questionnaires that call for short, check-mark responses Best and Kahn, 1986: 167. In the questionnaire, there were some questions and choices of answer. The
students were required to choose one answer that really represents their attitudes. Before using the questionnaire, the writer did piloting. Questionnaire should
be piloted to see whether it works as planned Wallace, 1998: 132. It was also done because the writer would like to know, how many times they needed to fill
in the questionnaire. Therefore, the writer asked eight students from semester 9 to analyze the questionnaire. It was done after they had done the test. When piloting
the research instruments, the writer asked the students to do the test and fill in the questionnaire. After that, the writer asked them to give their comments. The writer
asked them to give comments based on the questions below: 1.
Is the instruction clear and easy to follow? 2.
Are the questions and all the statements clear? 3.
Do you find any irrelevant question? 4.
Do you find any difficulty in filling the questionnaire?
D. Data Gathering Technique
In the study, the data was gathered through the test and the questionnaire. The test and the questionnaire were distributed to some semester 5 students. The
test and the questionnaire were bounded as one set, but divided into two parts. The students were given 25 minutes to do the test and fill in the questionnaire. The
first 20 minutes were used to do the test and the rest 5 minutes to fill in the questionnaire. In doing the test, the students were required to do the test
individually, to avoid cheating during the test. The results of the test became the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
data to answer the first question in the problem formulation. It was to find out the students’ mastery of synonymous word. The results of the questionnaire became
the data to answer the second question in the problem formulation. It was to find out the learning strategies employed by the students.
The research was conducted three times in three different classes. The first one was on July 18, 2007 in Introduction to Literature class. The second one was
held on September 3, 2007 in AMT class. The third one was held on September 6, 2007 in AMT class. Before the students did the test and filled in the questionnaire,
the writer asked them to write their name and student number. This was done to put aside some shopper students’ works, since they were not included as sample.
After selecting all the students, the writer got 80 students as the sample of the research.
E. Data Analysis Technique 1. Test Analysis Technique
The students’ answers were evaluated based on the dictionary as the source
of information about synonymous words. Three dictionaries were used as the source. They were Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 1995, Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English 2006, and Thorndike Barnhart High School Dictionary 1965. Those dictionaries were chosen because all of them contain the
information about synonymous words that were needed in the study. Each correct answer was scored 1 one and each wrong answer was scored
0 zero. The sum of all correct number was timed by 10 and divided by 4. The PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
result became student’s score. The score of the test from each student was then put into a table see Appendix 4.
As the scores were obtained from the test, the average score of the students were measured by using the formula below:
Χ = ΣX
N Χ = mean
ΣX = sum of the score N = number of the students
The average score of the students were evaluated to judge the overall students’ mastery of synonymous words. The evaluation was based on the
criterion that is used in Sanata Dharma University. As it is stated in Panduan Akademik
Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris 2004 of Sanata Dharma University, the values that are used as the criteria to measure the students’
competency are A, B, C, D, and E. Each value means: A
: Amat Baik Very Good B
: Baik Good C
: Cukup Sufficient D
: Kurang Insufficient E
: Buruk Poor According to Peraturan Akademik Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan
1986, the passing score should be determined as the minimum limit of the students’ competency. With the range of 0-100 known as 101 standard, 56 is
decided as the passing score which considered as Sufficient C, and 50 as the limit score in the category of Insufficient D. The scores that are considered as B
Good and A Very Good are decided by spreading the rest of the scores. With the consideration above, it can be concluded that the criterion of the students’
competency is as follows: Very Good A
: 85-100 Good B
: 70-84 Sufficient C
: 56-69 Insufficient
D : 50-55
Poor E :
≤ 49
2. Questionnaire Analysis Technique
In the questionnaire, there were five questions. Each question consisted of some options. The writer analyzed the students’ attitudes based on the option they
chose. Then the writer put the result in a table see Appendix 5. After that, the writer analyzed the questions one by one. For question number one, there were
three options and the students were free to choose more than one option. In the case that the students chose option two and three, it means that the students learn
how to use synonymous words in context. Question number two consisted of three options also, but the students were not allowed to choose more than one option. In
the case that the students chose option one, it means they had the consideration to use the dictionary. Question number three consisted of three options, and the
students were not allowed to choose more than one option. In the case that the students chose option one or two, it means they had the habit of using the
dictionary. In the question number four, there were five options. The students were not allowed to choose more than one option. In the case that they chose
option one and three, it means they use the dictionary that contains of information needed in learning synonymous words. The last question, question number five,
consisted of three options. The students were allowed to choose more than one option. In the case that the students chose option two and three, it means the
students had used the dictionaries effectively. From those numbers, the options that were chosen by most of the students used to describe the overall students’
attitudes.
F. Research Procedure
After deciding the topic of the research, there were some procedures that the writer did:
1. Preparing the research instruments
As soon as the writer had chosen the topic of the study, the writer decided what kind of instruments that would be used in the study to answer the problems
that were formulated. After deciding that test and questionnaire were used as the research instruments, the writer made the instruments.
2. Conducting the research
The next step was conducting the research in some classes. Before conducting the research, the writer asked some lecturers’ permission to do the
research in their class. After getting their permission, the writer did the research in the day that had been chosen before. The test was given to the fifth semester
students at the beginning of their class. When they had done the test, they were required to fill in the questionnaire.
3. Recording the results of the test and the questionnaire
First, the writer evaluated the test, and then recorded the result of the test in a table. Second, the writer recorded the findings from the questionnaire in a table.
4. Analyzing the results of the test and the questionnaire
Based on the recordings, the writer analyzed the result of the test and the questionnaire. The result of the test was used to know the students’ mastery of
synonymous words, and the result the questionnaire was used to know the students’ learning strategies.
5. Reporting the results
After all the data had been gathered and analyzed, the writer reported the research findings.
