Steps in Doing Action Research

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2.8.2 Characteristics of Action Research

According to Priyono and Djunaedi 2001: 6, some characteristics of action research are: 1 On the job problem oriented. It means that the subject of action research study is the daily problems faced in everyday life. If a teacher carries out action research, the problems to be investigated are the teaching and learning problems as his main duty and responsibility. 2 Problem solving oriented. Unlike empirical studies, action research is always held with the main aim of solving certain problems. 3 Improvement oriented. Action research is always meant to make changes and improvement by making use of the element involved in the process of development. 4 Multiple data collection. To fulfill the principal of critical approaches several method of data collecting are used, like: observation, test, interview, questionnaire, etc. 5 Cyclic. Actions are implemented with certain order as planning, observing, action, and reflecting which shows critical and reflective thinking. 6 Participatory collaborative. The researcher cooperates with other people. This way is used to heighten the validity of observation.

2.8.3 Steps in Doing Action Research

According to Hopkins 1993: 48 there are several essential processes in doing action research which are needed cyclical. Those are: 1 Planning After making sure about the problem of the research, researcher needs to make a preparation before doing an action research. The kind of preparation can be seen as follows: a The steps and the activities during the research. b Preparation for teaching facilities. c Preparation for data analysis during the research process. 31 d Preparation for all research in order not to make a mistake during the research such as alternative actions to solve the problem of the research. 2 Action research Doing an action research is the main cycle of action research. This is followed by observation, interpretation and also the reflective activities. A researcher must be very careful in practicing the classroom research; he or she has to follow the procedure or action planning during the research. 3 Observation In this step, a researcher has to observe all events or activities during the research. Observation is a usual step when a researcher is observing or assessing the decision of research during teaching learning process as the result of learning interaction among the learners. Classroom Action Research, PGSM team, 1999:39 4 Reflection A reflection is an effect to inspect what has or has not been done, what has or has not yet resulted after having an alternative action. The result is used to establish the next steps of the research. In other words, a reflection is the inspection effort on the success or the failure in reaching the temporary purposes in order to determine the alternative steps that are probably made to get the final goals of the research Hopkins, 1993: 48 After knowing the aims in conducting an action research, the teacher uses an action research when he or she finds some problems such as the students have not achieved the target he expected during the teaching learning process. As a teacher, 32 he has to find out the problem and try to solve it. One way to solve the problem is by conducting an action research. A teacher does a classroom action research and it is conducted in the class, which involves all of the students in the classroom. By doing an action research, teachers may give contribution to him or other teachers as well as to students in general. 33

CHAPTER III METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

This chapter explains about research design, subject of the study, data collection, implementation, scoring system, and criterion of assessment.

3.1 Research Design

An action research is a form of educational inquiry that used real action of the teachers in response to a certain problem encountered during the teaching and learning process through cycles of action. Some steps need to take in doing this research: identification of problem, planning, treatment, and reflection. If the target is not achieved yet, I will conduct the next cycle after revising the plan.

3.1.1 Identification of Problem

The general idea is essential statement, which links an idea to action Elliot, 1988:72. It is a general idea that something need to be improved. Here I want to know the students ability in writing narrative text. Nowadays, the process of English teaching and learning seems boring and not motivating the students. Due to those problems, I suggest a kind of solution by using animated films, in order to improve the students understanding of a narrative text structure and make them involved in the teaching and learning process actively.