Research Method THE IMPLEMENTATION OF “SBI” PROGRAM IN ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL ASSALAAM SURAKARTA

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Method

This research will use the qualitative research using naturalistic inquiry. Williams 1989:66 expresses that naturalistic study is a study conducted through observation in natural setting in the field of interests not in laboratories, using natural methods observation, interviewing, thinking, reading, writing in natural ways by people who have natural interests in what they are studying. Therefore, naturalistic research is descriptive term that implies the researcher conducts observation in the natural setting which is used as the principal source of data. Rossman and Rallis 1998: 5-6 state that qualitative research begins with questions. To inform the questions, the researcher collects data – the basic units or building blocks of information. Data are images, sounds, words, and numbers. When data are grouped into patterns, they become information. When information is put to use or applied, it becomes knowledge. The process is analogous to building a house. Like data, cinder blocks are not useful by themselves, but they can come together to make a wall. Like information, the wall can be used to build a house. Both the researcher and the builder start with questions and end with a product to be used. Their questions are seldom simple, however, and use takes complex forms. Some uses are intended, but some are not. Qualitative researchers seek answers to their questions in the real world. They gather what they see, hear, and read from people and places and from events and activities. They do their research in natural settings rather than in laboratories or through written surveys. Their purpose is to learn about some aspects of the social world and to generate new understanding that can 27 be used by that social world. As qualitative researchers, they become part of the process, continually making choices, testing assumptions, and reshaping their questions. As the inquiry process grows from curiosity or wonder to understanding and knowledge building, the researcher is often transformed. In many cases, the participants are also changed. Further, he explains that qualitative research has two unique features: 1 the researcher is the means through which the study is conducted, and 2 the purpose is learning about some facet of the social world. Qualitative researchers decide how deeply or broadly to employ data gathering techniques. Where the researchers position themselves along this continuum involves trade-offs. Given the triangle of do-ability, want-to-do-ability, and should-do-ability considerations, they will be unable to gather data both broadly and in-depth. They must make choices. Gathering data from a large number of participants wields information from any perspectives; this gives the study breadth . Focusing on a few participants, in contrast, encourages an in-depth understanding not possible with a larger sample. Here, the researcher is the means through the study which is conducted. The object to be observed will be the implementation of “SBI” Program in Islamic Boarding School As-Salaam Surakarta, including the teachers, students, Headmaster, and the administration staff. Rossman and Rallis 1998: 7-11 also inform that there are eight characteristics common to qualitative research: 1. Natural World 2. Multiple Methods that are Interactive and Humanistic 3. Focus on Context 4. Systematically Reflects 5. Exquisite Sensitivity to Personal Biography 6. Emergent Nature 7. Sophisticated Reasoning that is Multifaceted and Iterative 8. Fundamentally Interpretative 28 In recapping, qualitative research is a complex field of inquiry that draws on many diverse assumptions but embraces a few common characteristics and perspectives. A qualitative research project takes place in the field, relies on multiple methods for gathering data, and calls on the researchers to be pragmatic, flexible, politically aware, and self-reflective. It is fundamentally interpretive and emergent, characterized by a stance of openness, curiosity, and respect on the researcher’s part. On the practical side, qualitative research is labour –intensive, time-consuming, frustrating, and challenging. There are no formulaic rules to follow, only guiding principles gleaned from direct experience, including reading the literature and studying with others and the actual doing. It is also exhilarating, deeply moving, and can change the researcher’s world-view.

B. Setting