Research is a systematic process to answer the question by carefully gathering, analysing, and interpreting data. There are a few things we should do before conducting the research. These are :
a) We should ask our-self a few questions about the reason we have decided to do some research and we need to think about the way we are able to remain motivated through our project. One of the way we are able to remain motivates is by choosing an interesting topic for our-self. We should not choose the topic that we think it would be great topic but actually not really interest us because it can cause the boredom in our-self and indirectly take a negative effect for our research. So that, even thought research spend a long time for its process we could still be interested to complete it by remember our motivation for doing a research.
Other aspects we should ask to our self are about the personal characteristics and the skill we have to help us in completing our research. The knowledge of our characteristics such as weakness, strength, likes and dislikes could be our consideration in choosing the best type of research that suit to us. Another thing that can help us in research is our skill and experiences. It is no doubt our past experience and skill we have got in our life could be use full in identify the problem in research we took. In brief, by knowing our characteristics deeply would help us in our research.
b) We should ask our-self what, why, who, where and when as we start to think about our research project.
· We should ask our-self about what our research is. Define our project is needed in the early stages. It’s the hardest part to define project. But, if we able to do this we might success in our research and vice versa.
· We should ask our-self why we want to do the research and what the purpose is. By finding our reason in doing a research we could keep our enthusiasm to do all of the research process till the end. It also would affect us in choosing a suitable topic, in conducting the research and in reporting our results.
· Then, we should ask our-self who will be our participants. It does not matter how much the participants is because the focus of them is on the kind of people we will get in touch. We also need having an access to contact them to get information. Make sure that the participants are easy to contact.
· Next, ask our-self where we are going to conduct our research. Think about the place which suit to our budget and our time. We also need to choose the best place if we want to have an interview with the participants. Choose the comfortable place which we think it is the safest place to us and our participants.
· After that, ask our-self when we are going to do our research. It will help us to determine the right time to contact the participant and to count the rest time to make our research possible.
c) We should try to sum up our research project in one sentence. If the advisor understands what our research about it means that our research no need revised and vice versa.
Four basic research methods:
| PRE-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH | TRUE EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH | CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH | CASE STUDY |
| Pre-experimental design is kind of research that follow basic experimental steps but fail to include a control group. So, in this research, the researcher just arranges one group to be studied so that there is no comparation for non-treatment group. There are 3 kinds of pre-experimental research, these are : 1. One-Shot Case Study Design. The goal of this kind of one shot case study design is to determine whether the treatment had been given had any effect on the result. But, if we do not have any comparation for a group, it would be difficult for us to determine the changes happened. 2. One Group Pretest-Posttest Design. In this kind of one group pretest posttest design, the subjects are pretested, exposed a treatment and then post-tested. If there is any differences between the pretest and posttest measures, it would be considered as the result of the program treatment. So, in this case, we can conclude that the one group pre-test and pos-test design is a simple form of research design that observe a group two times, before and after treatment in order to know the changes. One of the benefits of this design is the existence of pretest as the baseline score. So that we could determine the outcomes whether there is any changes or not. But, there also a weakness of this design because of the possibility of other factor that makes changes in the outcome is not only caused by work experience but caused by maturation. 3. Static-Group Comparison Study. This study tries to solve the problem of the other two design that lack of group to observed. But it falls short in relation to showing if a change has occurred. It is because this study does not provide pre-testing like one group pretest posttest. So that, we can not either make changes report or know the differences between two groups. From 3 kinds of pre-experimental research, none of them giving satisfied result in experiment. All of them often to not including any control or comparison group so that it would be difficult to know more about the changes. | True experimental research uses statistical analysis in order to prove or disprove a hypothesis mathematically. It tries to control all of the variables that able to disturb the experiment. It tells us about cause and effect relationship. There are several kind of true experimental research, those are : 1) Posttest Equivalent Group Study. This study uses randomization and comparison of both a control and experimental group. Each group is chosen randomly. Then each of that group is given posttest to determine if there is a differences between two groups. But it is lack of pretest measure so that it is difficult to know whether or not there is a change between the result at the beginning with the result at the end. 2) Pretest Posttest Equivalent Group Study. This study uses a control group and a measure of change even pretest so that it is able to assess any differences that happened in the groups. It is more complete and more effective than other experimental study especially to explain about cause and effect relationship. First step to apply this study is by select the participant (i.e. students from college) randomly. Next, Place the students into one of two groups using random assignment. Each group would be measured about their previous grades. Then, one group would be given a treatment and the other would be given a control. At the end of semester the previous grade and the next grade would be compared. Actually there are steps in conducting true experimental research. a) Determine what the treatment is going to be studied. For example, If I am going to study about teaching plan. b) Choose the subject that will be a part of the study. If I want to know about teaching plan, it is mean that I need to choose students in the first grade of senior high school, it is no matter whether they are male or female. That group of students would not be large but also not to be small. The range is about twenty to thirty students. c) Divide subject into two groups at random. One group will be the control and another will receive the treatment being tested. It means that none of that student know where group they are belong, whether they are in control group or treatment group. They will know it later at the end of research. The control group is used as the baseline result. But the treatment group is used as the compare group. d) Determine the time frame for which the treatment will be applied. Based on the topic I chosen, I think I will need one semester to know the result and then compare the result. I will compare the result of first assignment to the result of assignment in six month later. e) Administer the control and treatment to the respective groups f) Interpret the result of the study. After I compare the result of the first test to the next test, I compare it between the control group to the treatment group. If there is any differences that the treatment group has more effect than control group, so that it means that the treatment is effective to used. | Classroom action research is a method of research conducted by teacher to find out what work best in his/her classroom so that he/she can improve student learning. Classroom action research has a specific goal that is to improve teaching skill in the classroom. Steps to conduct Classroom Action Research : a. Identify a question or problem b. Review literature In reviewing the literature, you need to gather two types of information, those are background and data. c. Plan a research strategy. When you plan a research strategy you may take many form such as pretest, posttest, a comparison of similar classes to a descriptive case study of a single class or student. Beside, you may use both qualitative and quantitative methods that you think is appropriate to your research. d. Gather Data e. Make sense of the Data f. Take action To make decision about the teaching strategies, use the finding g. Share the findings. | Case Study is one of techniques in social studies which is used in real situations to describe and analyze particular circumstance. In case study, people will be able to understand the ideas more clearly because the case study provide enough information about “how” and “why” question. In decision of conducting case study there should be a problem that needs to be solved. For the first time, we need to know what the problem is. After we know the problem we go to analyze the information, so that we will be able to find the best solution from that problem. It is heard easy to do that research. But, in reality it is difficult to do if we lack of information. That is why we need to collecting, organizing and analyzing data to gather dept-information about one case. As long as we study in case study line, it is possible for us have both qualitative and quantitative data such as interviews, questionnaire, observation, etc. At this point, we can note that the combination of those collection method (qualitative and quantitative) become one of characteristics of case study. It is no doubt that case study has differences from other research, especially with descriptive study. In descriptive study we just describe the situation, give all the information and tell the reader everything so that the reader will not have to struggle hardly to think. On the other hand, in case study, It is more than just describing something because it also take place the reader with the same position of the writer which means that there is an arranged information to lead the reader to work hard to think “what was going on” when they face the situation as the writer. Actually there are three basic steps in Case Study, those are: a. Doing Research. There are two ways in doing research. First, do the research in the library and the internet. We need to find out the article that relate to our case. By read the article has been written before we may find a new problem that still need to be solved. Second, interview people who have knowledge about the place or situation related. By asking that people we will have an understanding about what they know or what they think to get new facts in our case. b. Analysis. After we search information from the library and internet, we should put all of the information together to analysis it. Through this way we try to make that information become understandable for the reader and also fulfill what the reader need to know about the situation. Then, we can break the problem down into pieces It will be easier to think about the possible answer start from the smallest thing to the hardest think. We can focus for each sentence and find the evidence about that piece of the problem. It is no doubt that case study can make a theoretical statement, it still need evidences to support what it presented c. Writing the Case Study. For introduction of the actual writing, we can describe the problem as the clue for the reader to think about the main problem and then come to their conclusion. Case Study has severl strength and weakness : 1. The strength · Case study is more about the reality even though it is difficult to organize. Case Study becomes powerful tool of analysis because of its setting research in real-life situation. · Case Study pay attention to the complexity of the case. Case study easier to understood by reader because they get enough information to discuss the situation by themselves. · Case Study can be done by only one researcher. 2. The weakness. · Case Study can be personal and subjective in case that not only the writer but also the reader can make their conclusion basd on the information given. · The result of case study may be generalizable just if other researcher see that application. Actually, the purpose of case study is to investigate a phenomena deeply and observe the characteristics of individual from one population. In this case study, the method of collecting data such as observation take place an important role. There are two kind of observation in case study : 1. Participant Observation In this kind of observation, the observer become one of the member of community that he observed. The researcher do the activity that similar o other members. By do this action th researcher covers himself from the other so that he could be able to observe the behavior or the situation to that community. 2. Non-Participant Observation. Unlike the participant observation, in non-participant observation the researcher stay away in the corner while he observe the object of community. The researcher pretends to do something and do not staring at the object. He just let the object to act in one condition and then note everything that he seen in every several minutes. So the researcher tries not to interference the object. |
When we want to conduct a research we have to be able to distinguish between research method and research technique.
v Research technique refers to the behavior and instruments we use in performing research operations such as making observations, recording data, technique of processing data etc. On the other hand, Research methods refers to the behavior and instruments used in selecting and constructing research technique.
v Research technique are more particular. But the research methods are more general because it is the method that generate techniques. For the example, when the research methods only need analysis of historical records for the library resources, the research techniques need the recording of notes, content analyses, tape and film listening and analysis for its library resources.
v The common example of research techniques are scales, recording techniques, content analysis, moving average, longitudinal/cross sectional collections of data, etc. On the other side, the common examples of research methods are observations, questionnaire, analysis of records, case study, etc.
v In the applied research the first group includes method and the second group includes techniques. So the first group include the methods will concern about the collection of data but the second group that include the technique will concern about the relationship between the data and the unknowns.
I think it will be easier to understand the differences between research method and research methodology by using an example.
The example is in education programme of television.. If we are investigating the effectivity of the education programme on television based on the particular user perception by using questionnaire or by conduct interview, it would be have different result between using method of questionnaire an method of interviews. Thus, when we talk about research method we talk about what appropriate method can be used to know the effectivity of education programme on television wheter it is questionnaire, observation or interview. Then, we need to know why we choose that method and how the data was collected show the effectivity of that education program on television. This evaluation of the reason of one decision that suit with the objectivity is part of the methodology that the researcher should do. When we talk of research methodology, we not only talk about the choosen methode but also about the reason why we choose it.
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