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E. Research Procedure
There were some steps to conduct this research. Below are the steps in conducting this research.
1. Reviewing Literature
In this step, the theories grounding this research were collected. There were three main theories to study: theory of articles, singular plural, and error analysis.
Besides, the researcher also collected the theory of language testing to construct a valid and reliable test.
2. Constructing the Test
The test was based on the functions of articles based on Azhar’s book. The test covered 13 thirteen points in 26 twenty six items in part one, and 14 fourteen
points in twenty eight items in part two. The total number of the items was 55 fifty five items.
3. Asking Suggestions
After the test was constructed, the researcher asked feedback from several English Education Study Program lecturers. The feedback was filtered to revise the test.
4. Asking Permission from the Lecturer
The lecturer’s permission was needed to conduct the pilot test since the participants of the pilot test were students in one class academic year 2007.
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5. Pilot Testing
Pilot test was conducted to find out whether the test needs revision or not before the real test was administered. Since it was conducted in one class of academic
year 2007, the result of pilot test may predict the research results.
6. Asking Permission from the Lecturer
This research was conducted in two classes. Therefore the researcher should have permission from the lecturer who teaches those classes. After that, the researcher
consulted with the lecturer about the right time in conducting the test especially the date and time, whether it was conducted after class or before class.
7. Conducting the Test
After getting the permission from the lecturer, the researcher conducted the test. The test papers were distributed twenty five minutes before the class ended. The
instruction was given in 5 minutes and the students were given twenty minutes to do the test. After twenty minutes, the test papers were collected.
8. Checking the Test Result
