7 comprehension involves the reader’s discovering the meaning needed to achieve
the particular purposes set for, or by, him. Alexander, 1988
1.6. The Organization of Thesis
This thesis is organized into five chapters. Chapter one is an introduction which discusses the background of the study, followed by the research questions
and the purposes of the study. The significance of this study is also presented in this chapter. This chapter is closed by presenting the organization of the thesis in
the last part of the chapter. Chapter two presents the relevant information and theories related to the
activating students’ content schema. The integrative relevant information presented as theoretical foundation related to this study consist of two big
theories; they are the schema theory which includes the types of schema, the role of schema in reading comprehension, and the schema activation strategies in the
first part, and theories of reading include the reading process, and reading phases, and some previous research findings related to this study also presented in the last
part of this chapter. Chapter three elaborates the research methodology. It begins with the
research design, research site, participant, data collection methods include the data presentation, research procedures, and the issue of validity. The steps of the data
analyses obtained in this study are presented in the last part of this chapter. Chapter four reports the findings and discussions.
Finally, chapter five presents conclusions and suggestions.
25
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses some important aspects related to research methodology. The first part begins with the research design and describes how the
study was carried out. The second elaborates the participants involved and research setting in the study. The third is the data collection method included the
data presentation. The fourth is about the validity and reliability of the study. And the last part elaborates the techniques used to analyze the data.
3.1. The Research Design
Since this study attempted to explore the activating of the students’ content schema in teaching reading comprehension, it employed the qualitative research
design with the characteristics of a case study. The study has the natural characteristics which mean that the researcher does not manipulate or interfere
with the classroom activities being observed. Denzim and Lincoln 1994 define the qualitative research as multi methods in focus of the involvement of an
interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make
sense of, or interpret the phenomena in terms of the meaning people bring to them.
A case study was chosen for several reasons. First, this study was carried out in a single case Bogdan, 1988:54 that was the activating students’ content
schema in teaching reading comprehension. Second, this study employed multiple
26 data collections and analytical procedures, which constituted the important aspect
of a case study Yin, 1993:32. The use of multiple data collection was intended to allow for “in depth study” to enhance the construct validity of the study Yin, 193:
39-40 and to gain more rounded and complete accounts on the description and picture of the activating students’ content schema in teaching reading
comprehension at an SMP in Lembang, Bandung Barat. In this case study, the researcher used triangulation of the data collection methods which means the
researcher used more than one method of data collection Cohen and Manion, 1994; Silverman, 2005 involving classroom observation and interview with the
teachers and students.
3.2. The Research Site
