RESEARCH METHOD

RESEARCH METHOD:

What will you do?

Having selected the topic which interests us, the first thing that must be in research is purpose, then find out the way or technique to reach it.

There are four factors to reach the purposes. Namely:

1. Establishing rapport with the respondents.
2. Determining samples.
3. Collecting data.
4. Analyzing data.

1.     Establishing rapport with the respondents.

It is a kind of permission or relation to research location and respondents. It is important to negotiate with the research objects. Rapport, in Webster’s New College Dictionary, is relation marked by harmony, conformity, accord, or affinity (1981:949)

It is important as researcher is research instrument, and without this relationship the research will be not conducted. This relationship affects not only on researcher and observed objects, but also on the entire research design. Researcher is part of the study which so-called reflexivity.

Rapport is belief, and belief is a visa to enter respondents’ world in order to make them discover their feeling and information comfortably. As conclusion, establishing rapport is mechanism to minimize psychology distance, relax the situation, and establish the respondents’ belief towards researcher.   

2.     Determining sample      

In research, determining samples is not only applied to human kinds as respondents but also to the setting, events, and process.

Actually we can use probability sampling as we assume that samples represent its population. We can also use stratified sampling if the samples and characteristics are bigger and various   

We should however, use purposeful sampling in Qualitative research. As Maxwell (1996) in Alwasilah (2006) that there some reasons why we should use purposeful sampling:

1.      The typical and representative of its background, individual, or activity.

2.      To homogenate in population.

3.      To criticize the available theories.

4.      To come up with the comparison in enlightening different reasons amongst background, event, or individual.

From these reason denote that qualitative emphasize on comparability and translatability. Determining sample is not static but dynamic from phase to phase.

3.     Collecting Data

We have to figure out some theoretical assumptions about collecting data.

1.      There is no equivalent or deductive relationship between research questions and the method of collecting data. 

2.      The researcher uses triangulation to get complete data. Triangulation is useful because some reasons:

Ø  To reduce limitation of conclusion of methods and certain resource data

Ø  To increase validity of conclusion

According to Green et al, Creswell (1994:175) there are five purposes of research combination method.

1.      Look for convergence of research results

2.      Look for overlapped findings from some methods.

3.      Develop research results, that previous methods facilitate the coming methods 

4.      Find out the solution when there are contradictive findings or new perspective.

5.      Do the expanse that combination methods will expand study.

There are some methods to collect data; namely:

3.1. Survey

The most popular in descriptive research is survey or questioner. It describes characteristics, events, or phenomenon. It is used to assess three factors:

1.      Existence and distribution of natural attitudes and characteristics

2.      Frequency of natural events appearance.

3.      Relationship among characteristics, attitudes, and events or phenomenon that have been observed.

3.2. Experiment

This is commonly used in quantitative research or scientific methods. The main idea of experimental research is that phenomenon can be observed, assessed, or at least, inferred from sensory observation. The goal of this method is to explain why something happens. Researcher controls the situation and manipulates or treats on a variable then observes it. He has to compare between manipulated situation and natural situation.    

3.3. Interview

            Interview is used to gather information that cannot be attained by observation. Researcher can get in-depth information using observation because some factors:

Ø  Researcher can describe or rephrase some difficult questions for respondents.

Ø  Researcher can propose follow-up questions.

Ø  Respondents tend to answer if they are given some questions.

Ø  Respondents can tell something that happens in the past and in the future.

            Meanwhile, the disadvantage of interview is that the respondents may be not honest or reluctant to be frank in answering a very sensitive question or will threat themselves. In this respect, respondents will tend to conclude that researchers want respondents to answer as they want. This disadvantage should be neutralized by other methods such as observation or survey and so-called Triangulation.

3.4. Observation

This technique gives researcher the chance to infer a conclusion about meaning, respondents’ perspective and event or processes that have been observed. By observation, researcher will see the invisible understandings or tacit understanding, theory-in-use (how theory is directly used) and respondents’ perspectives that cannot be exposed by interview or survey.

The disadvantages of observation are tendency to disturb situation and make the background no more natural and some respondents may be threaten because their attitudes are documented. A good researcher must be careful to make sure all respondents are safe and secure.

3.5. Document Analysis          

In Qualitative paradigm, it must be differentiated between document and record. Document is an original or official paper relied on as the basis, proof, or support of something (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary). While Guba and Lincoln (1981:333) differentiate both of them as follows:

Ø  Record is every written note which prepared to prove or to calculate an event. E.g. accountant notes, married letter, mortality note, and the like.

Ø  Document is the written or filmed things, save record, which not specially prepared for the researcher himself. E.g. letter, memoir, autobiography, diary, journal, text book, paper and so on. 

These are important as supporting proofs. All documents must be analyzed, and enclosed in thesis. It is necessary because of some reasons (Guba & Lincoln: 1981) namely:

1. Document is an everlasting information resource; even it is not valid anymore.
2. Document becomes the proof to defend our selves towards some criticisms or misinterpretation.
3. Document is a natural resource data not only appears from its context but also describes its context itself.
4. Document is relatively easy, cheap and some times free of charge.
5. Document is a resource data which is not reactive. When respondents are reactive and unfamiliar, researcher can use document as a solution.
6. Document is a completing resource and enriching information that have been got by interview and observation.

In qualitative there are only four essential methods which used namely;

1. Observation
2. Text analysis/Document
3. Interview
4. Transcription.

4.     Analyzing Qualitative Data

            The researcher must not postpone data analysis. He should analyze it as soon as he finishes first observation or interview, then he writes its report. Having written the report, he should go on interview or observation again. This strategy is important to make sure that every phase of collecting data is guided by clear focus. Every analysis has category as row data to develop relative theory (Theoretical sensitivity).

4.1. Writing Memo

Memo is useful to develop researcher’s mind and write it when the ideas come. Actually when we write a memo we begin our analysis data. By memo, we get freedom to write a new idea and new perspective.

4.2. Coding

In analyzing transcript of interview or field note, we need to code consistently for the same phenomenon. This helps us in some cases, namely:

1. Easy to identify phenomenon.
2. Easy to calculate the phenomenon frequency.
3. Code frequency denotes tentative findings.
4. Help us to arrange categories and subcategories.

The tentative phenomenon is useful to focus on the research. The focus on research brings about to later leading questions in the next interview on the same respondents or on the new respondents. The focus on research can also change the wording or the previous research questions. It is bottom-up, inductive, and based on the field.

4.3. Categorization

The important strategy to categorize findings is coding. In qualitative research, coding is intended to calculate some categories which determined before. According to Maxwell (1996:78-9) coding is to fracture the data and rearrange it into categories that facilitate the comparison of data within and between these categories and that aid in the development of theoretical concepts. Another form of categorizing analysis involves sorting the data into broader themes and issues.

The findings can be categorized based on available theory, or established inductively from field data (grounded). One of general strategies that used in analyzing data is general strategy (the opposite: Operational strategy). It is based on theoretical prepositions that help to focus on certain data and ignore the other data.

Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggested two strategies in analyzing naturalistic research, namely (1) analytical induction and (2) constant comparison.

The data is classified into categories then compared cross categories.

4.4. Contextualization

Another strategy to analyze data is contextualization which includes some techniques as Maxwell (1996) said, namely cases study, profile, some discourse analysis, narrative analysis, and micro ethnography analysis. These strategies have the same features namely; not looking for the equality to include in categories which are free from contexts but looking for relationship between statements and events in a context.

4.5. Display

Display is included in analytical strategy in analyzing and interpreting qualitative data. Display covers matrix or table, networks or concept chart, flowchart, diagram, and so on.

In analyzing data, display has three functions:

Ø  To reduce data from the complex into simple.

Ø  To conclude the researcher’s interpretation towards data.

Ø  To present whole data.

4.6. Analytical Files

It is how to process data analytically when researcher collects the data. The collected data should be classified in some achieves such as the archives of interview, the archives of respondents, and the archives of place or background.