Moleong, 2001: 157 explains that the main data of qualitative research are language and action or behavior. Because this research applied qualitative
approach, the data were in the form of lingual unit. Specifically, the data in this research were in the form of sentences in which figurative language is used.
Then, the source of data in this research was Barack Obama’s second inaugural address.
D. The Technique of Data Collection
According to Bogdan and Biklen 1982: 67, in collecting the data, the researcher chooses particular subjects to include in his study since those subjects
are believed to facilitate the expansion of the developing theory. The technique of data collection in this research was note-taking. The data were gathered from
the sentences employed in Barack Obama’s second inaugural address. Then, the research procedures are presented as follows:
1. reading the script of Barack Obama’s second inaugural address;
2. watching the video to match the script;
3. identifying the sentences in which figurative language is used;
4. identifying the types of figurative language which are used; and
5. describing the lexical and syntactic structure of the sentence in which
figurative language is used.
E. The Technique of Data Analysis
Wiersma 1995: 281 states that data analysis is a process of categorizing, descripting, and synthesizing. According to Vanderstoep and Johnston 2009:
199 there are five research methods to analyze the data in qualitative research.
They are ethnography, phenomenology, case study, textual analysis, and applied research. In this research, the researcher applied textual analysis since he referred
to the theories which were presented in the previous chapter to analyze the data. Thus, the theories played as the guidance in analyzing the data. Then, the
techniques of data analysis are presented as follows: 1.
after being collected, the data were categorized into several types of figurative language;
2. the researcher described the lexical and syntactic structures of each
datum; 3.
the researcher analyzed and interpreted each datum to answer the research questions;
4. the researcher reported the findings of the research through textual
description; and 5.
finally the researcher drew the conclusion.
Table 1. The Sample of Data Sheet of Figurative Language, Lexical Structure, and Syntactic Structure
in Barack Obama’s Second Inaugural Address
No. Sentence
Figurative Language Lexical
Structure Syntactic
Structure Explanation
Si m
M tp
Pe r
M tn
Pa r
H yp
Sy n
W rd
Ph r
Cl s
S m
p C
m x
C m
p 1.
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal.
√ N
P √
It is
synecdoche because the word “all
men” actually refers to not only men, but
also all human beings men and women
