Research Design Research Setting Research Subjects

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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

This section presents the research methods employed in this study. They are classified into eight parts, i.e. research design, research setting, research subjects, data collection, data analysis, data validity and reliability, research procedure, and research schedule. Each of these parts will be explained in the following discussion.

A. Research Design

This study aims at improving reading comprehension of the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 1 Yogyakarta. Therefore, it is categorized as action research. Burns 2010 defines action research as a type of research in which a teacher serves as a researcher exploring hisher own teaching context through a self-reflective, critical, and systematic approach to identify a problematic situation considered worth looking and to intervene in a deliberate way in the problematic situation to bring about changes and better improvement in practice. This study adopted the cyclical AR model proposed by Kemmis and McTaggart in Burns 2010. Based on the model, each cycle of action research consists of planning, acting and observing as well as reflecting. The following figure illustrates the cyclical phases of action research. Figure 4: The Cyclical AR Model Proposed by Kemmis and McTaggart Cited in Burns 2010

B. Research Setting

This research was conducted at SMPN 1 Yogyakarta. The school is located on Jl. Cik Di Tiro No. 29, Yogyakarta. The administration of the research followed the schedule of English subject of Class 8H in the first semester of the 20132014 academic year. According to the schedule, English subject was taught four hours a week, 40 minuteshour each, every Tuesday and Wednesday. The following table presents details of the schedule for the research implementation. Table 2: Research Schedule Meeting Date Time Cyc le I I Tuesday, 12 November 2013 08.45 – 10.05 a.m. II Wednesday, 13 November 2013 10.20 – 11.40 a.m. III Tuesday, 19 November 2013 08.45 – 10.05 a.m. Cyc le II IV Wednesday, 20 November 2013 10.20 – 11.40 a.m. V Tuesday, 26 November 2013 08.45 – 10.05 a.m. VI Wednesday, 27 November 2013 10.20 – 11.40 a.m.

C. Research Subjects

This research involved the researcher herself serving as the English teacher, a male English teacher of SMPN 1 Yogyakarta serving as the teacher collaborator who observed the research conduct in the class, and 35 students of Class 8H. There were also other research collaborators in this study, namely Anna Susilowati S. Pd. and Agustina Tri Widayati S.S. Both of them are graduates of the State University of Yogyakarta. There were some considerations why the researcher and the teacher collaborator finally decided to involve grade VIII students instead of grade VII students and grade IX students. First, the researcher could not involve grade VII students due to the implementation of a new curriculum named Kurikulum 2013 to this grade which is different from the one applied to grade VIII and grade IX which remain implementing the School-Based Curriculum KTSP. In addition, it was unfeasible to engage grade IX students in this research since the school did not permit the researcher to involve them as the research subjects as they had to focus on their national examination determining their graduation. Therefore, both the researcher and the teacher collaborator agreed to focus on grade VIII students. Students of Class 8H were then selected based on the result of the discussion between the researcher and the English teacher.

D. Data Collection