Research Method RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researcher would like to present the methodology employed in this study in order to answer the research questions as mentioned in Chapter I. This chapter covers research method, research setting and participants, research instruments, data gathering technique, data analysis techniques, and research procedure.

A. Research Method

The study employed Classroom Action Research CAR as the method. This method was used in order to answer the research problem which was to what extent the direct written corrective feedback improved the eighth grade students‟ spelling accuracy. According to Mills 2007 “action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the teachinglearning environment to gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn. Action research is done by teachers for themselves; it is not imposed on them by someone else” p. 5. It means that action research is a research which is done by gathering and analyzing the data in order to solve the problem in the environment of teaching and learning. 20 McDonough 1997 proposes four characteristics of „pure‟ action research. First, it is participant-driven and reflective. Second, it is collaborative. Third, it leads to change and the improvement of practice not just knowledge in itself. Fourth, it is context-specific. Hence, it means that an action research is implemented in a specific classroom by a particular teacher or group of teachers who work together and in collaboration with the students to pursue a change or improvement in their teaching and learning issues. Action research also defined by Kemmis and McTaggart 1998 as a form of collective self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own social or educational practices, as well as their understanding of these practices and the situations in which these practices are carried out. It involves four broad phases in a cycle of research. They are planning, action, observation, and reflection as presented as follows. Figure 3.1 The Planning-Reflection Cycle Kemmis and McTaggart, 1998 21 1. Planning The researcher found the problem when she did Internship Program Program Pengalaman Lapangan in SMPN 15 Yogyakarta. Then, in order to make sure the problem which was faced by the students, the researcher did preliminary study. After knowing the students‟ problems, the researcher started making plan. The plan was giving written corrective feedback on students‟ drafts. The researcher planned to give feedback in order to remind and correct stud ents‟ errors in spelling accuracy. 2. Action The researcher applied and implemented the strategy in order to overcome the problem. She gave writing assignment to the students. Then, the researcher asked the students to submit their works and checked them at home. The researcher gave feedback by indicating the errors in their spelling accuracy, but did not provide the correction. In the next meeting, the researcher gave the works which had been given feedbacks back to the students and they were asked to revise their works. 3. Observation While doing the action, the researcher also did the observation. She observed the effects of the action that was done by the researcher. When the students wrote the assignment, she also observed the class situation during the implementation by using field notes. 22 4. Reflection The researcher analyzed the data in this step. She did it by examining the student s‟ works one by one in order to know the students‟ errors in the spelling accuracy. After that, the researcher tried to reflect whether the implementation worked well or not. Then, the researcher made the next plan and prepared the next action for the next cycle.

B. Research Setting