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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, the researcher discusses the methodology that was used to answer the research problems. The problems were how breaking maxims are
applied in verbal humor and the acceptability of the Indonesian subtitles of breaking maxims in verbal humor on sitcom
Friends. The discussions in this chapter includes the research methodology, research subjects, instruments and
data gathering technique, data analysis technique, and research procedures.
A. Research Method
This research was a qualitative research. According to Hansen 2005, qualitative methods rely on experiences and phenomena that need to be
interpreted and explained. A brief description about the qualitative research is also given by Borg and Galls 2007, “Qualitative research is a research which
presents facts in a narration with words.” The results of the research problems needed to be explained and interpreted. That were why the descriptive-qualitative
research was applied in this study. According to Merriam 2002, a descriptive- qualitative research is used when data collected through interviews, observations,
or documents analysis are analyzed to identify the pattern of the data. Moreover, the findings are presented and are discussed using relevant theories. Based on the
theory of Grice’s Cooperative Principles and the theory of translations, the
29 researcher analyzed verbal humor on scripts and subtitles from a sitcom, in this
case she used a document analysis method. In 2010, Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, and Razavieh define a document analysis
as a method that is used when someone wants to analyze any physical documents, in form of written or visual materials, in order to identify specific data. From the
definition given by Ary, et.al 2010, the researcher inferred that scripts and subtitles, from which the data were gathered, were kinds of physical documents.
That was the consideration for the researcher to use the document analysis method to be applied to see the role of breaking maxims in verbal humor on a sitcom.
Moreover, the researcher also applied this method to analyze the acceptability of the Indonesian subtitles of the breaking maxims in verbal humor on a chosen
sitcom.
B. Research Subject
Friends is a famous American sitcom, which aired in 1994 up to 2004, has ten seasons. There are six characters of
Friends: Ross and Monica Geller, Chandler Bing, and Joey Tribbiani, Phoebe Buffay, and Rachel Green. The
popularity of language in Friends spoken by the six characters makes this sitcom
is interesting to study. In the same tone, Quaglio 2009 comments about Friends,
he says that “a show about people who just sit around and talk – makes this sitcom an interesting object of study for linguistic analysis, both as a comparison to
natural conversation and as an object of study in itself.” p.13.
30 From the ten seasons, season 2 was chosen by the researcher to study
further. There were 24 episodes in season 2 with 24-35 minutes length for each episode. Episodes 1, 3 and 7 were the main subjects for this research.
C. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique
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