Population and Sample RESEARCH METHOD

D. Research Instruments

There were some instruments used to collect the data for the purpose of this research study, namely, interview guidelines and observation sheets. all of them were conducted to know the students’ need, the course books had been used, the students’ characteristics and backgrounds, the students’ ability and problems in reading, the syllabus, the time schedule, the years programs of the teacher, etc that were needed to design suitable reading materials for the eighth grade students of SMPN 1 Tanjungsari. 1. Interviews These interviews involved the students of the seventh and the eighth grade of SMPN 1 Tanjungsari and their teacher, Mrs. Widayati Hijanah, S.Pd. The students in Class A of each grade were the participants. It was conducted directly and spontaneously in order to get valid data. The participants, the students and Mrs. Wida as an English teacher were interesting and friendly. Therefore, the process of the interview could run well. The interview to the eighth grade students were about the students’ opinion and problems about reading and the materials they used before. While, the other interviews of the seventh grade students were about their condition, characteristics, ability, background knowledge, and their learning styles of reading. The writer also used the interview to the teacher related to the teacher’s opinion, information, and the teacher’s needs or problems of reading materials. 2. Observation Through observation, there were some data could be gained. They were about how students usually behaved in the school, the way to read, what they were in groups and how students learned in English lesson. The data of the research study was also completed by some photographs, the recording, the syllabus, the curriculum, the teacher’s lesson plans, and the year program of the teaching-learning process. Besides such documents, there were also the course books used by the students, the tests or assignments and the students’ achievements.

E. Research Procedure

1. Needs Analysis The observation and interviews had been conducted in SMP N 1 Tanjungsari to find out the needs. The instruments had helped the writer to find the needs analysis. The observation sheets were to analyze the syllabus, lesson plans and the school’s curriculum, the teaching-learning process and the students’ behavior. Then the data were described. The interview guidelines give points of questions list of the students’ problems and needs related to reading materials. It is the important thing that the first of the designing reading materials is to find out what the students needs in reading materials. Through the need analysis, the information of the students’ characteristics and the students’ needs in learning the reading skill could be collected. It could be the reference for designing the materials.