xiii ABSTRACT
Ardiyarso Kurniawan. 2016.Graduate students’ lived experience in writing academic papers. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
The transition from undergraduate to graduate studies is still believed to be more challenging compared to the transition that the students experienced when moving from high school to university level. It requires students to have more reading and more writing. Thus, having a higher level of ideas, discussions, and questions are challenges that the students faced. Writing academic papers is one of the important aspects at the university level, especially for graduate students. Each semester, they have to deal with writing journals, articles, mini research, etc., which are categorized as academic papers. It imposes students to be able to write in English contextually. Students may face difficulties and challenges in writing academic papers, in the context of English as a foreign language, due to their language competency level. This study describes and interprets the lived experience in writing academic papers of the graduate students of English Language Study at Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta. It investigates how they give meaning to academic writing.
This study discovers the essential meaning of lived experience in writing academic papers of three graduate students of English Language Studies of Sanata Dharma University in writing academic papers. Referring back to their experience in writing academic papers unveils the participants’ understanding, belief, feeling, action, and intention. In order to reveal the lived experience, the researcher collected texts from the participants who have experienced writing academic papers. This study employed in-depth interviews to obtain the texts. Thus, better understanding and interpretation of the lived experience could be found.
The three illuminating participants are from different majors, namely; education, linguistics and literature. A recorded data from in-depth interviews with three participants were analyzed qualitatively using a phenomenological method of analysis. The data were analyzed by transcribing, listing and preliminary grouping, reduction and elimination, thematizing the invariant constituent, final identification of the invariant constituent, constructs an individual textural description, construct an individual structural description, and incorporating textual and structural description. Interpretation was the following process.
The finding of this study is the description and interpretation of three participants’ lived experience in writing academic papers. There are two meanings based on the interpretation of the participants’ lived experiences, namely pre-figured themes and emergent themes. Pre-pre-figured themes were determined based on the logical theories. On the other hand, emergent themes were found during the research process. In the pre-figured themes, there are three main types of assigned meaning: language competence, critical thinking and writing expectation. There are four emergent meanings assigned in this study: motivation, struggle, satisfaction, and learner autonomy.
xiv
writing, they would have a self-actualization which enables them to gain better academic writing skills. It can further be used by the lecturers, in EFL context in contributing insights into the aspect of writing that students need support. In addition, the findings would be beneficial for the institution in sharpening the guidelines on academic writing.
xv ABSTRAK
Ardiyarso Kurniawan. 2016.Graduate students’ lived experience in writing academic papers. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Masa transisi dari Strata 1 (S1) menuju Strata 2 (S2) masih diyakini menjadi masa yang lebih menantang dan mengejutkan dibandingkan dengan masa transisi yang siswa alami ketika dari Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) menuju ke aras Universitas. Siswa dituntut untuk lebih banyak membaca dan menulis, terutama dalam hal akademis. Lebih dari itu, tingginya tingkatan ide, diskusi, dan pertanyaan merupakan hal-hal menantang yang dialami oleh para siswa. Menulis makalah akademis merupakan salah satu aspek penting ditingkat universitas, terutama bagi mahasiswa pascasarjana. Di tiap semester, mereka dituntut menulis jurmal, artikel, penelitian, dan lain sebagainya, yang mana merupakan bagian dari makalah akademis. Mahasiswa mungkin merasa sulit untuk menulis makalah akademis dalam konteks Bahasa Inggris sebagai Bahasa Asing yang dikarenakan oleh tingkat penguasaan bahasa mereka. Hal inilah yang memaksa mahasiswa untuk dapat menulis dalam Bahasa Inggris secara kontekstual. Penelitian ini mendeskripsikan pengalaman mahasiswa pascasarjana Fakultas Bahasa Inggris dalam penulisan makalah akademis di Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta. Penelitian ini meneliti tentang bagaimana mahasiswa memaknai penulisan makalah akademis.
Penelitian ini mencari makna dari pengalaman langsung yang dihadapi oleh tiga orang mahasiswa pascasarjana Fakultas Bahasa Inggris di Universitas Sanata Dharma dalam menulis makalah akademis. Bersumber dari pengalaman mereka, pemahaman, keyakinan, perasaan, tindakan dan tujuan siswa dalam menulis makalah akademis dapat terungkap. Guna mengungkap pengalaman hidup mereka, peneliti mengumpulkan teks-teks dari partisipan yang notabene telah memiliki pengalaman dalam menulis makalah akademis. Penelitian ini menggunakan in-depth interview guna mengumpulkan teks-teks yang dimaksud. Dengan demikian, pemahaman dan intepretasi dari pengalaman hidup dapat ditemukan.
Ketiga orang partisipan dalam penelitian ini berasal dari program studi yang berbeda, yakni; pendidikan, linguistik, dan sastra. Rekam data dari hasil wawancara dengan ketiga partisipan tersebut kemudian dianalisa secara kualitatif dengan menggunakan metode analisis phenomenology. Pengolahan data dilakukan dengan membuat transkrip, menyalin dan pengelompokan awal, reduksi dan eliminasi, tematisasi komponen invarian, identifikasi akhir komponen invarian, menyusun deskripsi tekstual perorangan, menyusun deskripsi struktural perorangan, dan menggabungkan deskripsi tekstual serta struktural. Proses selanjutnya yakni interpretasi.
xvi
merupakan tema bentukan berdasarkan data yang ditemukan selama proses penelitian berlangsung yang mana dibagi menjadi empat, yakni: sikap, motivasi, kemandirian pembelajaran, dan pengelolaan penulisan.
GRADUATE
STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE
IN WRITING ACADEMIC PAPERS
A THESIS
Presented to the Graduate Program in English Language Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Magister Humaniora (M.Hum.) in English Language Studies
by
Ardiyarso Kurniawan 146332011
The Graduate Program in English Language Studies Sanata Dharma University
i
GRADUATE
STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE
IN WRITING ACADEMIC PAPERS
A THESIS
Presented to the Graduate Program in English Language Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Magister Humaniora (M.Hum.) in English Language Studies
by
Ardiyarso Kurniawan 146332011
The Graduate Program in English Language Studies Sanata Dharma University
GRADUATE
STUDENTS'
LI\TED EXPE,RIENCE
IN WRITING ACADEMIC
PAPERSfudiyarso Kurniawan
Student Number: 146332011
,L{
by
Df.
f.
EismofoChairperson Secretary
Memfiers
A THESIS
GRADUATB
STUDENTS'
LIVED EXPERIENCE
IN
WRITING ACADEMIC
PAPERSPresented by
Ardiyarso Kurniawan
A6332otl
Defended before the Thesis Committee and declared acceptable.
.fHESIS COMMITTEE
: F.X. Mukarto, Ph.D.
: Dr. J. Bismoko
: L. Dr. E. Sunarto. M.Hum. 2.Dr. B.B. Dw,ijatrnoko, M.A.
Yogyakarta, 15 Agustus 2016
Graduate Program Director
Dharma University
ltt
STATBMENT
OF
ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that allthe ideas, phrases, and sentences, unless otherwise stated, are mine. I understand the ful1 consequences including degree cancellation if I took somebody else's, phrases, or sentences without proper reference.
Yogyakarta, 3 Agustus 2016
Kurniawan
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN
PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA
ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN
AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata dharma:
Nama :
NIM
:Ardiyarso Kurniawan
t4633207t
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma, karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
GRADUATE STUDENTS' LIVED EXPERIENCE IN WRITING ACADEMIC PAPERS
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikannya di Intemet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 30 Agustus 2016
Yang
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to those who were helpful in finishing this thesis. The most gracious, my Lord for His amazing grace to me.
First of all, I would like to thank my Supervisor, Dr. J. Bismoko, for his much-appreciated assistance and encouragement during my study and the writing of this thesis. Second, I am also grateful to all Thesis Reviewers and Examiners, F.X. Mukarto, Ph.D., Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A., Dr. E. Sunarto, M.Hum., and other Master Program lecturers at Sanata Dharma University for the guidance throughout my study in ELS Sanata Dharma University.
My sincere thanks also go to my parents and my beloved one for giving supports, being patience and praying for my success. May God’s love always be with you.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGE ... ii
DEFENSE APPROVAL PAGE ... iii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI...v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS... vii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES...x
LIST OF ABBREVIATION ... xi
LIST OF APPENDICES... xii
ABSTRACT... xiii
ABSTRAK...xv
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION...1
A. Background...1
B. Problem Identification ...3
C. Problem Limitations ...5
D. Research Question ...6
E. Research Goal and Objective ...6
F. Research Benefits ...7
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW...9
A. Theoretical Review...9
1. Students’ Lived Experience...9
a. Lived Experience...9
1) Understanding ...13
2) Belief ...14
3) Feeling ...15
4) Intention ...15
5) Action ...16
b. Students ...16
2. Academic Writing...17
a. Academic...17
b. Writing ...18
1) Purpose ...19
2) Structures, Organization and Styles ...19
3) Accuracy in Writing ...21
3. Academic Writing in EFL context ...23
viii
C. Characteristics of Source of Texts...29
D. Framework of Pre-Understanding ...30
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...36
A. Research Goal and Method ...36
B. Research Design ...38
1. Specified Goal ...38
2. Context...39
3. Procedures ...39
4. Components ...42
C. Instrument...43
D. Text Gathering...44
E. Text Processing ...45
F. Trustworthiness ...47
CHAPTER IV DESCRIPTION AND INTEPRETATION...49
A. Description of the Participants’ Lived Experiences...49
1.Asti’s Story...49
2.Cahyo’s Story...53
3.Jaya’s Story ...56
B. Interpretation of the Participants’ Lived Experiences...60
1. Pre-Figured Themes ...61
a. Language Competence ...61
b. Critical Thinking ...64
c. Writing Expectation ...67
2. Emergent Themes ...70
a. Motivation ...70
b. Struggle ...72
c. Satisfaction ...74
d. Learner Autonomy ...77
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...80
A. Conclusion...80
B. Implications ...83
C. Recommendations ...84
BIBLIOGRAPHY...85
APPENDICES...91
APPENDIX 1...91
APPENDIX 2...92
ix
APPENDIX 4...94
APPENDIX 5...97
APPENDIX 6...123
APPENDIX 7...127
APPENDIX 8...158
x
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
TABLES
TABLE 3.1. RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS………42
FIGURES FIGURE 2.1. LEVEL IN PRODUCT OF WRITING………...24
FIGURE 2.2. STAGES IN PROCESS OF WRITING………..25
FIGURE 2.3. FRAMEWORK OF PRE-UNDERSTANDING OF GRADUATE STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE IN WRITING ACADEMIC PAPERS………...33
FIGURE 3.1. RESEARCH DESIGN……….38
FIGURE 3.2. PROCEDURE……….……….40
xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
AUD : Audience AI : Asti CO : Cahyo
DIKTI : Direktorat Jendral Pendidikan Tinggi DRA : Drafting
EAP : English for Academic Purposes EDI : Editing
EFL : English as a Foreign Language ELS : English Language Studies ESL : English as a Second Language FDB : Feedback
JA : Jaya
L2 : Second Language PLN : Planning
PUR : Purpose REV : Revising SBJ : Subject
xii
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1 Informed Consent Form 1 (Asti) ………...85
APPENDIX 2Informed Consent Form 2 (Cahyo) ………...86
APPENDIX 3Informed Consent Form 3 (Jaya) ………..87
APPENDIX 4 In-Depth Interview 1 (Asti) ………..88
APPENDIX 5 In-Depth Interview 2 (Asti) ………..91
APPENDIX 6 In-Depth Interview 1 (Cahyo) ……….117
APPENDIX 7 In-Depth Interview 2 (Cahyo)……….121
APPENDIX 8 In-Depth Interview 1 (Jaya)………152
xiii ABSTRACT
Ardiyarso Kurniawan. 2016.Graduate students’ lived experience in writing academic papers. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
The transition from undergraduate to graduate studies is still believed to be more challenging compared to the transition that the students experienced when moving from high school to university level. It requires students to have more reading and more writing. Thus, having a higher level of ideas, discussions, and questions are challenges that the students faced. Writing academic papers is one of the important aspects at the university level, especially for graduate students. Each semester, they have to deal with writing journals, articles, mini research, etc., which are categorized as academic papers. It imposes students to be able to write in English contextually. Students may face difficulties and challenges in writing academic papers, in the context of English as a foreign language, due to their language competency level. This study describes and interprets the lived experience in writing academic papers of the graduate students of English Language Study at Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta. It investigates how they give meaning to academic writing.
This study discovers the essential meaning of lived experience in writing academic papers of three graduate students of English Language Studies of Sanata Dharma University in writing academic papers. Referring back to their experience in writing academic papers unveils the participants’ understanding, belief, feeling, action, and intention. In order to reveal the lived experience, the researcher collected texts from the participants who have experienced writing academic papers. This study employed in-depth interviews to obtain the texts. Thus, better understanding and interpretation of the lived experience could be found.
The three illuminating participants are from different majors, namely; education, linguistics and literature. A recorded data from in-depth interviews with three participants were analyzed qualitatively using a phenomenological method of analysis. The data were analyzed by transcribing, listing and preliminary grouping, reduction and elimination, thematizing the invariant constituent, final identification of the invariant constituent, constructs an individual textural description, construct an individual structural description, and incorporating textual and structural description. Interpretation was the following process.
The finding of this study is the description and interpretation of three participants’ lived experience in writing academic papers. There are two meanings based on the interpretation of the participants’ lived experiences, namely pre-figured themes and emergent themes. Pre-pre-figured themes were determined based on the logical theories. On the other hand, emergent themes were found during the research process. In the pre-figured themes, there are three main types of assigned meaning: language competence, critical thinking and writing expectation. There are four emergent meanings assigned in this study: motivation, struggle, satisfaction, and learner autonomy.
xiv
writing, they would have a self-actualization which enables them to gain better academic writing skills. It can further be used by the lecturers, in EFL context in contributing insights into the aspect of writing that students need support. In addition, the findings would be beneficial for the institution in sharpening the guidelines on academic writing.
xv ABSTRAK
Ardiyarso Kurniawan. 2016.Graduate students’ lived experience in writing academic papers. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Masa transisi dari Strata 1 (S1) menuju Strata 2 (S2) masih diyakini menjadi masa yang lebih menantang dan mengejutkan dibandingkan dengan masa transisi yang siswa alami ketika dari Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) menuju ke aras Universitas. Siswa dituntut untuk lebih banyak membaca dan menulis, terutama dalam hal akademis. Lebih dari itu, tingginya tingkatan ide, diskusi, dan pertanyaan merupakan hal-hal menantang yang dialami oleh para siswa. Menulis makalah akademis merupakan salah satu aspek penting ditingkat universitas, terutama bagi mahasiswa pascasarjana. Di tiap semester, mereka dituntut menulis jurmal, artikel, penelitian, dan lain sebagainya, yang mana merupakan bagian dari makalah akademis. Mahasiswa mungkin merasa sulit untuk menulis makalah akademis dalam konteks Bahasa Inggris sebagai Bahasa Asing yang dikarenakan oleh tingkat penguasaan bahasa mereka. Hal inilah yang memaksa mahasiswa untuk dapat menulis dalam Bahasa Inggris secara kontekstual. Penelitian ini mendeskripsikan pengalaman mahasiswa pascasarjana Fakultas Bahasa Inggris dalam penulisan makalah akademis di Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta. Penelitian ini meneliti tentang bagaimana mahasiswa memaknai penulisan makalah akademis.
Penelitian ini mencari makna dari pengalaman langsung yang dihadapi oleh tiga orang mahasiswa pascasarjana Fakultas Bahasa Inggris di Universitas Sanata Dharma dalam menulis makalah akademis. Bersumber dari pengalaman mereka, pemahaman, keyakinan, perasaan, tindakan dan tujuan siswa dalam menulis makalah akademis dapat terungkap. Guna mengungkap pengalaman hidup mereka, peneliti mengumpulkan teks-teks dari partisipan yang notabene telah memiliki pengalaman dalam menulis makalah akademis. Penelitian ini menggunakan in-depth interview guna mengumpulkan teks-teks yang dimaksud. Dengan demikian, pemahaman dan intepretasi dari pengalaman hidup dapat ditemukan.
Ketiga orang partisipan dalam penelitian ini berasal dari program studi yang berbeda, yakni; pendidikan, linguistik, dan sastra. Rekam data dari hasil wawancara dengan ketiga partisipan tersebut kemudian dianalisa secara kualitatif dengan menggunakan metode analisis phenomenology. Pengolahan data dilakukan dengan membuat transkrip, menyalin dan pengelompokan awal, reduksi dan eliminasi, tematisasi komponen invarian, identifikasi akhir komponen invarian, menyusun deskripsi tekstual perorangan, menyusun deskripsi struktural perorangan, dan menggabungkan deskripsi tekstual serta struktural. Proses selanjutnya yakni interpretasi.
xvi
merupakan tema bentukan berdasarkan data yang ditemukan selama proses penelitian berlangsung yang mana dibagi menjadi empat, yakni: sikap, motivasi, kemandirian pembelajaran, dan pengelolaan penulisan.
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This study intends to investigate graduate students’ lived experience in writing academic paper at the graduate program. It attempts to reveal the meaning of writing academic paper in EFL context. Therefore, this chapter presents the relevance and feasibility of the project which covers background of the study, problem identification, problem limitation, the research question, and the research goals and benefits as well.
A. Background
Language learning has two important elements in determining how and how well the learners learn language. Those elements are styles and strategies. In brief, learning styles refer to patterns which give directions to learning behavior. On the other side, learning strategies refer to specific actions to overcome a difficult language task. It is used by learners to enhance their own learning. Griffiths and Parr (2001) noted that a number of methods and approaches have been developed to the teaching and learning of language. However, a given strategy or styles are neither good nor bad. It means that it is essentially neutral as long as the context of its use is considered. In other words, no single strategies and styles fit all students.
that learners’ individual and collective styles andstrategies preferences are strongly advised instructors engaging in language classroom (Bull & Ma, 2001; Fan, 2003; Oxford, 2003b; Yamamorio et al., 2003).
In relation with this study, English language has been used as medium of communication in academia, both written and spoken. Allen (in Swales, 1998), also regards language as an important communication aspect of study subjects. In a university level, writing an academic paper is one of the partial requirements. Assignment, journals, articles, mini research project, and even thesis are the examples of the partial requirements which play important roles, as supported by Zhu (2004). Furthermore, writing academic paper helps students in expressing and communicating ideas and arguments.
In EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context, graduate students are expected to be able to write good EFL academic papers. In contrast, several studies reveal that EFL graduate students still face difficulties in writing their academic papers such as, grammar, organizing ideas, paraphrasing, and rhetoric. Thus, a major challenge for EFL students of graduate school in Indonesia is academic writing. As a graduate student, I realize the pressure to write, publish and even present the papers in particular seminar or journals.
be denied that lecturers often complain about the ability of their students in writing. Munro (2003:327) confirms this view and argues that dealing effectively with the difficulties of the students’literacy and poor academic writing skills, is a challenge that universities have to contend with.
There are several research related to academic writing in EFL context (Hung & Young, 2015; Chokwe, 2011; Hasan & Akhand, 2010). Mostly, they investigate problem in writing academic paper in EFL context. Thus, factors and problems are the common topic in academic writing. In addition, most of the participants in those studies are non-English undergraduate students.
This study focuses on how the graduate students’ lived experiences in writing academic papers. The researcher tries to discover their lived experiences that relate to writing academic papers.
B. Problem Identification
Studies on academic writing in university level may include various issues of investigations. The wide range of issues could become topics with different perspective of studies such as writing as a product, process and so on. In writing academic papers,the students’ experience may vary one another. The experience itself covers understanding, intention, feelings, belief, and action of the students (Bradley, 2005). Hence, students experience in writing academic papers reveals those five fields.
academic papers. Another factors that associated with writing problems in foreign language are different cultural background (Imtiaz, 2003), textual patterns, process and product of writing and personal characteristics of the students (Angelova, 1999).
In similar, university students in Indonesia have difficulties in expressing their ideas in their academic writing. Sadik (2009) conducted a study on academic writing of Indonesian university students. Her study indicates that those students have problems with limited knowledge of writing strategies, grammatical structure, and low interest in writing. Another study from Mistar et al. (2014) shows that the students are lack of knowledge in writing. It can be inferred that the lack of knowledge in writing are associated limited knowledge of writing, and not given enough time to practice writing.
The Directorate of Higher Education (also known as DIKTI) makes a comparison to other Asian countries, such as Thailand, Japan, and China. The results shows that a relatively low number of Indonesian students publishing in international journals.
C. Problem Limitations
A number of studies attempt several approaches in academic writing at university level. Those studies tend to consider aspects of students’ need in writing. One of the considerations is by facilitating the students with technology supports while writing academic papers. Therefore, this study focuses on how the students give meaning on writing academic papers.
This study was conducted in English Language Study of Sanata Dharma University. The participants of this study were three graduate students in English Language Study who have written academic papers. In addition those students could give rich descriptions of their lived experience in writing academic papers. The aim of this study was to tell a shared experience of writing academic papers in EFL context. Meaning that, it mainly discussed the graduate students’ lived-experience in writing academic papers in ESL context.
Furthermore, this study elaborated several aspects related to the participants’ experiences in writing academic papers. First, it covered how the participants experience academic writing. Second, how the participants gave meaning of academic writing. Next, the participants felt of the academic writing. In order to describe and interpret the meaning of lived-experience in the attempt to determine the essential meaning of writing academic papers, this study employed hermeneutic phenomenology proposed by Van Manen (1990). After all, the way they experience difficulties, failures and success also covered in this study.
conducted in different context situation will have different result of suggestion and implication.
D. Research Question
Academic writing may involve the process and product of writing. In order to get a meaningful description of the phenomenon of student’ lived experience in writing academic papers, this study particularly aims at finding the answer of the following question: What is the meaning of writing academic paper to ELS students?
Therefore, this generated question is expected to obtain the meaningful description and interpretation of graduate students’ lived-experience in writing academic papers. Moreover, it leads into the structure in constructing the interpretation of the participants’ lived-experience for obtaining a meaningful text.
E. Research Goal and Objective
The immediate goal of this study was attempted to describe and interpret the graduate students’ lived-experience in writing academic papers in EFL context. Therefore, the description and interpretation of graduate students’ lived experience in academic writing was the result of this study. Having the description and interpretation, essential meaning of writing academic papers could be revealed.
audience was expected to have more empathic understanding, being able to perceive others’ internal frame of reference and to sense the hurt or the pleasure of other people as he or she senses it (Brodley, 1996). Thus, not only for the participants but improving audience’s emphatic understanding towards students’ understanding, belief, feeling, action and intention in writing academic paper was also the expectation of this research.
As the ultimate goal of this research, it was expected to help the researcher and the audience to be more self-actualized. Having more emphatic understanding enables the audience for having a better equity in life which leads to autonomy and empowerement. As a result, empowerement will lead to self-actualization.
F. Research Benefits
This research is expected to provide significant contributions for educational area, to be specific, focusing in writing academic paper. The findings of this study, description and interpretation, will give information about the meaning of giving experiences in writing academic paper to graduate students in a form of text.
This study benefits the researcher to build an empathic understanding of writing academic papers as experienced by the participants. As expected in this study that being empowered and self-actualized can improve the researcher’s academic writing skill as a graduate student.
During the process of this research, the participants reflect their lived experience in writing academic papers from the beginning until the end, especially what they intend to do. It enables them in reflecting on what they have done in writing academic papers. Moreover, they can improve their performance in writing academic paper based on their reflection in writing academic papers by sharpening their goals which leads into self-actualization.
9 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, there are two sections will be discussed, theoretical review to clarify the concepts used in this study and framework of pre understanding to help constructing the framework of thinking. In the following sections, a number of related literature and previous studies on similar topics will be discussed.
A. Theoretical Review
Theoretical review is divided into four parts. Firstly, as the major parts, Students’ lived experience discusses the concept of lived experience. Secondly, academic writing discusses the concept in writing academic papers. The third is EFL context. It discusses the concept in English as a Foreign Language. The last part is academic writing in EFL context. This part discusses academic writing in EFL context in detail.
1. Students’ Lived Experience
In this section there are two topics which become the construct of this study. They are lived experience, and students. Those will be discussed below.
a. Lived Experience
According to Husserl (1963), phenomenology studies the structure of eight types of experience. Those structures are perception, thought, memory, imagination, emotion, desire, and volition to bodily awareness including action, and social activity, embodied linguistic activity. The structure of these forms of experience involves intentionality.
Intentionality is a founding aspect of phenomenology. It is also an important structure of human experience and the mind as the central focus. As identified by Koch (1995) Husserl views the intentionality as key in understanding of this phenomenology. He adds that Husserl saw intentionality as a process where the mind is directed toward objects of study. The experience of each person is set in a place which expands back and forth, up and down and extends to past memories and expects or anticipates the future. McIntyre & Smith (1989) explains that intentionality is a characteristic feature of our mental states and experiences, especially evident in what we commonly call being conscious or aware.
the white paper in the dim light. It lies in front of him, appearing to him from a particular angle. The individual’s awareness yields a self-identity. Furthermore, intentionality which embodied consciousness or awareness of someone shapes and causes his or her understanding, belief, feeling, action, and intention towards things in the world (McIntyre & Smith, 1989).
In addition, Ricoeur (1970) argues that in hermeneutics the critique of ideology should be incorporated into understanding. Ricoeur was particularly concerned with interpretation, primarily with interpreting text. He argues that human action should be understood as text which could provide better understanding and interpretation. Searching for hidden meanings through the interpretation is the demand in hermeneutics (Ricoeur, 1980). Thus, he believes that people always occupy an ideological position even if they are unaware of it. As supported by Landridge (2008), interpretation could be assumed as opening new possibilities. However, Ricoeur (1970) reminds that it can be seen from the position of the researcher and influenced by ideologies.
Investigating the process of person’s awareness related to a particular phenomenon means to investigate event and incidents which part of the person’s historicity. For Husserl (1963), this subject of the historicity of life, should be placed in parentheses, in order to address primarily the essence of the life of consciousness. Wachterhauser (1986) argues that language and history are conditions and limitation of understanding. As he writes:
time in terms of some historically conditioned set of concerns and practices" (p.6).
It can be inferred that Wachterhauser‘s statement emphasizes on the historicity. In line with the previous idea, Gadamer (1996) views an awareness of historically informed prejudices as a basic condition of understanding:
"A person who believes he is free of prejudices, relying on the objectivity of his procedures and denying that he himself is conditioned by historical circumstances, experiences the power of the prejudices that unconsciously dominate him … A person who does not admit that he is dominated by prejudices will fail to see what manifests itself by their light" (p.360).
Smith (2013) states that phenomenology studies different forms of experience “justaswe experience them”, from the perspective of the subject living through or performing them. Lived experience is simply experience-as-we-live-through-it in our actions, relations and situations. Thus, experiences can be characterized by seeing, hearing, imagining, thinking, feeling (i.e., emotion), wishing, desiring, willing, and also acting, are ways to experience something. Therefore, knowledge manifests itself in practical actions. It enables people to discover what and how in the things of our world (Mannen, 2007).
To uncover graduate students’ lived experiences related with academic writing a reflective interpretation of the text is needed (Moustakas, 1994). It is not merely about students’ understanding and beliefs about academic writing but also students’ feelings, intention and actions. Feelings refer to the students expressions. Intention is related with the thinking result and action is taken with intention (Patton, 2002; Willis, 2001; and Wilson, 2007).
Hence, in this study, lived experience is viewed as a phenomenon which is reflected in the past experience. In other words, lived experience refers on how people response a particular phenomenon. It includes understanding, belief, feeling, intention and action.
1) Understanding
According to Dufrene (1973), understanding is about knowing something in individual version. In relation with this study, students’ understanding on writing academic papers means what students know about writing academic papers. The word “know” in here refers to all information that the students have about writing academic papers. In addition, as stated by Alvesson and Skoldberg (2000), understanding refers to comprehending the past experience in individual empathically.
students know and have related with writing academic papers. It includes all the information that the students have had about writing academic papers. In addition, Cronbach (1963) argues that understanding influences belief which will be discussed in the following section.
2) Belief
Pintrich (1990), states that belief is a certain attitude toward something and difficult to change. In relation with writing academic papers, I interpret the students’ belief as students’ attitude on writing academic papers. Their attitudes may affect their feeling. According to Lonergan (1958), there are five stages of the process of true belief. Firs stage is preliminary judgments. It includes judgments on the value of belief in general, on the reliability of the source for this belief, and also on the accuracy of the communication from the source. Second stage is a reflective act of understanding the value of deciding to believe some particular proposition. Third stage is the consequent judgment of value. Next is consequent decision of the will. The last is the assent that is the act of believing.
3) Feeling
As defined by Patton (2002), feeling refers to the expression of a particular object. Pyle (2010) adds that feelings are related to the instincts and habits. He explains that situations in life bring very complex feelings which also known as emotions. In addition, Pettinelli (2010) supports that feelings are closely related with emotions. In this study the object is writing academic papers. In other words, students’ feeling on writing academic papers is their expression towards writing academic paper.
Lived experience is about how people experience a particular phenomenon (Patton, 2002). In other word, it focuses on the feeling related to the experience they have. Therefore, students’ feelings toward writing academic papers are identified from what the students feel in writing academic papers. Thus, feeling could not be separated from lived experience.
4) Intention
The next elements to uncover the graduate students’ lived experience is intention which simply defined by Warshaw and Davis (1985). They propose that intention refers to what people intend to achieve. Relating the theory proposed by Warshaw and Davis in this study, students’ intention toward writing academic papers is what the students intend to achieve in writing academic papers. As supported by Willis (2001), intention is what people expect about something and related with the result of thinking.
target that the students want to meet. In other word, students’ intentions in this context refer to the students’ plans to do in order to achieve their target. Wilson (2007) adds that intention has a strong relationship with action which will be discussed in the next section.
5) Action
Action is a part of experience. It involves the five senses; seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling which requires body movements (Lonergan, 1958). In line with Lonergan, Mannen (1990) attempts to say that lived experience included in the hermeneutic phenomenology focuses on how people behave or act toward the reflection.
Furthermore, Davidson in Wilson (2007) proposes the basic definition of action. Action is something a person does. In other words, we can say that action is what someone can do with intention.Thus, students’ action related with writing academic papers through actions that they do in achieving the goal. It means that every single person has their own actions towards their experience.
b. Students
learning is another important point that a good graduate student should have. This phenomenon shows the needs of a deep understanding of meaning in writing academic paper. In order to discover meaningsstudents’ understandings, beliefs, feelings, intentions, and actions are needed as guidance (Pintrich 1990; Dufrene 1997; Willis 2000; Patton 2002; Wilson 2007). This guidance will explore the students’ experience in writing academic papers.
2. Academic Writing
The construct of academic writing is divided into two main discussions: academic discourse and writing. Those constructs are defined and explained according to the literature.
a. Academic
researchers. Therefore, the term academic is commonly related to academic arguments, discussions, presentation, assignments, especially in writing.
b. Writing
Hyland (2002) defines writing as a social act in which the writer will use the regularities and convention in written discourse. It can be inferred that writing is a way of sharing ideas through written symbols that should follow certain rules, and conveys certain meaning in order to be understood by readers. Therefore, it requires a series of acts, such as write and rewrite, in order to build cohesive and comprehensive texts. In other words, writing is a written communication to transfer ideas, thoughts, and meaning involving many aspects to consider, containing many skills to acquire, needing a long process and great efforts to complete. It has certain convention and regularities that all writers should understand for their writing to be well accepted by the discourse community.
be followed by the prior knowledge and the regular pattern of organization in order to write an academic paper successfully. Therefore, students would be able to communicate the message conveyed appropriately and the audience could understand it well.
Brown (2004) mentions several examples which refer to academic writing. According to him, papers, general subject reports, essays, compositions, academically focused journals, short-answer test responses, technical reports/lab reports, theses and dissertations are some examples of academic writing. Thus, academic writing shares certain features such as the use of a formal style and a structured of argument and the call for research (Davis & McKay, 1996).
1) Purpose
In general, academic writing aims to present information that provide a clear understanding of a subject (Jones, 2005). Moreover, the specific purpose of an academic writing may variy according to the assignment, namely argumentation, persuasion, description, narration, and exposition. Bailey (2011) provides several common reasons for writing, such as to report, answer a given question, discuss a subject or synthesise research done by others.
2) Structures, Organization and Styles
the context of the subject. Then, the writer discusses issues related to the subject in the main body. Therefore, the body is the longest part of the essay. Lastly, the conclusion is like the concluding sentence in a paragraph. In other words, conclusion is a summary of the major points discussed in the main body.
However, Gocsik (2005) argues that the structure and organization in academic writing will be determined by the content itself. Thus, the content of academic writing must have a declared and arguable thesis. Moreover, an academic paper is considered failed to meet the expectation of the reader if it fails to argue or inform. It is necessary to rely on several strategies in creating arguments in academic writing (Goscik, 2004).
provides several points in maintaining precision and clarity in academic writing. Those are word choice, colloquial expression, jargon, pronouns, comparisons, and attribution (third person). After all, those issues discussed above lead into a greater accuracy and clearer communication.
3) Accuracy in Writing
In academic writing the writer should follow certain rules especially in punctuation and grammar. Punctuation as well as grammar is universally known systems (within English speaking cultures). It maintains clarity and avoids ambiguity in expression. Thus, Bailey (2011) provides several important points in maintaining accuracy in writing. The first is abbreviation which widely used for convinence and space savings. The writer should be familiar with both, general and academic abbreviations. In order to write academic paper effectively, it is necessary to understand rather formal vocabulary used in the academic context, to be specific related to adjectives, noun and verb.
Cohesion means joining a text together with reference words (e.g. he, theirs, the former). Thus, the whole text is clear and readable. Another problem faced by students when writing academic papers is nouns and adjcectives. In order to understand the meaning of a word, prefixes and suffixes would be very beneficial, particularly for new vocabulary. Then, preposition is another point which needs to be considered. In general, Bailey (2011) states that preposition is commonly short word that linked to noun, verb and adjective.
Accurate punctuation and use of capitals help the reader to understand exactly what the writer meant. It is argued that some aspects of punctuation, such as the use of commas in areas such as quotation and the use of capital are important. Thus, punctuation is the next important point in maintaining accuracy in writing, as well as singular and plural form for countable and uncountable noun. In order to avoid repetition in writing academic paper, synonym could be used as an effective way. In addition, Bailey (2011) states that synonym can be used to avoid plagiarism.
important to be clear about which time phrases control the tenses of verbs when writing paragraphs. Afterall, those important points proposed by Bailey (2011) summarized aspects in academic writing that the writer should follow and pay attention in maintaining writing accuracy.
3. Academic Writing in EFL context
Academic writing is often developed in students through formal instructional settings which may be influenced by overall proficiency in L2 (second language) for EFL (English as a foreign language) students (Giridharan, 2011). No doubts that students need to advance their own ideas and engage the reader in academic discourse in writing academic contexts. A Research studies conducted by Kelley (2008) reveals that successful academic writing plays important role for students entering tertiary levels of post-secondary. In other words, academic writing is the language of scholarship and demonstrates eligibility of higher education.
There are several related issues concerning academic writing, namely process of writing and product of writing as offered by Jordan (1997) and Nunan (1999). They argue that over the last 20 years product and process approaches have dominated much of the teaching of writing in EFL classrooms. According to Gabrielatos (2002) product approach refers to a traditional approach in which students are expected to follow the standard given and construct a new piece of writing. Steele (2004) divides four stages in product writing as shown in the figure 2.1 below.
Figure 2.1. Level in Product of Writing (adopted from Steele, 2004)
First, by having model texts, students focus on where and how the writer employs features and techniques used in it. Second, students are asked to practice using features and techniques. The third stage focuses more on where the ideas are organized. In other words, organization of ideas is important as well as the language control. As the last stage, students tend to use the skills, structures, and vocabulary they have been taught in producing the product. In brief, imitating and transforming model of writing are the activities on the product of writing.
ModelText
Controlled Practice
Ideas Organization
In contrast, it is necessary to define the process of writing. As defined by Jordan (1997) process refers to how a product is produced. Kroll (2001) adds that process of writing focus more on the promoting the language use development, such as brainstorming and rewriting. Seow (2002) divides writing process into four stages: planning, drafting, revising and editing, as presented in the figure 2.2 below.
Figure 2.2. Stages in Process of Writing (adopted from Seow, 2002)
As the first stage, planning is the stage where the students collect related information with the topic they have. It could be done through brainstorming. Harmer (2004) adds that the students have to consider three main issues while planning their writing. Firstly, they have to consider the purpose of their writing which affects the language used, and the information included. Secondly, considering the audience is also necessary. The language choice is the example. The last issue is content structure. Harmer (2004) explains that it refers to how best to sequence the facts, ideas or arguments which they have decided to include.
Process
Activation
Planning
Drafting
Revising
Editing
The second stage in process of writing is drafting. In this stage, students put ideas and information all together. The next stage, revising, is related with feedbacks, either from teacher or peers. Seow (2002) mentions that in this stage the students could measure how effective they shared their ideas to the audience. Editing is the last stage in process of writing. It allows the students to check their grammar, punctuation and word choices. Seow (2002) adds that process of writing also includes process activation prior to planning and process termination after editing. Brown (2004) simplifies the stages of writing process into three; pre-writing, drafting and revising. He adds that basically the various writing stages are all root from similar ground.
After all, the distinction between process and product of writing can be summarized. The process writing represents a change in teaching writing from the product of writing activities (the model text) to ways in which text can be developed.
This study use those two perspective academic writing, both as a product and process. The process of writing will focus on the students’ steps in writing their academic papers. Meanwhile the product of writing tends to understand how students deal with all the difficulties, failures and success in writing the academic papers.
In Indonesia, although many EFL students at university have a general understanding of grammar rules, it does not mean that they are able to write academically at levels expected. They are required to deal with variety of writing tasks depending on their chosen degrees. Each task has its own characteristic which varies from one to another. On the other hand, each assignment type of writing has a clear structure as the guideline. Thus, as stated by Horner & Min-Zhan, (1999); Rose, (1989) criticism has been directed against students’ inability to write at acceptable levels particularly among EFL students. Those compound the academic writing difficulties experienced by EFL students at tertiary levels. Literature confirms the inadequacies experienced by university EFL students in their academic writing in English.
B. Related Research Reports
In this section, some related research reports on academic writing will be reviewed in order to show the links of the research problems, their possible emergent complexities and also discover the place of this study. A number of researches on academic writing have been conducted in investigating deeper problems encountered by university or college students. Thus, recognizing important issues in writing academic paper is necessary.
NOOK. Those devices have been introduced into the market with the increasing growth of sales. The result of this study shows that the process of reading, annotation and information retrieval, was affected by readers. Not only that, e-reader can be a tool for reciprocal peer review in assisting academic writing for EFL students. Compared to the conventional paper-based materials, e-readers are significantly beneficial for students’ academic writing progress. In addition, E-readers could create a better writing environment in the process-based writing approach.
Chokwe (2011) write a report on first year ESL students’ conceptions of writing and how these conceptions influence their academic writing in South Africa. This study also includes the expectation, respond and understandings of the tutors on the student writing. The study has been done by a qualitative research methodology and case study approach as research design. The result of the study shows that students were underprepared for engaging in the academic writing activities required at university level. Moreover, students had a different perspective categorized their writing skills as average, tutors. On the tutor perspective, the findings reveal that students still struggle with aspects of writing such as, grammar, spelling, the structuring of essays which includes coherence and cohesion in paragraphs. Despite the fact that students valued feedback highly, in some instances tutors did not provide adequate, understandable and useful feedback (Chokwe, 2011).
of product and process is superior to the presentation of the learners. This study provides valid evidence in supporting the view that the combination of both approaches tends to facilitate the learners to undertake a writing task to be developed. Moreover, the advantages of using a product-process approach in evaluating the effects of writing tasks are appraised.
Maharsi (2007) write a thesis on academic writing experience of undergraduate students of Industrial Technology. This study discusses the academic writing experiences of the undergraduate International Program (IP) students of Industrial Technology at Islamic University of Indonesia which focuses on the students’ perception of academic writing. Moreover, it explores how they give meaning and actualize themselves through academic writing. This study shows that the students have limited knowledge of writing skills, exposures of reading materials of their discipline, and inadequate feedbacks while experiencing the stages of writing process. Despite the fact that students are aware of this importance of academic writing, not all students could take necessary efforts in improving their academic writing.
C. Characteristics of Source of Texts
the ability to rephrase information in the form of narratives, or transforming information into new texts as in argumentative writing. In addition, the proficiency in academic writing may be influenced by cognitive development, educational experiences and overall proficiency in L2 (second language) for ESL (English as a second language) students (Giridharan, 2011).
Newby et al. (2000) states that in today’s world, demands on the students have increased significantly. The students are required to use high-order reasoning skills in solving complex problem. According to Zhu (2004), in a university level, writing an academic paper is one of the partial requirements such as: assignment, journals, articles, mini research project, and even thesis are the examples of the partial requirements which play important roles. Writing academic paper helps students in expressing and communicating ideas and arguments. Therefore, Newby et al. (2000) argues that the increasing demand on education enable learner acquire higher-level skills. In other words the students will be ready to solve complex problem in the real world.
In summary, the participants in this study are graduate students who experienced writing academic papers such as respond papers, journals, articles, mini-research project and even thesis. Having experienced in writing academic papers such as: assignment, journals, articles, mini research project, play important roles, made the students prepared themselves to face today’s world demands: using high-order reasoning skills in solving complex problem.
D. Framework of Pre-Understanding
academic papers. Furthermore, the answer of the research question is presented and determined tentatively.
In this research, lived-experienced is defined as a phenomenon which reflects as a meaningful experience. The phenomenon itself is reflected in the past experience. It is not merely about understanding and beliefs but also feelings, intention and actions of a phenomenon.
Thus, graduate students’ lived experience in writing academic papers is interpreted as how writing academic papers give meaning to the students. In other words, it is about what the students’ responses toward writing academic papers. The responses cover their beliefs, understanding, feelings, actions, and intention on writing academic papers. Students’ experience, awareness, and intention writing academic papers become the foundation in unveiling their understanding, belief, feeling, action, and intention. Therefore, students’ understanding, belief, feeling, action, and intention are used to represent the essential meaning of their lived experience in writing academic papers.
Therefore, students’ belief on writing academic papers is defined as a certain attitude on writing academic papers which difficult to change. On the other hand,
students’ understanding on writing academic papers isa mind representation of what
writing academic papers is about. In this study, feelings refer to the expression what
the students feel about writing academic papers. Intention is what the students expect
in writing academic papers. In relation with intention, action in here refers to what the
students do with their intention or expectation in writing academic papers.
improve writing an academic paper, student need to focus on what they are doing for writing academic paper, not only about the product or results but also the process of it. In other words, students need to maintain their understanding, beliefs, feelings, intentions, and actions which lead them to a better actualization.
As stated previously, students’ lived experience, in writing academic papers may suggest different experiences and issues at graduate level of English Language Studies at Sanata Dharma University. In other words, problems could not be seen as an individual. It might cover both the process and product of academic writing.
Figure 2.3. Framework of pre-understanding of graduatestudents’ lived experience in writing academic papers
In brief, the pre-figured themes are derived from the theories presented in the previous sections. I provide three pre-figured themes as tentative answers for my research questions, language competence, critical thinking, and writing expectation. Based on the participant characteristics presented previously, writing academic papers requires conscious effort and much practice in composing, developing, and analyzing ideas. In other words, writing skills should be learned through experience and practiced continuously. Not only that, in relation with second language acquisition, students may have struggle with social and cognitive
Academic Writing
Process Product
Graduate students’ Lived Experience in Writing Academic Papers
Understanding Belief Feeling Intentio Action
n
Pre-Figured Themes
Critical Thinking Language
Competence
challenges. Therefore, language competence is the first pre-figured theme in this study. In addition, language competence refers to knowledge of and ability to use language resources to form well-structured messages (Bagaric & Djigunovic, 2007). Another aspect to support language competence is critical thinking.
Having experiences in writing academic papers, graduate students are expected to write a good quality of academic papers. They have to raise their critical thinking and apply it into their paper. Critical thinking means skills such as: selection, evaluation, analysis, reflection, questioning, inference and judgment. It is one of the constructs which has been proven to be a good predictor of academic performance (Giancarlo & Facione, 2001). Therefore, it plays an important role in the acquisition of language skills particularly in writing (Elder & Paul, 2006). Based on this issue, critical thinking is the second pre-figured theme in this study.
skills, language competence and critical thinking. Therefore, writing expectation is the last pre-figured themes in this study.
36 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, to ensure the treats and trustworthy to describe of interpretation the lived experience of the research project I attempt to give a further explanation on how to conduct the study. There are seven points to be discussed. The first, research method, it discusses the method used in this study. The second is research design which includes the explanation of the research design in this study. The third, instrument, it explains the data gathering instrument for this research. The fourth is text gathering which includes the discussion of how to gather the data. The fifth, text processing, it explains how to describe and interpret the data used in this study. The last is trustworthiness which discusses the trustworthiness of the instruments and findings.
A. Research Goal and Method
Phenomenology has two different approaches. First, transcendental phenomenology focuses more on effectiveness and efficiency. As stated by Moustakas (1994) it pays more attention on the description of the participants’ experiences. Second, hermeneutic phenomenology which interprets the text of life will results more on self-actualization and better understanding of a phenomenon (Mannen, 1990). Meanwhile transcendental phenomenology is focused on the description, hermeneutic focused more on the interpretation. In addition, the data are collected from a person who have experienced the phenomenon and later transformed into a description which covers the individual’s experience. The description consists of what they experienced and how they experienced it.
Hermeneutic phenomenology was the focused in this study. It seeks to go beyond description in order to discover meanings that are not immediately apparent (Merleau-Ponty, 1996). Thus, it helps the researcher to figure out the participants’ lived-experience in writing academic paper which can lead to self-actualization, autonomy, and better understanding in English Language Studies (ELS), was the focused in this study. In line with Mannen (1990), hermeneutics describes the phenomenon from lived experience and interprets as text of life.
B. Research Design
[image:59.595.84.508.184.606.2]I planned to design this study as a way to tell and revealing problem of human life. There were four aspects covered in this research design; specified goal, context, process, and components as shown in figure 3.1 below.
Figure 3.1 Research Design 1. Specified Goal
The focus of this research was to explore the meaning of graduate students’ lived-experience in writing academic papers. In other words, this research focused on the graduate students’ skills and knowledge in writing academic papers. Moreover it was intended to understand the stories from the participants’
Research Identity Title: Graduatestudents’ lived experience in writing academic papers
Specified goal To describe and interpret the English graduate students' lived experience in writing academic papers Context
1. Setting: The Graduate Program of English Language Studies (ELS), Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta
2. Time: Desember 2015-March 2016
Procedures
1. Determine the source of text
2. Collect significant information from the initial interview
3. Arrange some pointers for interview
4. Conduct the interviews 5. Describe the text 6. Interpret the text
Source & Nature of texts 1. The source of the texts: three illuminating graduate students 2. The nature of
perspectives about their experience in writing academic papers and assign meaning from it.
Furthermore, this research described and interpreted the participants understanding, beliefs, feelings, action and intention towards writing academic papers in order to get the essential meaning of the phenomenon.
2. Context
This research was conducted in The Graduate Program in English Language Studies (ELS), Sanata Dharma University. There were three participants in this study. They were ELS students of 2014 academic year. They had passed three semesters in the English Language Studies Graduate Program of Sanata Dharma University and experienced writing a number of academic papers throughout the semesters. In addition, I had a good relationship among those three participants since they were my classmates in ELS.
This research was conducted in December 2015 until the end of March 2016. In mean time, I conducted initial interview and in-depth interviews to gather the data for this research.
3. Procedures
determining the source of the texts, conducting an initial interview, arranging some pointers for the interviews, conducting in-depth interviews, and describing and interpreting the texts, as illustrated in Figure 3.2.
Figure 3.2. Research Procedure
Goal:
There were three illuminating participants in this study who have experienced the phenomenon. Not only that, they all were willing to share their experience.As the first stage, conducting an initial interview enabled the researcher to create a good atmosphere with the participants. Therefore, this allowed the researcher obtaining personal information of the participants. Then, the next step was conducting in-depth interviews. The in-depth interviews were all recorded and transcribed. Therefore, the recordings were converted into texts.
After having the texts from the in-depth interviews, the transcriptions were all coded. Hence, coding the transcription allowed the researcher to narrow the text into several themes. It led the researcher, as the following step, to generate the themes which later used in analyzing the phenomenon in this study.
4. Components
[image:63.595.84.514.219.596.2]The sources of the text of this study were three illuminating participants of ELS students of 2014 academic year. In addition, those participants had different background of streams in ELS; Education, Linguistics and Literature. The participants can be seen in the table 3 below.
Table 3.1 Participants in the research Participants
(Pseudo name)
Information Major
Asti ELS Student 2014 Linguistics
Jaya ELS Student 2014 Education
Cahyo ELS Student 2014 Literature
As the components of the study, the source of data in this research was graduate students of ELS who experienced writing academic papers in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University. According to Creswell (2012), there is should be a consideration in selecting the participants in phenomenological study. He points out that in a phenomenological study, a researcher needs to find more individuals who have experienced the phenomenon.
allow the researcher to record the interviews and publish the data in a dissertation and other publications. In addition, the participants were selected based on the illuminating aspects. All the participants in this study were selected because they could give rich descriptions of their lived-experience and were willing to share their lived experience in writing academic papers. Furthermore, it was expected the lived-experience of writing academic papers can be deeply investigated by s
