CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Topics and Research Methods Chosen by Students
In order to answer the first research question, the researcher visited three websites to examine the topic and research method chosen by students year 2017 English education program.
The first is Siakad, a website to manage students' academic profiles, courses enrolled, subjects enrolled and academic reports. The second is a website that manages students' final projects, and the third is where students reposit their final thesis files. The researcher obtained information about students year 2017 from the first website. There are 76 students enrolled, consisting of 60 female students and 16 male students. The researcher discovered students' research topics and methods from the second website. The website also informs the researcher about the progress and the status of the student's research. The third website provided the researcher with information about graduate students' research topics and methods. The researcher also obtained information about the date they had their seminar proposal and thesis defence.
In table 1(see appendix 4), which contains data from students' theses, shows the thesis title, the research method chosen by year 2017 students of English study program, and the status of their research per October 2022. Graduated status means the students have graduated from the program and the time spent was counted from the beginning they enrolled on the thesis unit until they were announced to have passed the thesis exam. Research supervision status means the student had passed the seminar proposal, and the time spent on supervision was counted from their proposal day until October 2022. Proposal supervision status means the students had enrolled on the thesis unit but have yet to go into the proposal seminar. The time spent on supervision was counted from the semester they took the thesis unit until October 2022. Based on the table from 76 students of year 2017, 57 students have graduated, and 19 are still in the process (9 in research supervision and 10 in proposal supervision). Seventy-six students had different topics that created numerous of titles and used different methods.
Therefore, choosing an ideal title is the first step in conducting research. It is followed by determining a suitable method. The method itself has to be able to reach what the students want to achieve. In choosing a title, the students could consider things surrounding them from their favourite course. As Wang and Park (2016) said, a good topic is a topic students are interested in.
This statement is similar to the study by Casado-Lumbreras & Colomo-Palacios (2014), who said that choosing a good topic is crucial for the process.
Moreover, what happens currently could influence the students in choosing a topic. The topics indeed vary significantly because every student has their point of view. Nevertheless, from their faculty, we can guess a few topics the students chose. From what they had learned, there must be a topic about teaching and language skills. The topic and method are the crucial first step before writing a thesis to determine the rest of the journey.
The topics chosen by students of the English education study program year 2017, dominated by teaching and learning, learning media, and skills especially speaking. The rest was about sociolinguistics, translation, critical thinking or HOTS, discourse analysis and learning motivation. In their thesis title, the students focus on more than one topic. Many of them combine two main focuses, such as skill and media, as well as teaching and media. In a more extended title, they also include the situation at that time, the pandemic of Covid-19. Based on the table, most titles have Covid-19, pandemic, or online learning. No wonder since they started their thesis, the global pandemic of Covid-19 influenced all aspects of life, including education.
The topics are also considered when determining the method used in the thesis.
More than half of the students choose qualitative research, 53 students. In the second place, there is qualitative with 16 students, and the last is the mixed method with only seven students.
Based on that number, the researcher tried to analyze it with the time students needed to finish their thesis. Based on graduated students, the average time spent by students to finish qualitative research was 2,9 semesters. In comparison, quantitative research needed 2,7 semesters, and mixed methods took three semesters to finish their thesis. Therefore, the qualitative method is mostly used in teaching and learning topics, the quantitative method is used in language skills and motivation topics, and a few about media. Even though only a few students were interested in the mixed method, the topics such as teaching, media and language skills were used.
Moreover, the method and the topic chosen by the students work differently. Some worked well, and others needed more effort and time. In conclusion, qualitative method used in teachers' focus
(perception, difficulty, strategy), students' perception, pre-service teaching experiences, learning media, learning motivation, politeness and material design finished earlier. Theses in topics above were completed in two semesters even though there was in one semester only. Meanwhile, topics about students’ strategies, perceptions, and motivations in quantitative were finished earlier. These topics were completed in two semesters.
Next, the researcher also tried to analyze the time spent with participants' GPAs.
Surprisingly, one of the late students got the highest GPA with an excellent level (3.80), while one of the earliest students got a good level (3.45). The student's GPA does not guarantee that they will finish their thesis early. However, coincidentally the highest GPA student who was considerably late in finishing her thesis used quantitative research in her research methodology.
4.2.Students’ Approaches in Choosing Their Topics and Methods
The researcher conducted a semi-structured interview with six participants to answer the second research question. After the reseacher trancribing the interviews, the researcher sent it to the participants to validated the data or information given in the interviews. Following the positive feedback from the participants, the researcher continued the process that was identified the information, coding built the themes and analyzed it. Here is the result of the interview. To anticipate ethical consideration, participants' names are shown as numbers instead, and all the names mentioned in the interview are censored. Therefore, the earliest students were participants 1, 2, and 3 and slow progress students were participants 4, 5, and 6. Participant 1 used mixed methods in her material design thesis. Participant 2 used the quantitative method in students’
reading strategies for her thesis. Participants 1 and 2 participated in the lectures’ research.
Meanwhile, participant 3’s thesis was similar to participant 2’s thesis. It was about students’
strategies for reading using the quantitative method. Participants 4 and 5 used the same method which is qualitative research. Participant 4’s topic was about learning methods used in learning media. While participant 5’s thesis was about intercultural. The last participant or participant 6’s thesis was quantitative research about students’ learning motivation and achievement.
According to the participants of this research, there are several ways they decided on their topics and methods finally. The following table describes the theme that emerges from the interview. It concludes in the following table.
Table 1. Students approach
No Theme Sub-theme
1. The way participants get an idea for their research topics
a. By collaborating in lecturers’ research b. By Searching on Google Scholar c. From experiences when conducting
pre-service teaching programs d. Get inspired by seniors’ thesis
2. The way participants get an idea of their research methods
a. Consideration of accessible participants
b. From references reading c. From previous study
d. To fulfil the aims of the study
The data suggest various manners students had in deciding their thesis topic. Few of it influenced by other things, from personal to environmental Blaxter (1998) stated that learners must know and produce the topic or idea for what they want to write, which is one of the most important aspects of writing a solid thesis. Therefore, the topic must be related to the student, and they have their way of finding it. Like the topic process, the students also have four ways to find a suitable method. The method chosen has academic reasons more than personal reasons in the deciding process by the students. Based on the interview with six participants, there are four ways students finally got the idea for their thesis topic and method.
1. The way participants get an idea for their research topics
After conducting semi-structured interviews with six participants, the researcher found four ways that participants used to get an idea for their topics and finally decided to use them. The first way is to join in a lecturer's research, yet they had personal reasons to finally decided on the research. The second was a Google Scholar search since she knew what she was engaging in. The third and the fourth are pre- teaching experiences and the sixth got inspired by her senior’s thesis. Four participants shared two manners: joining in lecturers' research and experience while pre-teaching.
a) By collaborating in lecturers’ research
The way to get an idea about a thesis topic is to join in a lecturer's research. Two participants, P1 and P2, had admitted that their thesis was under lecturers' research.
They participate in the research after the lecturers have analyzed the problem before.
Then they can find their detailed topic by relating it to their own experience and the current situation. Interview with P2 conducted in English. Here are their answers:
“ohh iya sebelumnya dapat ide dar- untuk skripsi itu karena saya berpartisipasi di research dengan dosen dengan mam **** dengan mam *** jadi dari research mam **** dengan mam *** itu mereka nge-develop modul kalau ga salah jadi mereka nge-develop e-modul sebelumnya mereka melakukan analisis dulu..” P1
“my thesis is under the research of my lecturer eh is our lecturer ya mam ****
and mam **** so they researched developing ee second language acquisition book ya and then on that time I was giving an- they were allowing me to see them unpublish preliminary research data okay so based on that I read that I analyze their data to find the idea of my research, so that is how I get my topic” P2.
P1 and P2 are the earliest graduated students. They found their topic by collaborating with lecturers' research. Because of that, they got a chance to see the research data. In developing the topic, the participants try to connect it with their experience and situation. The participant who related it to her experience was an experience she had in one of her classes. The other participants got complicated topics based on the current situation.
b) By searching on Google Scholar
Unlike P1 and P2, P3 was already aware of what topic she wanted to conduct. She said she loves reading, so she searched online, especially Google scholar, about reading. Here is what she said:
“Oh iya oke kalau untuk ide biasalah ya searching-searching di google scholar banyak kan ya disitulah di google scholar dapat idenya”P3
P3 found the idea by searching on Google scholar, and then she realized a topic still needed to be discussed in her classes. From her interest, she found the topic with little help from her curiosity. This finding is undoubtedly in line with Donaghey
(2020) deep commitment and interest in the topic being researched certainly helped to get through the difficult times.
c) From experiences when conducting pre-service teaching programs
This research found that students get the idea of their thesis topic from experiences when practising teaching in junior high school. For example, P4 and P5 admitted that they decided on their topic based on their experience in the class by saying:
“..jadi pengalaman kakak kuliah dan juga PPL kemaren guru-guru di apa di SMP tu gunain Zoom jadi menurut kakak ohh kayak bagus ni apa ngambil judul tentang media Zoom ini juga” P4
“..memang kakak dari awal itu kepengen neliti buku aja gitu kayak mana ya dari awal tu ga mau wawancara, ga mau ngumpul data yang keluar-keluar gitu mau datanya udah punya aja gitu kan ya udah analisi buku tapi mikir lagi kan kita kalau di Pragmatics terus di Linguistics itu kan neliti- nelitinya novel, lagu yang gitu-gitu kan Linguisticsnya itu cuman mikir lagi kan harusnya kan di dalam payung pendidikan jadi mikir lagi apalah yang bisa di teliti gitu tapi masih bisa berkenaan dengan pendidikan jadinya neliti buku pelajaran..” P5
Like P4, P5 already knew what she wanted her thesis to look like. She stated that she wanted to research that the data was available already, and she did not have to go out and find it. So she decided to use books. Finally, she decided to do research with textbooks. She got inspired about which textbook to use when she was in pre- teaching. She disagreed with the materials provided in the textbook. She said:
“awalnya itu apa terbesit mau analisis buku tu waktu PPL kan kakak kan PPL di Jambi waktu tu kan dan ngajar juga kan itu pakai buku paket awalnya kayak itu mau neliti buku paket mereka kan karna tu gimana ya kita kan belajar bahasa Inggris tapi tu di dalam buku paket tu apa budaya Indonesia yang paling banyak di situ tu kayak Indonesia di Inggris kan gitu sementara kan kalau kita sebagai pelajar asing maksudnya belajar bahasa asing seharusnya tu lebih fokus ke bahasa asingnya kan jadi maunya tu budayanya itu balance lah budaya Indonesia sama Inggris ada di dalam buku..”P5
P4 and P5 stated their curiosity and interest in the interview result above. Personal reasons can be a strong foundation for their thesis topic. This finding is in line with Donaghey (2020) deep commitment and interest in the topic being researched certainly helped to get through the difficult times.
d) Get inspired by senior’s thesis
The last participant has her reason for choosing her topic. It is different for all the reasons above. She said that it was because her senior gave her advice yet was also inspired by what happened to her. Here is her explanation:
“..ya itu karna sulitnya dapet ide buat ngembangin proposal makanya kakak kepikiran jadi sebenernya itu kita yang salah atau jurusan kita yang salah gitu makanya kakak ngerasa gitu akhirnya tercetuslah berpikir juga bahwa sebenernya anak-anak ini juga meraka tuh masuk bahasa inggris karna salah apa karna gimana gitu itu yang pertama. Yang kedua ideanya itu juga dapet dari senior, jadi salah satu senior itu ada yang skripsinya itu mirip sama skripsi kakak. Beliau bilang, inikan lagi pandemi judulnya kita mungkin sama similar tapi kan kondisinya beda kalau kamu kira-kira mau ngulik lagi topik ini mungkin hasilnya bakalan beda juga beliau bilang seperti itu. Akhirnya kakak coba kembangin ternyata ya at the end memang hasilnya juga beda, salah satunya juga karna senior si.” P6
At first, P6 felt like something was wrong, whether with the study program or with herself, so she thought that maybe her junior also felt the same. And then, her senior also suggested to read his thesis. So she may find something different with a similar problem. This finding is in line with Donaghey (2020), that said students may provide a contemporary update on how things have changed compared with the previous timeframe for thesis topic.
2. The way participants get an idea of their research methods.
After finding how participants chose their thesis topic, the researcher also investigated why they chose the method. Based on the interview result, there are four reasons to finally used the method in their thesis. In addition, three participants shared one reason, according to the interview.
a) Consideration of accessible participants
This point is the purpose of the method itself. The method chosen is to reach the participants to more accessible. If the method is easy to reach the participant, it is easy for the researcher to gather the data. Participant 1 used this to choose the suitable method for her thesis topic. As she said in line:
“..penggunaan instrumen questionnaire itu biar lebih mudah menjangkau partisipan..” P1
Consideration of accessible participants in choosing the suitable method is similar to Donaghey (2020) accessible the type of data that students require to answer the question.
b) From references reading
Unlike participant 1, participant 2 got the idea about what method to use in her thesis by reading a lot. She also mentioned that she had tried a few methods to match her thesis. Here is her answer:
"..I got that from much reading, so I have- I tried to find which one is more suitable for my research.."
Reading many sources help students gain more information and knowledge. By reading many sources also help them to discover various issues.
c) Previous study
Three participants shared this way: participants 3, 5, and 6. They admit that they chose the method based on a previous related study. Like participant 3, she chose the method because most of the sources she found used the mixed method even though at first she only used one. Here is her explanation:
“..kebanyakan sources yg kakak liat itu ada yang pakai mix mix method tapi kakak pilih kakak pilih quantitative karna kakak pikir ini lebih simple lebih simple ngitungnya lebih simple cuma pake SPSS dan pada akhirnya juga pada akhir penelitian kakak gunain ya mix method wawancara juga akhirnya” P3
Still, in the same vein, participant 5 also said she chose it based on a similar previous thesis. Here is her answer:
“kalau kemaren kan kakak kan baca-baca itu kan thesis dan kebanyakan emang content analysis ini pakai kualitatif deskriptif gitu”P5
Participant 6 also had the same way. However, since she had similar thesis to her senior, so she still followed her senior method as she said in line:
“Oke kalau ide ngambil metode itu sama masih juga berdasarkan saran dari senior kakak masih repetition lah jenis skripsi dia masih bener-bener sama sampai proposal ya.”P6
Not a secret that the thesis can be something familiar. It needed a firm root to make it credible. Students only have to make it fresh using the previous study as the base. Students can make it fresh by connecting it with different situations or objects. This finding is in line with Donaghey (2020) statement that said students might apply a theory or method to a new empirical context.
d) To reach the research question
The last reason for choosing the method is to reach the research question. This is the purpose of the method itself. However, participant 4 stated this is her reason.
To the researcher, she said that she wanted to describe the problem of her thesis topic, as in the line:
“..itulah kenapa kakak milih kuali reasearch karna pengen ngedescribe permasalahan judul yang kakak angkat untuk penelitian kakak tu”P4
4.3.Students’ Experiences in Thesis Writing
This section purposed to provide the answer to the third research question. The interview result reveals experiences that participants had while writing their thesis, categorized into pandemic effect, supervisor experiences, difficulties and strategies. Difficulties are also split based on writing style, grammar and plagiarism and difficulties that slow students encountered.
The strategies were only asked of the earliest graduated students, and the result is shown in the following table.
Table 2. Students’ experiences
No. Theme Sub-theme
1. Pandemic effects 1) Positive
a. Get to know technology b. Cost efficient
c. More time and flexible 2) Negative
a. Data collection b. Covid recovery c. Less bonding with
supervisor
d. Bad internet connection e. Academic service 2. Supervision experiences 1) Well supervised
2) Unwell supervised 3. Writing the thesis difficulties 1) Writing style
2) Grammar and plagiarism 4. Difficulties that cause late 1) Hard to find related journal
2) Stuck with the idea 3) Not focus
4) Lack of motivation 5. Strategies from the earliest 1) Make the target
2) Have a study partner 3) Read many sources 4) Do mini research
1. Pandemic effects
The participants were conducting their research in the middle of the pandemic.
Therefore, the researcher also asked about their thesis writing experience in the middle of the pandemic. To specify, the researcher asked their opinion about a pandemic's positive and negative impacts.
1) The positives
The pandemic has caused all academic activities to be carried out online, from teaching and learning to collecting data for research. However, this situation still brought some advantages for the participants. Some advantages of the interview were, getting to know technology, cost-efficient, and more time and flexibility.
a. Get to know technology.
The only way to reach the participants in the pandemic situation is through the internet or online. Fortunately, the technology is supportive already. The participants of this research have found an advanced way to reach and conclude the data using Google Forms as a questionnaire instrument. Here is participant 1's answer:
“..keuntungannya kan kita lebih tau ada ada kayak google form jadi lebih mudah..”P1
Participant 2 also has the same opinion about Google forms. However, she found it so helpful in collecting the data. She said:
"..Google form questionnaire it helped a lot for my research. I think that was I can say that it was my saviour and also actually that should be a good side of technology right it is better to use to use Google form questionnaire I think rather than the old one rather the paper I- like like let the technology conclude the result for you I mean you do not have to do it like one by one something like that.."P2
The internet has been used optimally since the pandemic. Therefore, two participants said they learned more about what technology can do with the internet. In addition, they found a helpful tool to gather and conclude their data. These findings are similar to the previous study by
Suparman (2021), in which the research findings were that students think ICT is very useful and convenient in writing their thesis.
b. Cost efficient
Another advantage of the pandemic is that we do not have to spend much money. Still, in the same vein, students can reach the participant through calls which saves transportation money. Participant 4 said:
“..ga terlalu biaya kakak ga terlalu si bermasalah si dan ngambil data ke siswa pun ya kayak gini lah kakak wawancara lewat telfon ga ga itu juga si lewat WA kan bisa juga nelfon kemaren gitu na”P4
Participant 3 also admitted that the pandemic cost her less since she did not have to print a lot. Here is her answer:
“..plusnya ya hemat biaya ga perlu ngeprint banyak-banyak..”P3
Two of the participant said that the expenses were not much when they were conducting their thesis. One said she had no problem with the money since she gathered the data through a phone call. While the other said that she did not have to print a lot which was cost-efficient.
This sub-theme was against the study by Donohue et al. (2021) about financial impacts.
c. More time and flexible
The last positive effect of a pandemic is about time. During the pandemic, we must stay at home if there is no unnecessary thing to do outside. This situation gave the participants more time to write their thesis and flexibility, participant 2, participant 5 and participant 6 felt.
"..also since it was pandemic and we have, I mean we should stay at home, so I have I had a lot of time for myself I think to to write to wrote my thesis ya.." P2
“..maksudnya enak selama pandemi ini lebih tenang lebih bisa punya waktu terus ga mengganggu sama sekali dalam proses penulisan..”P6
“..jadi plusnya itu onlinenya itu sebenernya karna waktunya itu fleksibel aja gitu kan paling waktunya misalnya dosennya bilang hari minggu ya jam segini paling ntar kalau misalkan ada apa-apa kan tinggal diundur aja jamnya atau diundur harinya tanpa ketemu jadi kakak tu gini ga kayak kalang kabut..”P5
Due to the regulations that require people to stay at home, participants have more time and flexibility. A participant said that stay at home caused her to have so much time to do her thesis. The other participant also said that while the pandemic, she felt calmer and had more time;
also, there was no intervention. Moreover, another participant stated her opinion about the advantage of the pandemic was that the time is flexible. It refers to the appointment with her supervisor. She gave an example that if the appointment is cancelled even at the last minute, they can rearrange it immediately through a message. Therefore she is not panicking. This is relevant to the study by Suparman (2013), which said that using ICT based-supervision is considered very helpful and convenient.
2) The negatives
Based on the interview result, there are a variety of disadvantages of the pandemic situation felt by the participants. For example, the participants admitted they had difficulty collecting the data, Covid recovery, less bonding with their supervisors, bad internet connection and academic service.
a. Data collection
Students that used questionnaires as their instrument felt very helpful with the situation since they could use Google form that eased their work, yet the students that needed to interview faced difficulty. Here is their explanation:
“..kerugiannya ya ga bisa langsung ketemu sama partisipan deh waktu interview jadi kurang kurang enakkan waktu waktu itu. Ga bisa
langsung nanya nanya interview ke partisipan tapi lewat telfon kan kayak gini..”P1
Participant 1 said that she felt uncomfortable doing interviews through phone calls. While participant 3 complained that there were only a few participants were willing to fill out her questionnaire. As in line:
“..minusnya ya partisipannya ya yang mau susah juga kan kalau mau maksa si itu. Jadi partisipannya lebih sedikit yang ngisi questionnairenya lebih sedikit.”P3
Still, in the same vein, participant 4 said it was hard to reach the students who were her participants. Here is her answer:
“..partisipannya kan siswa sama guru tuh nah beberapa siswa tu agak sulit gitu nah dihubungin untuk jadi partisipan..”P4
Even though participant 1 felt the advantage of a pandemic is getting to know the technology, she also felt it was not satisfying since she could not meet the interviewee. The other participant also said that the disadvantage was in collecting the data. Only a few people were willing to fill out her questionnaire while she needed the data early.
Still, regarding the data collection, the other participant admitted that reaching the participant for her thesis was hard. Some of the potential participants are difficult to contact. The findings in this study are also in line with Donohue et al. (2021) statement about research design impacts.
b. Covid recovery
When participants were conducting their research, Covid-19 were spreading awfully. As a result, many people got sick and needed some time to recover, including the lecturers. Like participant 1 said in line:
“..cuma ya kadang kan ada yang sakit ada yang kena covid dosennya kan jadi itu mungkin jadi masalah..” P1
This issue became one of the disadvantages of the pandemic that affected students' thesis writing process. When one party got sick, the process could not run optimally. These findings are similar to Saehu (2013) study’s findings about technical problems.
c. Less bonding with the supervisor
The connection between students and their supervisors must be close so that if students have some problem, they can tell their supervisor comfortably. However, that is a complaint that was delivered by participant 5. She said:
“..terus kalau minusnya itu ya itu kayak apa ya hubungan sama dosen tu kurang akrab gitu jadi tu ga ga kayak yang lain kan misalnya kalau ada masalah bisa langsung curhat ya namanya juga online kan mungkin dosennya megang hp kadang engga dan kita lagi butuhnya waktu itu dosennya lagi di mana”P5
Communication is key to a good relationship. So if people have good communication, it will be beneficial for both sides. However, one participant said she was not close to her supervisor, so she could not share comfortably. She also stated that they only communicate through the internet, so she could not get immediate replies. This factor unconsciously made a space between the student and the supervisor.
Therefore it is considered a challenge for the student side. This finding is in line with Casado-Lumbreras & Colomo-Palacios (2014) study on students' attitudes regarding their thesis and online supervision. This is also relevant to the study by Fitria (2021) on the external factors of students' difficulties.
d. Bad internet connection
Everything is held online during a pandemic, whether through a phone call, video meeting, or website. Therefore, we need a stable connection to get everything done. Unfortunately, some students return to their
hometowns, where the connection needs to be supported. Participant 5 experienced this situation. She said:
“..minusnya gitu susah dihubunginlah kan online kan offline juga si tapi kan kalau offline kalau bisa langsung ketemu lebih enak kan semuanya bisa diituin lah kalau online tu ya susah si terus sinyal kakak juga dikampung kan”P5
P5 admitted that she preferred offline to deal with her thesis since people can meet directly and not depend on the internet. This finding is relevant to the study result by Ametova & Mustafoeva (2020) about distance education that depends on the presence of the internet.
e. Academic service
Participant 6 experienced unpleasant service from the academic service when asked a research letter. There was a miscommunication, and at that time, the campus was on lockdown for a few days, so she got the letter after three weeks. Here is her answer:
“..oh mungkin ini tambahan ya Au kalau Aulia tanya di waktu kakak proses penulisan itu ada si satu yang akademis itu yang sebenernya tapi bukan prodi yang mempersulit, waktu ngurus surat penelitian. Itu ngurus surat penelitian tu kakak nagbisin waktu sekitar 3 minggu cuma untuk dapetin surat aja”P6
Based on a study by Saehu (2013) the experience that P6 had is categorized as non academic problem, even though the participant admittted it as academic problem.The difficulty came outside of the participants while trying to get a permission letter. The permission letter then used to do the interview with her participants. The pandemic made campus has to locked down for few days and at this time the staff had missed communication about P6’s data.
2. Supervision experience
Writing a thesis can be done with others. Therefore each student is guided by two lecturers. Almost all participants expressed gratitude when the researcher asked about their supervisor, yet some still wanted more from the guidance.
1) Well supervision
Participant 1 said that her supervisor was so cooperative from the beginning until the end of her thesis as she said in line:
“..kalau mam *** si kooperative ya kalau mam ** mam ** kooperatif selalu ngebimbing dari awal sampai akhir skripsi selalu ngebimbing mana yang salah benar sampai dari kami dapat judul sampai di tetapin pembimbing sampai kami sidang mereka kooperatif membimbing kami ga ada ilang-ilang kok”P1
Still, in the same vein, participant 2 had a great experience with her supervisor. She said:
"Alright talking about supervisors as long as I remember mam *** mam ***
they are really kind ya then they are the best in their in their field"P2
Participant 4 also had no problem with her supervisor, as she said:
“Alhamdulillah pembimbing kakak pembimbing 1 pak **** pembimbing 2 pak ** Alhamdulilah lah beliau-beliau tu baik banget gitu ga ada yang- ga ad mempersulit kakak kalau mau bimbingan..”P4
Participant 6 also felt the same way about her supervisor. She had no complaint about it as she said:
“Heeh kalo dosen pembimbing si alhamdulilahnya ga da (masalah)”P6
The result of the interview covered that four students felt healthy supervision.
Two of the participants who gave no complaint about their supervision were the earliest students, and the other two were the slow students. They felt grateful for their supervisors. They said their supervisors are cooperative, helpful, and kind and do not complicate them. This result was in line with a
study by Ali and Dare (2018). In the study findings, the students also felt joy about their supervision.
2) Unwell supervision
The participants also felt unwell with supervision. As participant 3 said in line:
“...dosen pembimbingnya agak gak membimbing namanya dosen pembimbing tapi ga membimbing terus hasilnya ya pas sidang pas seminar ya dosen penguji ya menyerang kakak habis-habisan..”P3
Participant 5 also felt the same thing. She said that she did not get enough supervision as she said line:
“...kakak tu ngerasa kurang dibimbinglah kan jujurnya kan kan udah selesai sekarang kan jadi ya ga papa lah kan dibilang kurang dibimbing karna kayak setiap bimbingan tu kakak berharap adalah yang harus dibaikin maksudnya tu setiap kakak bimbingan tu ga pernah dibilang ada yang salah atau apa cuman kayak grammar aja cuma apa huruf kapital, vocal- vocabulary dikritik ga ga pernah kayak kamu ni gini gini gini jadi kayak ngerasa kayak ini bener ga ya jadi waktu sidang seminar bener-bener dihajar gitu..” P5
The other two participants felt unwell about their supervision. They were the early student and slow students. They said that their supervision needed to be guided more/ they needed to get more guidance. As a result, their seminar and thesis defence got many bad comments from the examiners. These findings are against the result of a study by Maliposa & Mafa (2012) in which their questionnaire showed 0% of tutor-related challenges.
1. Writing thesis difficulties.
Difficulties in this section refer to academic writing, such as vocabulary, grammar, plagiarism and writing style.
1) Writing style
In writing a thesis, participants faced a few difficulties related to their writing, such as using appropriate vocabulary and formal writing style. Participant 2 admitted that she made many mistakes in writing her thesis as she said in line:
"I do not know if it is considered a serious problem or not, but me we made a lot of mistakes about that right even though we study that we still make a lot of mistakes.."P2
Meanwhile, participant 6 said that she had to write her chapter 1 and chapter 2 all over again since there was no correlation between the main topic. Here is her explanation:
“waktu sempro itu sebenernya bab 1 kakak itu ga diiniin ga di apa namanya ga dikomentar, ga ada komentar sampai akhirnya ps 2 yang nyadarin dia bilang gini coba deh kamu baca bab 1 kamu kira-kira udah ada belum si korelasi antara motivation sama achievement ini gitu akhirnya kakak baru kayak iya ya ngulang lagi..”P6
Participant 3 admitted that she had a problem writing her thesis related to the vocabulary she used. Here is her explanation:
“..kakak kemaren kenanya di emang di wirting di writing kakak disitu kakak dikiritik jangan gunain you di dalam thesis ha kayak kayak gitu terus kata yang appropriate untuk akademik lah ha carinya kan susahnya ya banyak ya nah disitu kesulitan kakak agar agar terlihat thesis itu tu agak agak terlihat se seakademik mungkin itu agak susah”P3
Students' mistakes in writing their thesis are still understandable and expected.
Eventually, they learned how to do it correctly, even if they needed to start all over again or struggled a little bit. These findings are relevant to Fitria (2022) study about having difficulty choosing the correct vocabulary. These findings also imply that students still need clarification in formal writing style. These findings align with the study from Casado-Lumbreras & Colomo-Palacios (2014).
2) Grammar and plagiarism
Two difficulties faced by participant 4 in her thesis writing process. As she said in line:
“pokoknya masalah kakak kemaren penulisan skirpsi kakak tu grammar sama plagiarism gitu na”P4
Grammar is always be an issue for EFL students no exception for students in final year. The students should use grammar in writing long papers like a thesis. This has become more challenging for them. A participant admitted that her difficulties in writing a thesis are grammar and plagiarism. This finding is in line with a study by Çetinkaya andYılmaz (2017) in their related language of the main problem in the thesis writing process. Other studies also had similar findings about grammar as one of their linguistics factors in thesis writing. The study was from Dwihandini et al. (2013). Participant 4 also said that plagiarism became one of her difficulties. A similar finding was also found in a study by Wadison (2021) as least students’ difficulties in writing a thesis.
2. Difficulties that cause late
This section particularly asked for the participants who were considerably slow in writing their thesis. The difficulties they encountered varied from academic to non- academic. The researcher found that the participants needed help finding the related journal, stuck with the idea, and needed to be more focused and motivated.
1) Hard to find the related journal
Participant 4 said she had trouble finding the related journal to her thesis. Here is her answer:
“..ah iya ini masalahnya susah nyari jurnal yang berhubungan dengan penelitian kita..”P4
Participant 6 also had a problem with the related journal. She said that the access to the sources is limited as she said in line:
“kalau di bilang kesulitan itu sebenernya bukan memahami sources si lebih ke mendapatkan sourcesnya karna ya kita kan punya limited access ya beberapa jurnal itu atau beberapa ya beberapa jurnal kan itu minta ada akses kampus misalnya gitu atau email kampus yang mana kita ga punya akses buat
itu. Beberapa juranal relate eh beberapa artikel relate tapi akhirya gabisa di pake karna susah dapatinnya..” P6
The interview result showed that one participant had difficulty finding the previous related study. While the other said that access to the sources was limited. These findings are relevant to some other studies. The first one is a study by Fitria (2020) about the external factors of students' difficulties in writing and finishing a thesis. The second one is a study by Saehu (2013). He stated that it is one of the procedural problems. The third study by Wadison (2021) showed that it got a higher score in the difficulties table. The last study was from Donohue (2021) in his access impacts.
2) Stuck with the idea
Cannot continue to write because of stuck with the idea experienced by participant 4. She said:
“dan ide kita tu udah buntu ga ada lagi dapat ide mau ngembangin ah kalimat apa lagi gitu na, ga ga ada jadi itulah kenapa bisa selama itu alasannya”P4
After a few questions, participant 4 admitted that processing the data in chapter 4 was the most challenging part and eventually took much time.
Therefore, she stuck with the idea that happened while she was writing chapter 4. The study that discussed challenges in each chapter of the thesis was conducted by Fitria (2022), with chapter 4 got the highest votes.
3) Not focus
This difficulty was experienced by participant 6. She was lulled and could not focus since she was doing pre-teaching program. As she said in line:
“..karna kesalahan kakak pribadi si terlalu terlena saat apa namanya waktu PLP jadi ga fokus mengerjakan skripsi gitu”P6
One of the causes of the delay in completing the thesis needs to be more focused. One participant admitted that her focus was divided since she was
simultaneously in a practice teaching program. These findings are relevant to the study by Donohue et al. (2021) on findings about mental health impacts.
4) Lack of motivation
Meanwhile, participant 5 said that the difficulty that made her slow was lack of motivation. She said that doing her thesis online made her demotivation.
Here is her explanation:
“..apa skripsi online motivasi kakak gimana ya kalau online itu tu motivasi kita tu kayak kerja sendiri gitu kalau seminar offline bisa ketemu dosen kita tu jadi ke-push gitu karna adrenalin tadi kan ketemu dosen takut gini-gini nah kalau online itu karna ga ketemu karna via WA via Zoom jadi kayak kurang gitu jadi memang rasanya tu kayak kerja sendiri jadi motivasinya tu ngebangun sendiri dosennya ga kayak dikejar-kejar kalau kayak offline kan kamu besok minggu depan datang lagi minggu- minggu depannya gini-gini ini engga kayak habis habis apa bimbingan udah gitu ga ditanya kapan lagi atau mungkin dosennya emang kayak gitu kan itu paling kendala itu motivasi”P5
Motivation is another common issue in this topic besides difficulty in finding sources. For EFL learners, motivation play a crucial role in the study process.
No wonder it also affects students' progress in writing their thesis. From the point of view of supervisors, it is also important and relevant to the study by Casado-Lumbreras & Colomo-Palacios (2014). Doing the complicated thesis alone felt difficult, as P5 said in an interview. These findings align with a study by Donohue (2021) on mental health impacts. The other relevant study is the study by Wadison (2021) and Saehu (2013).
3. Strategies from the earliest
This section is based on the interview result with the earliest graduated students.
The researcher asked them what their strategy to finish the thesis quickly was. As a result, there are four answers: make a target, have a study partner, read many sources and do a little research.
1) Make the target
Participant 1 described the strategy she used to finish her thesis earlier. She said:
“..sehari itu at least 1 lembar deh sehari itu 1 lembar misalnya punya target sehari tu harus punya target hari ini aku harus selesain bab 2 misalnya gitu 5 lembar nah pokonya kalau ada target itu pasti bisa..”P1
Participant 2 also has the same idea. She also mentions about write every day.
Here is her explanation:
"..I think is write yeah someone said that you have at least one day you have to open your laptop and do only one paragraph. I think only one sentence. I think it is true yeah. Every day you have to make a progress, a week at least every week you have to make a progress that is that is how I finish my thesis.."P2
The first strategy stated by the earliest participants is to make a target. Two participants said students should have a target for at least one day. They thought students must make progress every day, even if it is a small one. This result was in line with a study by Wadison (2021) about time management.
The other study that was also similar was from Thabran and Fajaryani (2017) which the students did not too strict with the time, which caused the delay in her thesis.
2) Have a study partner
Another strategy from participant 2 is to have a study partner. She thought that students must have study partners which in the same boat so they can encourage each other as she said in line:
"..and also you have a partner something like friend yeah that can encourage you I am not talking about boyfriend yea it is it can be your friend also that can encourage you to do this yeah probably someone in the same boat yeah should be in the same boat so they can feel what you feel.."P2
Having someone to share our thoughts with is helpful, especially from people in the same position. We can share the difficulties and solve them together or share our best way. The second strategy is relevant to the study by Ali and Dare (2018). Their study result stated that their participants asked for help
from their friends as a coping strategy in their thesis writing process. Having a study partner can so beneficial in sharing and solving the problems encountered.
3) Read many sources
This strategy comes from participant 3. She said that students must read many sources, such as journals and articles related to their topic. Here is her explanation:
“..banyak baca banyak baca sumber artikel atau jurnal atau buku yang berhubungan dengan thesis kita kita cari idenya di situ apa terus kita tuangkan juga di dalam thesis kita tapi kita ni bukan jiplak ya tapi contoh idenya aja nah nnti kita kembangkan dengan situasi yang ada di lapangan gimana”P3
Reading is essential in conduct a research it is related to writing as well. To write a long project like a thesis reading a lot is necessary. Reading many sources is helpful to help students develop their idea for their thesis writing.
The result of this research is similar to the previous study by Saehu (2013) as one of the techniques for solving problems.
4) Do mini research
Participant 3 also suggested doing small research before write the thesis, like pre-research. She said this so that we get a sight of the data as she said in line:
“Terus.. oh iya bener riset juga lah ya riset riset yg jdi objek penelitian kita kayak gimana ni di di sekolah misalnya kita emm kayak kakak kemren kayak mana nih mahasisiwanya readingnya gi gimana trus apa namaya tu kemampuan readingnya juga kayak mana reading dari semster 1 ya kalau ga salah ha semster 1 sampai semester 3 gimana readingnya bagus apa tidak kek gitu riset lah”P3
Based on overall research P1 and P2 had many things in common. They were the earliest students who finished their thesis which was only within six months. Besides joined in the lecturers’ research, their applicable strategy influenced their speed in working on their thesis.
Even though, their topic are different and also used different method they both had well supervised experience.
The result of this research also showed that there are two early participants (P2 and P3) used quantitative method. Based on the table in appendix 4, the average student who used this method completed their thesis faster than the other two methods. The topics discussed by P2 and P3 are also the same. It can be concluded that the use of quantitative strategies in the topic of students’
strategies in reading can be completed earlier. Even if P3 had different way in getting idea for her thesis, she had same topic with P2. P1 used mixed method while P3 used quantitative yet they still had similarities. In the negative effects of pandemic. P1 and P3 complained about getting the data.
Furthermore, based on the results of the interviews, it also found similarities regarding quantitative participants. Participant 6 also used quantitative but was in the other category. These three participants (P2, P3, P6) had the same difficulties in writing the thesis, namely writing style. Although qualitative research uses more numbers, they admitted that they still have difficulty in explaining properly, using punctuation correctly and choosing academic vocabulary.
There was also couple participants who had something in common. P4 and P5 had same way in getting the idea for their thesis which was from their experiences while doing ore-teaching program. However, the deepr interview results showed that P4 had more common with P6. They had common in difficulty in finding journal. They also had well supervised experiences like P1 and P2.
Moreover, related to the guidance process, two early participants and two slow participants both experienced a good guidance process. These two early participants were students who took part in the lecturer's research. This means that participating in lecturer research can speed up the completion of a thesis as long as they interested and have good experience related to the guidance process. Whereas one early participant and one slow participant had an unpleasant experience with the process of their thesis guidance.
