Research Method Research Participants

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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents detailed discussion about the methodology used in this research. It includes the description of the research method, the research participants, the research instruments, data gathering technique, data analysis technique and the research procedure.

A. Research Method

In order to answer the research problems, the researcher employs survey method in this study. According to Fraenkel and Wallen 1994: 11 survey is a research in which the researchers summarize the characteristics of individual or groups, such as abilities, preferences and behaviour or characteristic of physical environment. Furthermore, Ary, Jacobs and Razavieh 2002: 374 argue that “survey is a research technique in which data are gathered by asking question of a group of individuals”. Since this study investigated the students’ perception of autonomous learning in Extensive Reading II class, survey method was an appropriate method to be conducted. This study gathered the data by asking questions to the students of Extensive Reading II class. The data was about the students’ perception of autonomous learning. The data obtained were in form of both quantitative and qualitative data. The qualitative data were in form of the results of interviews and the quantitative data were the data from the results of the questionnaires.

B. Research Participants

The population of interest was the students of the English Language Education Study Program in Sanata Dharma University taking Extensive Reading II course. They were students of academic year 20062007 and some of them were students of academic year 20042005 and 20022003. The researcher chose the students of Extensive Reading II class C and D as the research participants because those classes experienced the implementation of autonomous learning. Therefore, those participants were able to provide meaningful data needed in this study. At this point, the researcher implemented purposive sampling. According to Fraenkel 1994: 88 purposive sampling is a sample selection in which the researchers use judgement that they believe will provide the data needed. The belief is based on the prior information that the lecturer of Extensive Reading II teaching class C and D applied autonomous learning in the course. Hence, the researcher believed that the students of Extensive Reading II class C and D were able to provide data of students’ perception of autonomous learning. Besides the belief that these participants would give meaningful data, those participants of those classes were easy to be accessed. The data from these participants was considered able to complete the data needed. Therefore, the researcher did not need to take the whole population as the participants of the research. The total number of the participants from class C and D were ninety students but the students who came in class when the research was conducted were only sixty five students, thirty five from class C and thirty from class D. These students were involved in filling in the questionnaire. Three students from class C and three students from class D were chosen as representative to be interviewed to complete the data. These students were selected based on their answer of the questionnaires.

C. Research Setting