionnaire is a number of
written questions which are used to gain information from respondents
about their knowledge, belief etc. The questions were used to know the
students response toward the actions and their opinions of the reading

teaching and learning processes after implementing Round Robin

Brainstorming technique.
Suwartono (2007: 27) says that the social research questionnaire
is a popular method in data collection. The aim of questionnaire can be
for description and measurement, and the type of questionnaire can be
differentiated based on the responses who requested and also the way to
deliver the questionnaire. Based on the response, questionnaire can be
classified; close questionnaire, open questionnaire, and the combination
both of them. In this case, the closed questionnairewas used in this
research.
4. Interview
Interview was done to get the data about the teacher and the
students behavior after teaching and learning process. The interview was
planned but unstructured. It meant the researcher asked some planned
questions but after the researcher gave chance to the teacher to say what
they wanted to say relate to his ideas about teaching and learning reading
through Round Robin Brainstorming. The questions in the interview were
about Round Robin Brainstorming that would be implemented whether it
improved the students reading comprehension or not. The interview
usedunstructured interview. It meant that the answer of the questions
depended on the interviewee.

5. Field Notes
They wereused to evaluate after teaching and determined the next
strategy. It was made in the class during the teaching and learning
process. It could be used as a tool for gathering data.
Field notes were used to focus on a particular issues or teaching
behavior over period of time. They were to reflect general impression of
the classroom and its climates.
6. Documentation
There are some documents in CAR (Classroom Action Research):
syllabuses and schemes of work, curriculum reports of school working
parties and committees, examination papers and test used, work cards and
assignment sheets, students score and sample of students work. The
documents that used in this research were the photographs of the teacher
and the students activities, students scores, and samples of students
work in Classroom Action Research.

E. Technique of Data Analysis

1. Qualitative Data
In qualitative data, there are three action steps of reducing data,
presentingthe data (it can be percentage of data), and making
conclusion. The data that would be analyzed were interview,
documentation, field notes, and observation.

Miles and Huberman in Burn (1999: 20) proposed that analyzing

qualitative data is done interactively and take place continously until
clear. To make clear, the following scheme will show the activities of
the process sequences.
Collecting data

Reducing data

Making conclusion

Presenting data

Figure 2
Process of Analyzing the Qualitative Data
From the scheme above, Miles and Huberman also in Burn (1999:
20) through reducing data, raw data are simplified. By reducing data,
the data can be simplified and classified in many ways, through tight
selection, summary or short analysis. From reducing data, data are
accounted into precentage list. The next step is presentation of data.
Presentation of data is an information group that gives a chance to make

1 conclusion.
2. Quantitative Data
The data should be analyzed after were collected. In a classroom
action research, the qualitative data would be analyzed by descriptive
quantitative technique.

10

If there were quantitative data in classroom action research, the

analysis that most used is by using a descriptive quantitative in
which the result will be presented in percentage, mean, and
frequency. It makes the researcher easy to know the description of
the result of in cycle (Santyasa in Indah, 2007: 24).
Quantitative data for supporting the research resultwasused in this
research, especially for students reading comprehension. The
quantitative data were taken from the students reading score,
observation result of students and teachers activity, and also from
questionnaire.
In analyzing qualitative data, the researcher got the average of the
students reading test. It was used to measure the students reading
comprehension by using the following formula:

X=N
Where:
X = mean
X = individual score
N = number of sample
(Suwartono, 2007: 55)
To know the questionnaire percentage, the researcher used formula

as follows:
%

11

Where:
n : Number of the students who answer yes/no
N : Number of all students
The researcher used following formula to know the class percentage:
%

Where:
P

: The number of percentage

: The number of each indicator

14

: The number of all students in the class

To know the improvement in pre-test and post, the researcher used

the following formula:

%

%
Where:
P : Percentage of the students improvement y :
Pre-test result
y1

: Post test 1

y2

: Post test 2

F. Criteria of the Action Success

To determine whether the program is successful or not, there must be
an evaluation because every program needs an evaluation. According to

12

Sukidin, (2002: 103), determination of the success of the action is based on

the consideration made by the collaborator teacher and the researcher.
In this research, the researcher and the collaborator teacher determined
criteria of the action research. To know whether the actions run well or not was
based on the observation, questionnaire result, the students reading test, and
the interview. The action was successful and was stopped if observation results
showed the increasing number of the students activity reach 10% from the
Cycle 1, questionnaire results showed 75% of the students answer Yes or
gave positive response toward the implementation of learning, the students
reading tests reached improvement 20%, and interview results showed the
teacher gave positive response or argument of his feeling in implementing the
lesson plan using Round Robin Brainstorming.

G. Process of Data Validity

To check the validity, triangulation is the most commonly used in a
qualitative data. Some contemporary writers have described the way of
triangulation on the action research. Hidayatullah in Elliot (2006: 45)
defines triangulation in action research as follows:
Triangulation involves gathering account of teaching situation from
three quite different points of view, namely those teacher, has pupils,
and a participant observer
The type of triangulation that was used in this research was
theoretical triangulation. It means that the data were analyzed from more
than one perspective (Suwartono, 2007:103).