Research Design RESEARCH METHODS

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CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODS

This chapter presents the research methods that were used in this research. They cover research design, area determination method, research subject determination method, operational definition of key terms, data collection methods, and research procedures.

3.1 Research Design

In this research, the researcher used a classroom action research with the aim to improve VIII A active participation in vocabulary class and their vocabulary achievement by using Crossword Puzzles. According to Arikunto 2006:91 a classroom action research is a research which is done in the classroom by doing an intentional activities. In addition, Elliot 1993:69 states that action research is a study of social situation, with a paradigm that is aimed to improve or increase the quality of certain phenomena. In conclusion, classroom action research is a research which is intended to overcome students’ problem in the class. In conducting the classroom action research, the researcher needs to do it collaboratively with another researcher or team Arikunto, 2006:90. Related to that statement, this research was done collaboratively with the English teacher of VIII A at SMPN 5 Lumajang. The collaboration was conducted in four points, they are: 1 planning of the action, 2 implementation to the action, 3 observation and evaluation, and 4 data analysis and reflection of the action. Those steps were conducted in each cycle. 109 The design of this classroom action research is illustrated in the following diagram. 110 Adapted from Lewin in Elliot, 1993:70 Figure 1. The Diagram of the Classroom Action Research Based on the research design above, the activities of the research used the following procedures. 1. Doing preliminary study by interviewing the English teacher of the eighth grade students of SMPN 5 Lumajang to get some information about the teaching learning process of vocabulary. 2. Finding out some documents as supporting data. 3. Finding out the class which had difficulties and the lowest score in vocabulary achievement from the English teacher. 4. Planning the actions by preparing and constructing lesson plans for the first cycle by the researcher. 5. Observing the vocabulary class by the English teacher while the researcher implemented the action in the first meeting in Cycle 1. In the second meeting of Cycle 1, the English teacher was the teacher while the researcher was be the observer. 6. Giving a vocabulary achievement test to the research subjects in the third meeting after the actions in the first cycle was done. 7. Analyzing the results of observation and the vocabulary test in the first cycle, statistically. 8. Reflecting the result of observation and the vocabulary test 111 The succes criteria of the research could not be achieved in the first cycle, the second cycle was conducted. The first cycle could achieve the success criteria of the research, the second cycle was still conducted to know the consistent result of the actions.

3.2 Area Determination Method