1. Research Design/Proposal
Research
design describes your planning on what exactly you are going to do in the
research. It is presented during the proposal seminar. The ultimate aim is to
ensure that your research is strictly following the norms of scientific
research and that it does make sense and worthy.
Research design/proposal
should contain such elements as:
1. Cover
2. Approval
sheet
3. Contents
4. Basic
consideration
5. Research
focus or delimitation
6. Statements of problem
7. Research
questions or Purposes
8. Basic
assumption (if necessary)
9. Significance
10. Theoretical
bases
11. Hypotheses
(if necessary)
12. Methodology
13. Research schedule
(if necessary)
14. References
Such
a research proposal is written by following a particular mechanic. It includes
the paper and the typing instructions as follows:
1.
Paper : 70 grams of A4s paper
2.
Font : 12-point Times New Roman
3. Space : Double; except before subchapters (triple) and
free standing block of quotation of more than forty words (single)
4.
Margins : Left 4 cm, top 3 cm, right 3 cm, and bottom 3
cm
5.
Page Numbers : Arabic numerals at the bottom center of the
page; except for the early part which uses Roman numerals.
6.
Number of Pages :
from 10 to 14 pages (main body)
Students
are recommended to use computer of Microsoft Words as the writing instrument.
In addition, there should be no correction on the manuscript. Change the
page(s) if you should correct your manuscript.
2.
Introduction to Research
Research
is a systematic process of collecting and analyzing information (data) for some
purpose. To acquire sophisticating result, students are supposed to consider
the research methods—how to collect and to analyze data—through reliable and
trustworthy procedures. Methodology then is what a researcher actually does to
obtain data.
Choosing
a research subject may sometimes become a troublesome for any student. There
are some useful hints for students to consider. First, do not make a too
general subject because you can miss the point of your purpose. Large subjects
often map out more territory than you can cover. Second, choose a subject which
lies close to your interest and experience. Good subjects do not always produce
an interesting result; but any subject, however commonplace, can yield a good
writing if it is made to reflect the observations, ideas, and values of the
writer. Ideally, the subject arises out of the students’ own need to find an
answer to some questions.
For
most research studies, reading references may be divided into three stages:
introductory, intensive, and supplementary. Introductory reading gives the
background needed in order to begin the investigation intelligently. Usually,
the best sources for introductory reading are general works: articles, chapters
in textbooks, histories, and specialized dictionaries. Intensive reading,
meanwhile, provides the bulk of information from which the researcher may have
preliminary answers or hypotheses. When you begin intensive reading, you should
also begin taking notes because you are now beginning to collect the relevant
theories. Supplementary reading, at length, fills in gaps and provides added
information.
Writing
a research, after all, is not just stringing together statements from books or
articles. Instead, it is a complete reorganization and reworking of all
relevant sources into an original manuscript. Writing a rough draft, preparing
final revision, and proofreading the finished manuscript are very important in
conducting a research. It is best to allow at least a day between the completion
of one and the beginning of the next.
Composing
the rough draft will depend on your capability and the nature of your material.
The revision then should turn the rough draft into a finished manuscript. It
should provide smooth transitions among units, polish the diction and sentence
structure and remove any awkward constructions, and check the relationship of
detailed information to the topic idea. Finally, proofread your manuscript at
least twice to detect any errors that survive the revision. Such reading is
mainly concerned with mechanical matters.
3.
Elements
Even
though the number of chapters is not always strictly fixed because students may
design their writing into more chapters so that the skripsi may adequately explain their idea, it is recommended that
students use the standard five chapters. A typical main body consists of
introduction, theoretical bases, research methodology, results and discussion,
and conclusion.
The
typical standard of research chapters can apply to both qualitative and
quantitative research; however, students should be careful that there is an
extreme difference between them. Some items might even have different
terminologies. After all, the concept, characteristics and paradigm of both
methods are quite the opposite.
a. Introduction
This
chapter describes a general overview of what students have arranged. It may
contain some items like basic consideration, reasons for choosing the topic, focus
(qualitative) or delimitation (quantitative), research questions (qualitative) or
statements of problem (quantitative), purposes of research, basic assumption
(quantitative; if necessary), hypothesis (quantitative; if necessary), and
significance of research.
Basic
consideration provides a lead-in to statements of the more specific purposes of
the writing. It establishes a context which introduces the content area or
subject. In this section, students may quote the result of any previous
research related to the topic, cite leading researchers in the area, or develop
the historical context of the research. Shared knowledge, rhetorical questions,
background information, and a quotation are very useful techniques to start
writing in order to draw readers’ attention to the topic.
Reasons
for choosing the topic convey what makes a student pick out a certain topic to
study. It usually shows the importance of discussing the research focus or
variables and something special or unique about the setting.
Focus
contains the detail of statement about the main topic which is going to reveal
in the research. In quantitative research, delimitation is the terminology used
in place of focus to limit the research variables in order that the research
will not extend uncontrollably. Delimitation restricts the problem into a
precise aspect upon which the students should concentrate.
Research
questions or statements of problem consist of some questions that the
researcher is going to answer. It is an effort for the researcher to explicitly
state the questions in a brief, clear, and comprehensive manner in the form of
interrogative sentences.
Purposes
of research state the goals which are going to achieve. The purposes should
refer to the research questions or statements of problem.
Basic
assumption explains the students’ initial thoughts as the basis of research. It
is a general knowledge that does not need any proofs to validate.
Not
all quantitative research needs a hypothesis: explorative and descriptive
quantitative do not need any hypotheses. Hypotheses are temporary answers to
the statements of problems which theoretically hold the best probable answers.
Significance
of research shows how a research may contribute theoretically to the advance of
a specific discipline of science. It also demonstrates how the research can
contribute practically to the public administration, education, and the human
races.
b. Theoretical
Bases
Theoretical
bases elaborate the object or variables of the research descriptively. In a
research, prediction or temporary answers to problems should be based on
scientific knowledge. Moreover, students as researchers must study any relevant
theories related to the topic to be presented in Chapter 2. It may come from
books, journals, periodicals, and other research findings. In qualitative
research, theoretical bases function as a material to help explain e certain
phenomena of grounded data in the setting and end with a “theory”. Quantitative
research, on the contrary, begins from a theory and end with an acceptance or
refusal to the theory based on the collected data on the setting.
c. Research
Methodology
Research
methodology explains how the research is carried out. It should elaborate all
the details of what the researchers do during their research: the design and
reasons, setting and time schedule, kinds and sources of data, population and
sample, instruments, techniques of data collection, and data analysis. Since
qualitative and quantitative research paradigm is quite the opposite, each will
be explained respectively.
1) Qualitative Research
Operationally, qualitative research
method should explain its research design and reasons, setting and time
schedule, kinds and sources of data, techniques of data collection, and data
analysis.
In qualitative research, the
research design may take the form of historical, observational, life history,
library, single-case, multi-case, or multi-site studies. Among those designs,
case study and library research are the most popular ones. To ensure that
students know what to do in their research, they must explain the reasons of
their choice of applying such a design.
Setting shows a certain place where the
research takes place. Its address should be stated clearly in order that either
supervisors or examiners can confirm the research process. Time schedule tells
how long the researcher stays on the setting to collect the data. It is also to
indicate the attendance of the researcher on the setting. Qualitative approach
needs the researcher to stay for some time on the setting to give enough time
for him or her to reveal anything behind any events. Visiting the setting for
only several times will not be enough to get people’s trust to give important hidden
information.
Data collected for qualitative
research are mainly from primary sources; for instance, any action of the
subjects and words from the informants. Additional data, meanwhile, may come
from documents (whether formal or private) and photos. The sources of data are
activities, place and actors. All of them are chosen by the researcher himself
or herself (purposive sampling).
The techniques of data collection in
qualitative research include participant observation, in-depth interview,
documents, and documentation. Qualitative researchers usually use field notes
as the main instrument to record the data. In addition, to help researchers get
more accurate data, another instrument like tape recorder is also often used.
Data analysis has been usually
carried out since the researchers start collecting data to avoid overloaded
data when they have to continue analyzing data for final conclusion after
leaving the setting. The most popular data analysis for qualitative research is
the interactive cycle from Miles and Huberman which include data display, data
reduction, and verification.
2) Quantitative Research
Research
methodology in quantitative research should at least tell the readers about research
design and the reasons of applying such design, its population and sample,
instrument, techniques of data collection, and data analysis.
Survey
and experiment are two examples of quantitative research designs. Experimental
research designs can take several forms such as pre-experimental, true
experimental, quasi-experimental, and single-subject. Students are also
supposed to explain the reasons of their choice of applying such a design to
ensure that they know what to do in their research.
Sample
is the individuals who were selected from a larger group, called the
population, to participate in the study. There are several methods of sampling
that can be used to draw representative, or unbiased, samples from a
population. However, the best way to choose a sample is by using random
sampling.
A
general rule of advice in conducting research is to choose an instrument that
has established the types of reliability and validity the researcher needs. However,
students can always utilize standardized instruments or ask statisticians as
well as supervisors to develop an instrument.
Research
involves gathering information about the variables in the study. From several
techniques and approaches for collecting data from the sample, students should
adopt the best one for answering the research question. The common methods of
collecting data are questionnaire, interview, tests, and observation.
Quantitative research is always
utilizing statistics as a means of data analysis. However, as beginners in
research study, students are recommended to use descriptive statistics.
Students, then, are required only to use either percentage analysis or measures
of central tendency. Before analyzing, students should organize the data to
make sense out of the data. The most simple organization is to transform the
raw data to a list of frequency distribution. In addition, frequency data are
often effectively displayed pictorially, whether through histogram or frequency
polygon.
d. Results
and Discussion
This
chapter consists of three sections: presentation, findings, and discussion. At
first, students are to describe the setting. Complete description is needed in
order that readers understand the setting objectively. After that, students
describe the findings. Findings should refer to the research questions or the
statements of problem. In qualitative research students may show the result of
observation, in-depth interview, documents, and documentation to add describe
the findings. In quantitative research, on the other hand, students can use a
list of frequency distribution, histogram, and or frequency polygon to help
explain the findings.
Finally,
students should interpret the findings through discussion. Its ultimate aim is
to answer the research questions/statements of problem and to show how the
research purposes can be attained. Results should be explained explicitly based
on the logics and the existing theories. In addition, students can always
compare their research to other relevant researches in order to improve
research credibility.
In
quantitative research common misperception often arises when the result
contradicts the hypothesis. Instead of worrying that the research is such a
failure, students should concentrate on how to explain why it happens. Students
may also convey some shortcomings that negatively influence the result so that
later researchers can handle them more properly and have a better result
accordingly.
e. Conclusion
This
chapter contains two main issues: conclusion and suggestion. Conclusion must be
directly related to the research questions or the statements of problem. In
other words, research conclusion should refer substantively to the findings. Moreover,
content consistency among research questions/statements of problems, research
purposes, findings, and conclusion is maintained.
Consequently,
suggestion is also based on the conclusion. However, its phrases must be
operational and specific. It should be stated explicitly and be relatively easy
to understand.
4. Techniques of Writing
This
chapter determines the rules and guidelines that students should observe to
ensure clear and consistent ideas of writing. It concerns with the use of
headings, citations, mechanics, spacing and punctuation, seriation, writing
style, and good sentences.
a.
Headings and Labels
Headings
indicate the organization of skripsi
and establish the importance of each topic. Students may apply four levels of
headings in writing skripsi: use
Arabic numerals for all the labels.
The
first level is for chapters. All the letters in this level are centered, bold-type,
and uppercase. The second level is for subchapters. They are centered and
bold-type: capitalize only the first letter of each major word (not articles,
prepositions, nor conjunctions). Heading in the third level is flush left,
bold-type, and uppercase-lowercase. And heading in the fourth level is flush
left and uppercase-lowercase.
b. Citations
Crediting
or citing a source from an expert is always very useful to support your ideas.
To acknowledge the person you are quoting by mentioning the original source
directly or indirectly is important to avoid the practice of a serious academic crime of plagiarism.
For
your skripsi, use the technique of citation within a text. In citing a
source, do not forget to always give credit to a source whenever:
1.
You use a direct quotation.
2.
You copy a table, chart, or other diagram.
3.
You summarize a discussion in your own word.
4.
You construct a diagram from data provided by others.
5.
You paraphrase an opinion that you have read rather
than reached independently.
6.
You present specific evidence that cannot reasonably be
considered common knowledge.
In
citations, always state the author’s surname, the year of publication, and page
number(s). When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the
reference occurs in text. If it has three to six authors, cite all of them at
the first time and in subsequent citations include only the surname of the
first author followed by “et al.”. If, however, it has more than six authors,
cite only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”.
Spell
out the complete name of corporate authors in the first citation and
abbreviated thereafter. If the names are short, spell out completely all the
times. When a work is designated “Anonymous,” cite the word Anonymous in the
text as well as in the reference list.
Examples:
Smith, Harsh, Palmer, and
Jones (1993, p. 46) explain . . . . (first citation)
Smith et al. (1993, p.
66) state . . . . (second citation)
Defence Institute
Language Center (DILC) (1995, p. 13) . . . . (first
citation)
DILC (1995, p. 2) . . . .
(second citation)
(Anonymous, p. 25)
stipulates that . . . .
Direct
citation must be accurate. It must follow the wording, spelling, and interior
punctuation of the original source. If any incorrect occurs, insert the word sic, underlined and bracketed ([sic])
immediately after the error. Incorporate a short quotation (words, phrases, or
two or three short sentences fewer than forty words) in the text and enclose the
quotation with double quotation marks (“). But, display a quotation of three or
more long sentences of more than forty words in a free-standing, indented, and
single-spaced block without quotation marks. If you have double quotation marks
within your quotation, modify them into single quotation marks (‘). If you
leave out any part of a quotation, even a single word, use ellipsis (. . .). Add an extra dot (. . . .) if the omission
includes the end of a sentence in the original.
Indirect
quotation is used when a source is simply referred to. In this case, it does
not take any special punctuation because it is simply incorporated in
paraphrased form into the text.
Examples:
“There is little reason
to believe . . . about the ‘learning order’ listening,
speaking, reading, and writing and little if any prove [sic] that
inductive is more efficient than deductive” (Harmer, 1990, p. 13).
Harmer (1990) explains:
There is little reason to believe that there is
anything sacrosanct about the “learning order” listening, speaking, reading, and writing and little if any prove [sic] that inductive is more
efficient than deductive. Students learn through the eye as well as through the
ear, by deduction as well as by induction, by learning about as well as by learning how.
There is now considerable evidence that different people learn in different
ways, . . . . (p. 13).
Harmer (1990, p. 13)
argues that there is not anything sacrosanct about the learning order. Instead,
. . . .
c.
Mechanics
As
a kind of academic writing, skripsi also
needs a particular mechanic. It includes the paper and the typing instructions
as follows:
1.
Paper : 70 grams of A4s paper
2.
Font : 12-point Times New Roman
3.
Space : Double; except before subchapters (triple) and
free standing block of quotation of more than forty words (single)
4.
Margins : Left 4 cm, top 3 cm, right 3 cm, and bottom 3
cm
5.
Page Numbers : Arabic numerals at the bottom center of the
page; except for the early part which uses Roman numerals.
6.
Border Page : Light blue paper with a logo of STIBA at the
center. Put a border page before Chapter 1 and before References. It is to
separate the main body from skripsi complement
7.
Binding : Blue hard cover. All letters are black; the
logo is golden.
Students
are recommended to use computer of Microsoft Words as the writing instrument.
In addition, there should be no correction on the manuscript. Change the
page(s) if you should correct your manuscript.
d.
Spacing and Punctuation
To
improve the quality of skripsi composition,
students should pay attention on the ways of giving space and using
punctuation. The following are some rules to consider:
1. Always leave one space after comma, semicolon, colon,
and end punctuation such as period, question mark, and exclamation mark except
after internal periods in abbreviations (e.g., a.m., i.e., U.S.).
2.
Leave no space before or after hyphen (e.g.,
post-test).
3.
Leave no space before or after dash (e.g.,
quantitative—findings represented by numbers—or qualitative).
4.
Leave one space before and after minus (e.g., 9 – 7)
e.
Writing Style
Writing
skripsi is not like writing a
textbook or writing a summary. Students are supposed to apply their skill of
writing by using a formal research report standard of essay style. Moreover, students should avoid using numbering system
unless for such relevant things as formulating research questions or drawing
conclusion. Students can list items by using seriation, a technique of relating
ideas through enumeration. To show seriation within a paragraph or sentence,
use lowercase letters in parentheses.
Examples:
Subjects considered (a)
some alternative courses of action, (b) the factors influencing the decision,
and (c) the probability of success.
But,
to indicate seriation of separate paragraphs (e.g., itemized conclusions or
successive steps in a procedure), number each paragraph with an Arabic numeral,
followed by a period.
Examples:
Based on the conclusions,
it is recommended that:
1. The principal should create a high
expectation of students’ academic achievement and to carry out a systematic
instructional program; further, the principal should formulate school
development plan for the next terms.
2. The principal should learn to work
together with his teachers to formulate not only regular instructional program,
but also the special and incidental ones,
3. The principal should begin exercising
his role as an instructional supervisor.
f.
Good Sentences
Writing
is an integrated skill of expressing one’s thought in a text by applying
grammar rules into sentences to form specific discourses. Therefore, it is
important that students avoid unnecessary grammatical errors. Careless
composition may distract the real meaning and cause ambiguity. A good sentence
must have unity to avoid irrelevant details and ideas, coherence to have clear
connection and consistent order, and emphasis to place important material in the
emphatic position.
Excessive
details and subordination in one sentence usually disturb the sentence unity.
To make the sentence cohere (stick together), avoid faulty parallelism,
dangling and misplaced modifiers, confusing shifts (voice, person, mood, or
tense), sentence fragments, comma splices, and fused or run-on sentence.
Wordiness, meanwhile, makes your sentence lose its emphasis.
One
useful technique to check whether you have made good sentences or not is by
rereading your manuscript again and again after two or three days. You may also
consult to your friends or even the lecturers, especially your supervisors,
regularly. After all, the quality of your sentences reflects your English
proficiency, and subsequently influences how well your skripsi is.
5. Listing References
References
are necessary to let readers know what has influenced your work. The reference
list at the end of skripsi provides
the information necessary to identify and retrieve each source, whether from
books, journals, research report, or skripsi/thesis/dissertation.
Such list of source information must follow a particular format and must be
arranged in alphabetical order according to the author’s surnames. Each entry
contains author’s name, year of publication, title, publishing data, and other
information necessary for identification and library search. Be aware that the
indented lines for the reference list are for the second and remaining lines.
a. Authors
1.
Write all the authors’ name: write the surnames first.
2.
Use comma to separate surname from the remaining name initials
and semicolon to separate authors; use an ampersand (&) before the last
author.
3.
Spell out the full name of a corporate author.
4.
For an edited book, place the editors’ name in the
author position and enclose the abbreviation “Ed.” (one editor) or “Eds.” (more
than one editor) in parentheses after the last editor.
5.
Finish the element with a period.
b. Title
1.
Underline the whole title and capitalize the first
letter of the title, the first letter after colon, and the first letter of
every major word; italicize any non-English words, phrases, or clauses.
2.
Enclose additional information necessary for
identification and retrieval (e.g., 3rd ed. or Vol. 2) in parentheses soon
after the title. Put no punctuation between the title and the parenthetical
information.
3.
For journal, write the article’s title before the
journal’s title: underline the journal’s title but not the article’s. End the
element with a period
4.
For chapters or articles in an edited book, write the
title and all the editors’ name before the book’s title: underline the book’s
title but not the article’s.
5.
For journals or chapters/articles in an edited book,
add the pages after the whole title or parenthetical information.
6.
Finish every title with a period.
c. Publication
Information
1.
Give the city and/or the state (country) where the
publisher is located.
2.
Give the name of the publisher in as brief a form as
intelligible. Spell out the names of associations and university presses, but
omit terms such as Publishers, Co., or
Inc. that are not required for easy
identification.
3.
If two or more publisher locations are given, give the
location listed first or, if specified, the location of the publisher’s home
office.
4.
For sources from internet, write the website’s full
homepage.
5.
For skripsi/tesis/dissertation,
write “Skripsi/Thesis/Dissertation”
and the full name of the university/college.
6.
Finish the element with a period.
Examples:
American Psychological Association (APA). 1986. Publication
Manual (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.:
Author.
Bogdan, R.C. & Biklen, S.K. 1998. Qualitative
Research in Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Hasan, Iqbal. 2004. Analisis Data Penelitian dengan Statistik. Jakarta: Bumi Aksara.
Jabrohim (Ed.). 2001. Metodologi Penelitian Sastra. Yogyakarta:
Hanindita Graha Widia.
Miller, W.J. & Morse-Cluley, E. 1984. How to
Write Book Reports. New York:
Arco.
Richardson, B. 1995. Vampires in Myths and History.
www.chebucto.ns.ca/vampire/vhist.html.
Rosidi, Imron. 2005. A Study on English Language
Teaching Methodologies Implementation at STIBA Bumi Beringin Manado. Manado: Skripsi
STIBA Bumi Beringin.
Walker, Robin. 2001. International Intelligibility. English
Teaching Professional. 10-13. Hongkong: Education.
