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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter outlines the methodology used in this research that includes purpose of the study and research questions, research settings and participants, Research design and research method,
data collection and data analysis.
3.1 Aims of the Study
As mentioned in Chapter I, the study was conducted with the aims to: 1.
find out types of grammatical metaphor which are used in students’ assignments; and 2.
investigate the impact of the use of grammatical metaphor on the written characteristics of the texts.
3.2 Research Questions
In line with the aims above, the study addressed the following research questions. 1.
What types of grammatical metaphor are used in students’ assignments? 2.
How does the use of grammatical metaphor contribute to the written characteristics of the texts?
3.3 Research Method and Research Design
This study uses a case study qualitative research design, the method of text analysis in particular due to the similarities in the nature of the present study with the description of case studies
proposed by research experts. First of all, researchers of qualitative study are not interested in making generalizations of phenomena under investigation Dawson, 2009 and this is not what
this study was attempting to do either. Secondly, the present study used a case study method since its aim is in line with that pointed out by McMillan and Schumacher 2001 that case is
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chosen not “for representativeness but because of its uniqueness or that it can be used to illustrate an issue”. Thirdly, this study focused on one single entity occurring in its natural environment
without manipulation and this is one characteristic of case study in qualitative research as indicated by Merriam 1991. Finally, the study investigated one single, low-scale case but
provided an in-depth analysis, which is another feature of case study as proposed by Bordens and Abbott 2008, Conolle, et. al. 1990, Nunan and Bailey 2009, and Stake in Silverman, 2005.
All these characteristics indicate that the present study fall under the category of case study. More specifically, this study used text analysis due to its focus of investigation, i.e. on
written texts Merriam, 1991; Travers, 2001. As pointed out by Travers ibid, the procedure of textual analysis in case study follows the procedures laid out in the related theory. For this
purpose, this study incorporated Grammatical Metaphor developed by Halliday 1994, Halliday and Mathiessen 2004 and Martin 1992 in analyzing the texts under investigation. Regarding
Functional Grammar, the framework in which grammatical metaphor originated, Freebody cited in Emilia, 2007, states that it is “one of a variety of linguistic approaches that have been well
developed in the area of education”.
3.4 Research Settings and Participants
