Technique of Collecting the Data

D. Technique of Collecting the Data

The techniques of collecting the data used in this research were test and questionnaire.

1. Reading Test The instrument that was used to know the students’ reading comprehension was multiple choice questions. According to Weir, (1990: 43), “a multiple-choice test item is usually set out in such a way that the candidate is required to select an answer from a number of given options, only one of which is correct”. Weir (1990: 43) also adds that multiple - choice questions have advantages as follows:

5) There is almost complete marker reliability.

6) It is usually possible to estimate in advance the difficulty level of each item and that of the test as a whole.

7) The format of the multiple-choice test item is such that the intentions of compiler are clear and unequivocal.

8) Multiple-choice tests avoid particular difficulty.

Moreover, the reading test material includes two different themes. The themes are clothes and transportation as cited in Central Java Local Contents Curriculum of English lesson. The reading test was designed based on the curriculum and was developed in accordance with the principles of teaching reading to young learners as a foreign language. The blue print of reading test can be seen in Appendix Table 1b.

In addition, the blue print in Table 1b was multiple choices with four options. The total questions were 60 items, and were tried out in SD N 02 Malangjiwan Colomadu to find the validity and the reliability of those questions. Mason (1997: 266) defines validity as the degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

The reading test can be seen in Appendix 1c and the answers in Appendix 1d. The validity of the reading test is analyzed with the following formula (Biserial Point Correlation):

The item is valid if r o is higher than r t . Besides, Mason states (1997: 272) that reliability involves the consistency, dependability, or stability of the test score. That is, if researchers used the measures many times with the same person and the test was reliable.

Then to know the reliability of the test, the following Kuder and

Richardson Formula (KR 21 ) is used:

k  pq  r kk =

Where rkk : estimated reliability k

: number of items on the test p

: the proportion of people who respond correctly to each item

q :1-p s 2 t : observed score variance (Mason, 1997: 277)

The item is reliable if r o is higher than r t . There are sixty items tested. The result of reading test is that forty- three items are valid and reliable. The valid items are items number 1, 2, 3,

34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, and 60. Forty items were used to get the data, meanwhile, number 38, 45, and 55 were not used. The valid and reliable items were used to get the data. The reading test was administered after students were given treatments (post- test). The treatments were done twelve times. The process and the result of the validity and the reliability of the reading test can be seen in Appendix

2a.

2. Questionnaires The second instrument used was questionnaires. Questionnaires are

used to measure some of the less observable characteristics of people, such used to measure some of the less observable characteristics of people, such

be reached economically and greater anonymity can be provided to the respondents. Furthermore, questionnaires increase the generalizability of the data and respondent will be more willing to respond openly and honestly to the questions.

However, with these advantages also come disadvantages. Questionnaires tend to be less flexible and adaptable than interviews. In addition, because no interviewer is present, the motivation and commitment of the respondent can not be assessed.

Meanwhile, Tuckman (1978: 196) said that questionnaires are used to convert into data the information directly given by a person (subject). By providing access to what is “inside a person’s head,” these approaches make it possible to measure what a person knows (knowledge or information), what a person likes and dislikes (values and preferences), and what a person thinks (attitudes and beliefs).

Furthermore, Tuckman ((1978: 197-199) adds that questionnaires can also be used to discover what experiences have taken place and what is occurring at the present. This information can be transformed into numbers or quantitative data by using the attitude scaling or rating-scale techniques or by counting the number of respondents who give a particular Furthermore, Tuckman ((1978: 197-199) adds that questionnaires can also be used to discover what experiences have taken place and what is occurring at the present. This information can be transformed into numbers or quantitative data by using the attitude scaling or rating-scale techniques or by counting the number of respondents who give a particular

a direct question or provided with a statement to explore that he or she agrees or disagrees. In fact, in attitude measurement it is more common to use statements rather than questions as stimuli. A likert scale including four or five choices is used to show the respondents’ position in giving their opinions. The following figure is an example of Likert Scale.

An example appears below:

Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Agree

Disagree (SA)

(A)

(U) (D) (SD)

Figure 6. A Likert Scale

Some items were written in a positive (pro) direction and others were in a negative (con) direction. The score is as follows:

Answer

Negative Item SA

Positive Item

A 4 2 UD

D 2 4 SD

Table 6. The Score of Interest Questionnaire

The reason for reversing the scoring of negative items is to provide a total score that reflects positiveness toward the object in question. A student having high motivation would agree with positive items and disagree with negative ones, while a student having low motivation does The reason for reversing the scoring of negative items is to provide a total score that reflects positiveness toward the object in question. A student having high motivation would agree with positive items and disagree with negative ones, while a student having low motivation does

The questionnaire must be valid and reliable therefore firstly the items of the questionnaire are tried out to know the validity and the reliability. The try out of questionnaire is done before treatment and it is done to the other class, which is not the experiment and the control one. The validity of the questionnaire is analyzed with the following formula (Biserial Point Correlation):

 x i x r t it =

  x i   x t 

(Ary in Ngadiso, 2006: 2) If r o is higher than r t , the item is valid. Then to know the reliability of the test, the following Alpha Formula is used:

 1   2  where s i   , s   t

2 x t r kk =

 n s t  (Ary in Ngadiso, 2006: 2)

If r kk is higher than r t , the item is reliable. There are sixty items of interest questionnaire. The result of interest questionnaire is that forty-six items are valid and reliable. The valid items are items number 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22,

48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, and 60 . Thus, the invalid items are items 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, and 60 . Thus, the invalid items are items

The valid and reliable items were used to get the data of the experimental and control class. Then, the instruments were administered to 27% of upper group (high interest group) and 27% of lower group (low interest group) from both classes.. Thus, 27% x 40 = 11 for upper group, and 27% x 40 = 11 for lower group (Kelley in Rasyid, 2008: 246; Sudijono, 1996: 400). So there were twenty two students from the experimental class and twenty two students from the control one.

In the research, the writer used an interater to give score for reading test and questionnaire test. The advantage of using the interater is to avoid

a fault in scoring or subjectivity.