29 different perception toward the same issue. The use of Nicenet.org as media
imposes, automatically, the students to perceive it in the different ways. If implementing Nicenet.org as media is able to reach the students’ expectation in
learning, as the result, the students are getting motivated to learn more. In other words, the students have a positive perception toward Nicenet.org.
Moreover, the students’ positive response on the use of Nicenet.org brings impact on their learning behavior. The students’ positive perception, here, has meaning
that the students consider Nicenet.org as an effective media, motivating media, and beneficial media.
In order to answer the second proposed question, the writer sums up from the findings. The finding which is the students’ perception is gained by using
questionnaires and interviews. What has to keep in mind to answer the second question is that the suggestions are summarized by the writer based on the
students’ answers. Their suggestions are used to develop a teaching learning media named Nicenet.org. Nicenet.org, as media, is a new concept in teaching
learning activity. Therefore, it needs to be developed. The suggestions of the students can be a gold mine in increasing the use of Nicenet.org. However, the
selection of media has to consider several factors. The major factor is the objective of the course.
To discover the answers of the research questions, the writer requires appropriate methodologies. In the next chapter, the writer discusses the
methodology employed in this study.
30
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the method of the study. This chapter is divided into six parts: the research methods, research participants, research instruments, data
gathering techniques, data analysis techniques, and research procedure.
A. Research Method
The writer conducted qualitative research. Qualitative research is a study of which the data collected is in the form of words rather than numbers.
According to Bodgan and Biklen 1982: 28, qualitative is descriptive. Thus, qualitative research usually uses the form of description to present the data instead
of numbers. In this study, the data collected was in the form of statements of the students’ perceptions.
Particularly, this study was a survey study. According to Zimmerman and Rodrigues 1992: 106, a survey is a process of collecting information from a
group of people about a specific subject. A survey is conducted to collect the opinions of a large group of people about a particular topic or issue. Further, a
survey can be conducted either quantitative or qualitative. In the explanation of Fraenkel and Wallen 1994: 344, the purpose of survey study is to describe the
characteristics of a population by using two instruments: interview and questionnaire.
31 In this study, the writer employed a qualitative survey. However, the
results of the survey derived from the questionnaires were in form of numerical data. Thus, to make it descriptive, the writer converted the numerical data into
form of statements. In qualitative study, the numerical data were used as evidence in of a certain issue.
B. Research Respondents
As a survey research, this study required a group of ELESP students as respondents. Since the number of the respondents should be limited to make it
accessible, a sampling procedure was implemented. According to Fraenkel and Wallen 1994: 79, sampling refers to the
process of selecting individuals who will participate in a research. The first task to survey was defining the population. Population refers to all members of a
particular group. To make it accessible to research, the population should be narrowed down into small group named sample. Sample is any group of
individuals on whom information is obtained. In this study, the selected population was the students of English Language
Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta. The writer selected the sample from the Academic Essay Writing class A and D students
which joined the class in the academic year 20082009. In deciding the sample, the writer employed the purposive sampling that is
a sample selected because the individuals have special qualifications of some sort Fraenkel and Wallen, 1994. Since the focus of this study was the students’
