ABSTRACT
Ratnasari, Sri Sindu Lestari.(2007). Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Internet in English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University
In learning, the use of the Internet is helpful for learners. They can get much knowledge and many sources to support their learning. People believed that Internet could give contribution in learning because Internet is an interesting medium for the students. It makes the students motivated in learning. In Sanata Dharma University, especially English Education Study Program, the students often browse the Internet in order to do weekly task of writing VI. Lecturers of the course in class A, C, D, and E provide a website (www.writing6.wordpress.com), which contains weekly tasks and several good examples of research papers.
The problem to be solved is: What are the students’ perceptions of the use of Internet in writing VI class? And this study itself has an objective to answer the reserach problem. This study aims at exploring and figuring out the students’ perception of the use of the Internet in Writing VI classes and of Internet’s contribution toward the writing proficiency.
To solve the problem in this study, the writer conducted a survey research by distributing questionnaires consisting items related to perceptions and interview to get some additional information. The respondents and sources of data of this research were the sixth semester students from four writing classes in the academic year of 2006/2007 at the English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University. There were five writing classes in English Education Study Program. However, the researcher took four classes as the respondents. There were 65 respondents from Class A, Class C, Class D and Class E. Actually, there was also Class B, but the researcher did not include the Class B students, as this class does not use HTUwww.writing6.wordpress.comUTH.
Based on the data gathered, most of the students have positive perception of the use of Internet and Internet’s contributions toward their writing proficiency. Internet is considered as a good supporting medium for English language learning, especially in writing proficiency.
ABSTRAK
Ratnasari, Sri Sindu Lestari.(2007). Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Internet in English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma
Kegunaan Internet sangat membantu siswa dalam belajar. Mereka dapat memperoleh banyak ilmu dan berbagai macam sumber untuk mendukung belajar mereka. Internet dipercaya dapat memberikan kontribusi dalam belajar. Hal ini dikarenakan Internet adalah media yang menarik bagi siswa. Hal tersebut membuat siswa menjadi lebih termotivasi dalam belajar. Di Universitas Sanata Dharma, khususnya Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, siswa sering mengakses Internet untuk mengerjakan tugas mingguan mata kulih Writing VI. Dosen-dosen mata kuliah Writing VI menyediakan website (www.writing6.wordpress.com), yang berisi tugas- tugas mingguan dan beberapa contoh tentang karya ilmiah yang baik.
Pertanyaan penelitian yang perlu dijawab adalah: Bagaimanakah persepsi siswa terhadap penggunan Internet di mata kuliah Writing VI. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian. Penelitian ini meneliti dan menjelaskan tentang persepsi siswa terhadap penggunaan Internet dan kontribusi Internet terhadap ketrampilan menulis siswa.
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian, peneliti menggunakan metode survey dengan menyebarkan kuesioner yang berisi hal- hal yang berkaitan dengan persepsi. Peneliti juga melakukan interview terhadap responden. Responden dan sumber data dalm penelitian ini adalah siswa semester 6 yang mengambil mata kuliah Writing VI tahun ajaran 2006/2007 di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Ada lima kelas Writing di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Akan tetapi, responden di penelitian ini adalah responden dari empat kelas. Ada 65 responden dari kels A, kelas C, kelas D, dan kelas E. Sebenarnya, ada juga kelas B, akan tetapi, peneliti tidak mengikutsertakan siswa kelas B sebagai responden, karena kelas tersebut tidak menggunakan HTUwww.writing6.wordpress.comUTH.
Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh, sebagian besar siswa mempunyai persepsi yang positif terhadap penggunaan Internet dan kontribusi Internet terhadap ketrampilan menulis siswa. Internet di anggap sebagai media pendukung yang bagus untuk pembelajaran bahasa Inggris, khususnya ketrampilan menulis.
PROGRAM OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Sri Ratnasari Sindu Lestari St. Number : 03 1214 124
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF INTERNET
IN WRITING VI COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Sri Ratnasari Sindu Lestari St. Number : 03 1214 124
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
2007
Kuminta pada Tuhan setangkai bunga mawar yang indah dan segar, tetapi Ia memberiku kaktus jelek dan berduri.
Kuminta kupu- kupu yang indah warna warni, tetapi diberiNya ulat. Yach aku kecewa dan sedih
Beberapa hari kemudian kaktus itu berbunga indah sekali dan ulat itu menjadi kupu- kupu yang cantik
Baru aku sadar bahwa itulah jalan Tuhan. Selalu indah pada waktunya Kadang kenyataan hidup itu begitu menyedihkan, banyak hal tidak
sesuai dengan yang kita harapkan bahkan doakan, Tetapi suatu hal yang perlu kita ingat bahwa
tangan Tuhan sedang merenda suatu karya yang indah dan mulia. (Unknown)
I dedicate this thesis to my beloved late father and my lovely mother And for all my family
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like thank God, Allah SWT, for His blessing and giving me a very wonderful life. I love Him.
My biggest gratitude goes to my major sponsor, Drs. Pius Nurwidasa Prihatin, M.Ed., for his time and consistent support in guiding me in finishing this thesis. I am also in great debt to my co- sponsor Caecilia Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd., for giving me her thoughtful understanding, helpful suggestions and positive advices. I would also like to address my thankfulness to Fidelis Chosa K., S. Pd, Y. Veniranda, S.Pd., M. Hum., Ag. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd, M.A., on their comments and suggestions that help me much in finishing this thesis. I really appreciate their helps.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Christina Kristiyani, S.Pd., M.Pd, Gregorius Punto Aji, S.Pd., M.Hum., Markus Budiraharjo, S.Pd., M.Ed. for giving me permission to distribute the questionnaires in their writing VI classes. I also thank Writing VI students Academic Year of 2006/2007 for being my respondents and giving me information needed in completing this thesis. I also thank Jodi, Retno, Lisa, Dika, Sigit, Voni, Agnes, Paskalina, Festi, and Bram for their willingness to be interviewed in order to complete the data for this thesis. Without their participation, I would not have obtained the data needed for my research.
My sincere appreciation goes, as always to my family. I dedicate this thesis especially to my late beloved father, Dollah Syamsuri, who always gave me love and support in doing this thesis before he passed away. I also dedicate this thesis to
my mother, Suwarni, who always prays for me and gives me endless love and support. I am nothing without my parents.
I also thank my brothers and sisters: Mas Kelik, Mbak Iwuk, Mbak Tuti, Mas Ipung, Mbak Ira, Mas Didik, Mbak Ari, Mbak Rini and Mas Bowo. I thank them for all their supports, love, and prayer for me in achieving my dream. I also thank all my nephews and nieces, Jalu, Nana, Wisnu, Sindu, Elok, Adya, Ahnaf, and Puput for the pleasant day we share together.
I am deeply grateful for my friends, Winny Aditya , Yessy, and Deni. Keep our friendship forever. Great appreciation goes to Bonaventura Dono Wiratmo and Yoko Sentosa. I thank them for their willingness to help me finishing this study. I also thank Joe, Mas Danang, Lintang, Iqho, Buyung, and Nani for their help, information, and support to finish this thesis.
My deepest gratitude goes to Suryo Prabowo Wicaksono, for all the great love and support he gave to me. I feel so fortunate that I have been able to know him. I would like also to say thank the Secretariat staff of the English Education Study Program, the SAC staffs, and the Library Staff of Sanata Dharma University. I thank them for the excellent services.
I also thank all people I could not mention here. I thank them for their supports and prayers.
Sindu Lestari
STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis which I wrote does not contain the works or part of the works of other people, except those cited in quotations and bibliography, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, September 25 , 2007
Sri Ratnasari Sindu L.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGE ... ii
APPROVAL PAGE ... iii
DEDICATION PAGE ... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... v
STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii
LIST OF APPENDICES ... x
LIST OF TABLES ... xi
ABSTRACT ... xii
ABSTRAK ... xiii
I. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. The Limitation of the Study ... 3
C. Problem Formulation ... 3
D. Objectives of the Study ... 4
E. The benefits of the Study ... 4
F. Definition of Terms ... 6
II. CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Theoretical Description ... 9
1. Perception ... 9
2. Students’ Characteristics ... 15
3. Internet in Education ... 17
4. Writing Proficiency ... 19
B. Theoretical Framework ... 22
III. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Method ... 25
B. Respondent ... 26
C. Setting ... 27
D. Instruments ... 27
1. Questionnaire ... 27
2. Interview ... 30
E. Data Gathering Techniques ... 31
F. Data Analysis Techniques ... 32
G. Research Procedures ... 34
IV. CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Data Presentation from the Questionnaire ... 35
B. Data Presentation from the Interview ... 41
C. Discussion ... 43
V. CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions ... 47
B. Suggestions ... 48
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 50
VII. APPENDICES ... 53
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE ... 53
APPENDIX B INTERVIEW ... 57
APPENDIX C DATA ... 58
APPENDIX D WRITING VI SYLLABUS ... 67
LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1. Questionaire Blueprint ... 28
Table 3.2. Frequency of Questionnaire Distribution ... 32
Table 3.3. Central Tendency ... 33
Table 4.1. Questionaire Distribution ... 36
Table 4.2. Data Presentation of the Questionnaire ... 36
ABSTRACT
Ratnasari, Sri Sindu Lestari.(2007). Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Internet in English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University
In learning, the use of the Internet is helpful for learners. They can get much knowledge and many sources to support their learning. People believed that Internet could give contribution in learning because Internet is an interesting medium for the students. It makes the students motivated in learning. In Sanata Dharma University, especially English Education Study Program, the students often browse the Internet in order to do weekly task of writing VI. Lecturers of the course in class A, C, D, and E provide a website (www.writing6.wordpress.com), which contains weekly tasks and several good examples of research papers.
The problem to be solved is: What are the students’ perceptions of the use of Internet in writing VI class? And this study itself has an objective to answer the reserach problem. This study aims at exploring and figuring out the students’ perception of the use of the Internet in Writing VI classes and of Internet’s contribution toward the writing proficiency.
To solve the problem in this study, the writer conducted a survey research by distributing questionnaires consisting items related to perceptions and interview to get some additional information. The respondents and sources of data of this research were the sixth semester students from four writing classes in the academic year of 2006/2007 at the English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University. There were five writing classes in English Education Study Program. However, the researcher took four classes as the respondents. There were 65 respondents from Class A, Class C, Class D and Class E. Actually, there was also Class B, but the researcher did not include the Class B students, as this class does not use HTUwww.writing6.wordpress.comUTH.
Based on the data gathered, most of the students have positive perception of the use of Internet and Internet’s contributions toward their writing proficiency. Internet is considered as a good supporting medium for English language learning, especially in writing proficiency.
ABSTRAK
Ratnasari, Sri Sindu Lestari.(2007). Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Internet in English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma
Kegunaan Internet sangat membantu siswa dalam belajar. Mereka dapat memperoleh banyak ilmu dan berbagai macam sumber untuk mendukung belajar mereka. Internet dipercaya dapat memberikan kontribusi dalam belajar. Hal ini dikarenakan Internet adalah media yang menarik bagi siswa. Hal tersebut membuat siswa menjadi lebih termotivasi dalam belajar. Di Universitas Sanata Dharma, khususnya Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, siswa sering mengakses Internet untuk mengerjakan tugas mingguan mata kulih Writing VI. Dosen-dosen mata kuliah Writing VI menyediakan website (www.writing6.wordpress.com), yang berisi tugas- tugas mingguan dan beberapa contoh tentang karya ilmiah yang baik.
Pertanyaan penelitian yang perlu dijawab adalah: Bagaimanakah persepsi siswa terhadap penggunan Internet di mata kuliah Writing VI. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian. Penelitian ini meneliti dan menjelaskan tentang persepsi siswa terhadap penggunaan Internet dan kontribusi Internet terhadap ketrampilan menulis siswa.
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian, peneliti menggunakan metode survey dengan menyebarkan kuesioner yang berisi hal- hal yang berkaitan dengan persepsi. Peneliti juga melakukan interview terhadap responden. Responden dan sumber data dalm penelitian ini adalah siswa semester 6 yang mengambil mata kuliah Writing VI tahun ajaran 2006/2007 di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Ada lima kelas Writing di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Akan tetapi, responden di penelitian ini adalah responden dari empat kelas. Ada 65 responden dari kels A, kelas C, kelas D, dan kelas E. Sebenarnya, ada juga kelas B, akan tetapi, peneliti tidak mengikutsertakan siswa kelas B sebagai responden, karena kelas tersebut tidak menggunakan HTUwww.writing6.wordpress.comUTH.
Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh, sebagian besar siswa mempunyai persepsi yang positif terhadap penggunaan Internet dan kontribusi Internet terhadap ketrampilan menulis siswa. Internet di anggap sebagai media pendukung yang bagus untuk pembelajaran bahasa Inggris, khususnya ketrampilan menulis.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This introductory chapter gives a description about this study. It provides
background information related to the subject matter, presents why the researchers
intended to do the research on it, and the general aims of doing this research.
This chapter consists of six parts. They are the background, the limitation of the
study, problem formulation, objectives of the study, the benefits of the study and the
definition of terms.
A. Background of the Study
Technology has been used widely in human life. It exists in many parts of
human life including education (Roblyer and Edward, 2000: 12). One of the
technologies used in education is computer. Computer can be used in learning English
as a teaching aid. The attractive and challenging materials using computer will be
helpful to attract students’ interest to study. In addition, as a machine, computer is
ready anytime the students feel motivated to learn with it.
Nowadays, technologies have been developed. One of them is Internet. It can
serve everything people need. We just have to browse what we want through the web.
In learning, the use of internet is also helpful for learners. They can get much
knowledge and many sources to support their learning. People believed that Internet
could give contribution in learning because Internet is an interesting medium for the
students. It makes the students motivated in learning. Roblyer and Edwards support
that statement. They state (2000:243), “Internet in education provides unexpectedly
powerful support for language arts and English activities, and the students are
motivated in learning language”.
In Sanata Dharma University, especially English Education Study Program, the
students often browse the Internet in order to do weekly task of writing VI. Lecturers of
the course in class A, C, D, and E (Christina Kristiyani, S.Pd., M.Pd, Gregorius Punto
Aji, S.Pd., M.Hum., Markus Budiraharjo, S.Pd., M.Ed) provide a website, which
contains weekly tasks and several good examples of research papers. The website is
www.writing6.wordpress.com.
This study aims to know the students’ perceptions of the use of Internet in
writing class. Do they perceive the use of Internet in the positive or negative way? The
study of perception in this context is important because as Altman (1985: 85) says that,
“The way students perceive on something, whether it is in positive or negative way,
influences the students’ behavioral responses”. The behavioral responses can also be
positive or negative. Szilagyi and Wallace (1980: 70) state that human perception
results in human behavior: positive perception leads to positive behavior and vice
versa. Therefore, if the students perceive the use of Internet in a positive way, the
students’ behavioral responses will be positive too. This will support the teaching
learning activities and the course goal achievement. However, if the students perceive
the use of Internet in negative way, the students’ behavioral responses will be negative
too.
Understanding the perception of the students of the use of Internet is important
to know how the students perceive the use of the Internet. This study also wants to
know how the students perceive the Internet contributions in improving their English
contributes directly to the use of teaching learning media which is the important aspect
in English language teaching. The result of this study will show how the students
perceive the use of Internet and Internet’s contributions toward their writing
proficiency. By having positive perception of the use of Internet, the students have
realized that Internet is beneficial for them to accomplish writing VI exercises. That is
why information about this study is important because we know Internet is a good
media for English Language learning.
Seeing the importance of knowing how the students perceive the use of Internet
to accomplish their Writing VI exercises and to improve their writing proficiency, there
is a need to conduct a research on this topic.
B. The Limitation of the Study
Teeler and Peta conducted a research on the use of Internet in Engish Language
Teaching and learning. One of his findings was Internet is considered as a medium for
exploration and supporting references for English Language Learning (Teeler and Peta,
2000). Inspired by Teeler’s and Peta’s research and considering that perception
influences student’s behaviors, which then leads to the student’s achievement in
learning, the researcher is interested in conducting this research.
English writing skill is taught in almost every levels of education, starting from
elementary school, junior and senior high school, as well as university. However, the
researcher will only conduct her research on the university. Since the scope of
university is still too broad, narrowing down the scope is necessary. The scope is then
reason is that this course has a web and the students use Internet to do writing VI
exercises.
The researcher limited this study on the way the students of Sanata Dharma
University, especially of English Education Study program, perceive the use of Internet
in Writing VI classes and its contributions toward writing proficiency.
C. Problem Formulation
The researcher formulates the problem as follows: What are PBI students’
perceptions of the use of Internet in Writing VI class?
D. Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study is to answer the problem previously stated. This
study aims at exploring and figuring out the students’ perception of the use of the
Internet in Writing VI classes.
E. The Benefits of the Study
This study is expected to give positive contribution on English language
teaching, especially to:
1. Lecturers who teach Writing subject, in Sanata Dharma University
This study provides information about how the students perceive and
understand about the use of Internet in Writing VI class. The students’ perceptions are
various, and the variations lead the students to get different achievement. The lecturer
might then scrutinize the negative perceptions of the students in order to find out some
Moreover, as the researcher also attempts to investigate the students’
perceptions on Internet’s contributions toward their writing proficiency, the lecturers
will be also to see these perceptions. If the students perceive Internet’s contributions
positively, the lecturer could have positive expectation toward the use of Internet in
Writing VI class. On the other hand, if the students do not perceive any contributions
toward their writing proficiency, the lecturers might review again the use of Internet,
and if possible, the lecturers might make some reflections on the effectiveness of the
use of Internet to accomplish students’ tasks. The lecturer might renew their strategy in
teaching through Internet. Hopefully, new strategy in teaching can improve the
students’ achievements.
2. Writing VI Students
This study shows what actually the general perception of the students toward
the use of Internet is. By knowing the data result, the students who have not had
positive perception yet might have a more positive perception of Internet by improving
their strategy on working with Internet. They use the Internet maximally and well in
doing their writing exercises in order to have better writing products
3. English Education Field
This research explores how the students perceive the Internet in order to help
them in doing the writing VI exercises. If the students perceive the use of Internet
positively, Internet might to be applied to other subjects in English education Study
Program Sanata Dharma University. Internet might be used in various and creative
4. Future researchers
The researcher hoped that this research inspire future researchers who concern
to this field. They can conduct similar research related to the use of Internet as a
supporting tool in Writing VI class. Other researchers may also enrich the existing
research and to provide further discussion on the use of Internet.
F. Definition of Terms
Definition of terms is used in this study to avoid misunderstanding. The
terms are:
1. Perception
Kreitner and Kinicki (1992: 126) define, “perception is a mental and cognitive
process that enables people to interpret and understand the surroundings”. According to
Szilagyi and Wallace (1980: 70), they says, “perception is defined as the process by
which individuals attend to incoming stimuli, organize and then interpret such stimuli
into a message that in turn indicates an appropriate action or behavior”.
In the study, perception refers to how the students feel, think about, and
consider about the use of Internet in writing VI class and its contributions toward their
writing proficiency.
2. Writing Proficiency
Writing proficiency is one’s ability to put down his ideas, ideals, imaginations
which covers: correct forms of the language on the sentence level, mechanics of
punctuation and content organization
3. Internet
Internet is equal to World Wide Web, therefore when we hear “the Internet”,
the person could be referring to the World Wide Web. Web is a system which has
function for keeping, taking, formatting, and showing the information through client or
server (HTLevine,TH 1997: 5). He also adds that web can combine texts, pictures, sounds,
and even animation that enable you to move just by clicking your mouse. Web is very
useful source of information, and most of the information on it is free. We should try
searching for information we are interested in through the web, and we will probably
be surprised at how much information we can find
In this study, the Internet refers to the students’ source of information used
in Writing VI class to support their learning in this course. There is also web provided
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter reviews the theories that are going to be used in this study. This
chapter consists of two parts. They are literature review and theoretical framework. The
literature review presents the main theories which are used as the references in this
study. The theoretical framework presents the outline of the specific theories which are
used as the guideline to answer the problems of this study.
The main concern of this study is the students’ perceptions of the use of
Internet and of its contributions toward writing proficiency. In order to conduct this
research, the researcher will discuss some literature reviews which provide the
references or theories related to this research. The theories in this chapter will be
discussed in order to answer several questions. The questions are:
1. What constitutes good perception and bad perception?
2. What are the characteristics of the students?
3. What are the characteristics or the nature of the use of Internet in learning to
write?
4. Do the characteristics of the students lead to good perception or bad
perception?
5. Does the nature of the Internet or the use of Internet lead to good perception or
bad perception?
Hence, the researcher is going to, first, review the nature of perception, because
this research aims to know what the students’ perceptions of the use of Internet in
writing VI class are. The discussion about perception is also needed to answer the first
question, that is, what constitutes good and bad perception. The readers will have clear
description about how one person can be categorized to have good or bad perception.
Then, the researcher will review the characteristics of the students. This discussion is
needed to know the students’ characteristics that lead to good perception or bad
perception. In addition, the researcher will also discuss nature of Internet in education,
especially the nature of Internet in learning to write. This discussion is needed to know
what the characteristics of the use of Internet in learning to write that lead to good or
bad perception. The researcher will also review the characteristics of writing
proficiency, because this study also concern about students’ perceptions on the
Internet’s contributions toward their writing proficiency.
A. Theoretical Description
This part presents some theories as the references in this study. As has been
stated above, the researcher will discussed four elements which is important to be
reviewed in order to answers the problem formulation. Four elements that are going to
be discussed in detail are: Perception, Students’ Characteristics, Internet in Education,
and Writing Proficiency.
1. Perception
Firstly, the researcher is going to discuss about perception. The discussion of
perception is needed because this research aims to know what the students’ perceptions
of the use of Internet in writing VI class are. The discussion about perception is also
answer the problem formulation. The researcher will discuss what constitutes good and
bad perception.
Here, the researcher will review the perception theories in order to specify the
area that the researcher is going to discuss. In this section, the researcher will discuss
what perception is. The researcher also discusses the factors that influence someone’s
perception.
There are several theories about perception. Robbins (2001: 121- 122) says,
“Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals organize and interpret
their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment”. This
statement is supported by Borger and Seaborne (1982: 126). They state, “Perception is
an awareness of the environment, through which a person processes incoming sensory
data in certain way to arrive at useful impression of his surroundings”. Mozkowitz and
Orgel (1969: 158) argue, “Perception is a global response to a stimulus or a set of
stimuli”. Kreitner and Kinicki (1992: 126) add, “Perception is a mental and cognitive
process that enables people to interpret and understand the surroundings”.
From those definitions, perception is viewed as the responses to a stimulus or to
the surroundings through their mental and cognitive processes. Those responses occur
in people’s awareness to the stimuli for people get the incoming data from the stimuli
through their sensory receptors. Then, these responses will be interpreted as
meaningful information about the stimuli and so called perceptions.
Robbins (2001:122) adds that, “Perception can also be defined as conscious
mental processes of observing, viewing, responding, and understanding, in which
someone gives a meaning on the stimulus he receives”. Perception does not solely
(1988: 85) states that “the basic form of perception is people’s born talent, meanwhile
perceptional ability is the result of learning, which is determined by the environment”.
Someone who receives the sensory data through their sensory receptors cannot
automatically perceive the data into perception. He still needs further process and
information to know exactly what the sensory data is. It is the role of the brain for
interpreting those incoming sensory data and for giving a meaningful translation
toward the stimuli.
When someone experiences a stimulus, he may have sensation and perception
processes. Those processes are different things, which are quite difficult to be separated
completely although they exist together. This statement is supported by Bootzin et
al.(1983: 103). They say that it is impossible to separate perception from sensation.
However, the primary difference between perception and sensation can still be seen.
The primary difference is that sensation can be thought of as an organism’s first encounter with a raw sensory stimulus, while perception is the process by which it is interpreted, analyzed, integrated with other sensory information.
(Feldman, 1990: 127)
When someone experiences a stimulus, by having sensation, he may receive the
stimulus directly without any process to interpret, analyze, and understand about it.
If someone believes that stimulus will bring his needs, it will cause him to have
positive perception toward the stimulus. This positive perception also occurs when
someone has a big expectation toward the stimulus. The difference in someone’s needs
and expectations when experiencing something causes the differences of perceptions
from one person to another.
satisfaction of that state. Our expectation, past experiences, and psychological states combine, setting us to perceive the world in certain ways.
(Bootzin et al., 1983:119-120)
Perception toward something can affect one’s behavior toward it. Perceptions
play a role when someone understands the stimuli he receives by which he determines
the behavior as the response to the stimuli.
According to Szilagyi and Wallace (1980: 70), “Perception is defined as the
process by which individuals attend to incoming stimuli, organize and then interpret
such stimuli into a message that in turn indicates an appropriate action or behavior”.
Stimuli can derive from outside and inside of individuals. And although some
individuals receive the same stimulus, the individuals can have different perception due
to individuals’ different experience, thinking abilities and framework, and expectation.
Hence, perception is personal.
Robbins (2001: 122- 124) states that, “Perception has three components’. They
are a perceiver, target and the situation in which the perception is occurring. Each of
these components influences the perceiver’s impression or interpretation of the target.
First impressions are important in forming the perception toward certain stimuli. When
someone is interested in perceiving certain stimulus at the first time, he will intend to
know and learn more about it. Having good impressions can encourage someone to
learn about it. These impressions will ultimately lead to the positive perceptions, in
which the person feels happy and likes the thing. In contrary, having bad impressions
will lead people to have negative perceptions, in which people will feel unhappy and
dislike the thing. Therefore, if the students have good impression toward Internet, it is
The perceiver’s or the student’s experience, need, and emotions can affect his
or her perception on the target. One of the most important characteristics of the
perceiver that influences his or her target is experience. Past experience leads the
perceiver to develop expectations, and these expectations affect current perception. If
the students have pleasant experiences of using Internet, he or she will expect that
Internet is beneficial in helping him to do his tasks. Thus, if students have pleasant and
beneficial experience in using Internet, it is possible those students will have good
perception, or that they perceive Internet positively.
Characteristics of the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived.
Motion, sound, size, and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it. Internet is
considered as a medium which have highly graphic and full of images. Internet also
provides sources for English language learning. It may attract the students’ attentions
that influence how they perceive Internet.
According to Robbins (2001), every perception occurs in some situational
context, and this context can affect what one perceives. The most important effect that
the situation can make is adding information about the target. The press of time will
literally force the manager to overlook some details, to rush certain activities and to
ignore certain stimuli such as request from other managers or from superiors (Gibson et
al., 1985:67). People tend to work quickly when they do not have much time. Because
of the limitation of time, people pay less attention to the factor, which might affect the
work outcomes. They make decision about certain thing without further understanding
on their perceptions toward the problem. Based on this theory, in the use of Internet in
writing VI class, students will make perception on the use of Internet with further
There are six factors that influence someone’s perception. They are
stereotyping, selectivity, self- concept, situation, needs, and emotions. Stereotype is a
set of thinking in a particular group that generalized to all members of group or we
can say it people’s mind set (Gibson et al, 1985: 64). People have set some
knowledge in their mind, even if they do not know those knowledge is true or not. If
most people consider that Internet is a good media to support learning, the students
will set this in his or her mind. Then, he or she will perceive Internet positively.
In selectivity, it is impossible for us to catch all the stimuli that exist in our
environment. Only certain stimuli are taken and we process them in our brain. It is
caused by our interest of those stimuli. We make a perception based on something
that we want to choose. It is supported by Gibson et al. (1985: 66) who says that
people tend to ignore information or cues that might them feel discomfort. People
have various interests so they may select what is important or what is relevant to
fulfill their needs. This is why people perceive things differently. In the use of the
Internet, people will ignore it and give bad perception on it if those people do not
select the stimuli because they do not have any interest on it.
The way we see ourselves in the form of self- concept will affect our
perception about something in our environment. When one person is successful in
knowing his/ her self- concept, the perception about something can be seen
accurately. When a student knows that he is lazy in doing tasks, he realizes that he
should not be lazy in doing writing VI exercises, because he will not get good mark.
He needs Internet that makes him motivated to do the exercises. Therefore, he will
have good perception on the use of Internet.
Perceptions are significantly influenced by needs and desires (Gibson et al.
to do. In choosing a cloth, people choose based on their needs and expectations. Each
person may have different style in fashion, needs, and expectation in choosing their
clothes. It also happens in the use of Internet in writing VI class. Students will perceive
Internet as good if they need it to find several references or knowledge to support their
learning and they have desire to do the tasks seriously to get a good mark. They expect
that Internet can help them accomplish their writing VI exercises.
Emotions such as anger, happiness, or fear can influence human perceptions.
Gibson et al. (1985:68) supports this through his statement that strong emotions often
distort perceptions. If the students enjoy, feel discomfort, and interested in using
Internet, they may have positive perception on it.
In this study, the researcher focuses on how the students perceive the use in
internet in writing VI class and Internet’s contributions toward writing proficiency.
This study uses definition which is synthesized from the definitions of perception
above. Perception is then defined as a response to a stimulus or to a surrounding
through mental and cognitive processes or through their feeling or thinking. This
study wants to know how a student observes, views, responds, and understand the use
of Internet as media in writing VI class. Then, he or she draws a meaning on it, or in
short, perceives it as an important and beneficial medium which gives contributions to
the improvement of writing proficiency.
2. Students’ Characteristics
After having discussion about perception, the researcher discusses about
students’ characteristics. It aims to know whether students’ characteristics lead to good
In some psychology books, there are some theories to differentiate adolescence
and adult. Hurlock (1994: 207) states, “Adolescence is a period when people have a
shifting period from child to adult”. While Hurlock states that in adult period, people
adjust themselves to the environment. They focus on job, married, and family.
Wirawan (1994: 5) defines, “Young people in the age of 14 up to 21 are
categorized as Adolescence”. And the adolescence do not orient to the career and job.
The respondents of this study are students of 2004. Their ages are approximately 20 or
21, therefore, they are generally categorized as adolescence or the last stage of
adolescence.
Another theory about adolescence came up from Csikszentimihalyi & Larson.
They (1984:19) say, “Adolescence is period when people have some changes in mental
development. These changes are signed with the changes from entropi to negentropi”.
Entropi is the condition in which there is no balance in human feeling, mind, and
knowledge. While, negentropi is the condition in which the people have clear goal in
his life, no doubt in facing the life, and have good self-concept. Adolescence have
clearer goal to be achieved and better self-concept than children. From the previous
discussion in perception section, self-concept is one of the factors that affect
perception. The better the self-concept people have, the better their perception will be.
Therefore, the respondents are positively expected to have good perception of the use
of Internet in writing VI class.
Wirawan (1994:25) adds that adolescence have some characteristics, such as:
having big interest toward intellectual functions, looking for new experiences, and
having high need for achievement. Students in the adolescence period are interested to
experiences. By using Internet, they can get knowledge which support their learning.
They can also get some experiences in using Internet.
Adolescence also has need for achievement. Good achievement gives
satisfaction and popularity for the students. That is why in adolescence period, the
students try to do the best to get good achievement in their study. In writing class, the
students may use Internet to help them in achieving good achievement. It is positively
expected that they perceive Internet positively.
Hurlock (1994:219) states, “Adolescence tends to adapt with new modern
technology and up to date things in their surrounding”. It occurs because they want to
be accepted by their friends. Therefore, it has great possibility that the writing VI
students like Internet, because Internet is one of the new modern technologies. Their
interests may lead to the good perception of the use of Internet.
3. Internet in Education
The researcher will also discuss about the nature of Internet. This discussion is
needed to know whether the use of Internet leads to good perception or bad perception.
Internet -is also well known as Net- is the biggest computer network in the
world (HTLevine,TH 1997: 4). Actually, internet is a group of networks which each of
network can transfer information to one another.
The internet is the same as World Wide Web, when we hear someone speaks of
“the internet”, the person may be referring to the World Wide Web. The World Wide
Web, sometimes called the web or www, is massive computer database. Web is a
system which has function for keeping, taking, formatting, and showing the
pictures, sounds, and even animation that enable you to move just by clicking your
mouse.
Web is a very useful source of information, and most of the information on it is
free. We should try searching for information we are interested in through the web, and
we will probably be surprised at how much information we can find. We can believe
that web becomes more and more important for teaching, research, learning, and
business. That is why web is a valuable source of information in teaching. Web is
therefore a virtual library: it is a readily available world of information for the language
learner.
Roblyer and Edwards (2000: 243) say, “The use of Internet in education also
provides unexpectedly powerful support for language arts and English activities.
Students are frequently more motivated to write well”. The rapid growth in the quantity
and quality of World Wide Web sites provides other major resources for educators and
their students (Roblyer and Edwards, 2000:244). The Internet can be integrated in
additional ways, such as: E- mail or chat to gather information from experts and virtual
tour of students’ own local history, art, or science museum. The other ways are models
for doing information searches and analyzing and using the result, students can send
questions to their favorite authors; many now have web sites, and the students collect
sources to support their learning
In education, Internet is virtually attractive, easy to use, and easy to understand
(Dudeney, 2000:3). As a learning medium, Internet has three characteristics (Roblyer
and Edwards, 2000:208). They are: Widely available, easy to use, and highly visual
graphic. Anyone in this world can access the Internet and use it to communicate with
Internet also has full effects, pictures, images, graphics, and colors. These
characteristics may attract the students to use Internet.
In writing, Internet provides students references, an up – to- date articles to
support their learning to write. Teeler and Peta (2000: 17) say, “Internet is considered
as a reference library for continuing development in language teaching”. For writing
class, internet is beneficial and helps the students in doing the writing exercises. They
can get several paper models and sufficient knowledge to write. For them, Internet can
be a source of learning materials. Teeler and Peta (2000: 36) state, “There are three
advantages of the Internet as a source learning material. They are: scope, topicality, and
personalization”.
By using Internet, the students can find amount of source and materials which
support them in doing their writing tasks. The students also get today’s new or
up-to-date information without buying them. Every information in the Internet is being added
everyday. Teeler and Peta (2000:36) say, “Everything the students want to write,
Internet provides it”. In writing, students may have to have a topic to be discussed. The
topics they deal may be irrelevant or difficult to discuss. Students may sometimes need
alternative topics. They (2000:36) add, “Internet can provide so many topics you can
choose”.
4. Writing Proficiency
The last element to be discussed is writing. This discussion is important
because this study also concerns about students’ perceptions of the Internet’s
contributions toward their writing proficiency. This theory presents the characteristics
Besides speaking, writing is seen as the medium of conveying message,
(Hughey et al., 1983: 33). They see writing as a means to learn about the writers
themselves and the world around them, as well as an important means to express
themselves. Zimmerman and Rodrigues (1992: 4) define that, “Writing is a way of
thinking, learning, and sharing ideas with others”. Tribble (1996: 10) argues that,
“Writing is a discourse, a way of creating a meaningful interaction between the writer
and readers”. To the researcher’s knowledge, writing is one way of communication to
express ideas, thoughts, and one way to convey message from one person to others.
As a medium of delivering message, writing has some functions (Hughey et al.,
1983: 33- 38). He says, “The first function of writing is a means of communication
through which people can express their feelings, ideas, plans, recommendations,
values, and commitments, and the second function is as an aid for critical thinking and
problem solving”. Writing is seen as a means to sift and refine the perceptions of
surroundings. People can define themselves and their problems, clarify knowledge,
ideas, understand and solve their problems. Writing is also a self- actualization
(Hughey et al.: 1983: 33- 38). Writing helps people to discover and develop
themselves, that is, help them to realize their individual potential and to achieve
personal goals. The last function of writing is to help people control the personal
environment (Hughey et al.: 1983: 33- 38). Writing is a tool for survival in the real
world. Through writing, not only can people convey message but they can also
communicate from distance.
Writing proficiency is very important in human life. Therefore, we can not
avoid improving our writing proficiency. We find that we need writing proficiency for
Some theories state that in order to have a good writing people have to master
some skills. Bram (1995:7) states, “In principle, to write means to produce written
messages”. We should have something meaningful to convey, and we have to be able
to express our idea into written form. This statement is supported by Gie. He (1992:21)
states, “A good writing requires a writer to express his ideas clearly so that there will
be misinterpretation between the writer and reader”. Chaplen (1970: 1) defines, “a
good paragraph is a paragraph whose unit of information is completely understood by
the reader and whose controlling idea is completely developed”. Bram adds, “To write,
we also have to know what a paragraph is, so that we can make a good paragraph,
because in writing we need a good paragraph”. Walvoord (1985:4) says, “A good
paragraph includes the main idea, support sentences, and convention”.
Madden and John (1994: 10) say, “A good writing is considered having a
structured format or a good pattern of organization, namely introduction, body, and
conclusion”. For most beginning writers whose mother tongue is not English, to
express what they intend is sometimes difficult. Bram (1995: 25) argues, “One of the
common problems is lack of ability to construct grammatical sentences. That is why,
grammatical correct is needed in a good writing”. Singer (1990: 40) adds, “People
might store the grammatical structures of sentences that are encountered in their
reading”. Therefore, by reading, they also learn grammatical patterns from the
sentences.
Another thing we have to master is word. Words are the basic tool for writing.
Bram says, “To a great extent, it is words that determine whether a paragraph is good
Paulston and Bruder (1976:205) states, “A proficient writer has to master correct forms
of the language on the sentence level and content of organization.
Writing VI is one of the compulsory subjects in PBI that must be taken by the
students (Panduan Akademik Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris). The target
competencies of this course are: (Writing VI syllabus)
At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
1. comprehend the organization of different types of research paper,
2. write different types of research paper with correct forms, grammar, and
organization based on:
a. interview
b. survey: questionnaire
c. library study
Writing VI course is a course which focuses on training the students to practice
to write research paper as the basis to make their thesis. In the course, the lecturers give
weekly tasks for the students. The students have to download the task and the materials
from the Internet. The purpose of the tasks is to encourage the students to write more
and more. The weekly tasks must be done seriously and with responsibility.
B. Theoretical Framework
This section discusses students’ perceptions of the use of Internet. It is expected
that there is a positive relationship between students’ perceptions and their
improvement in writing. This expectation derives from the theory that stated human
perception results in human behavior: positive perception leads to positive behavior
Based on the theories of perception that have been discussed in the previous
section, we know that there are factors affect perception. Experiences become the most
important factor in drawing perception. Stereotype, self-concept, and need affect
someone in perceiving something. The respondents of this study are categorized as
adolescence that has set their mind about Internet. They consider the Internet as a good
media to help them to do their tasks. They also have good self-concept and need for
achievement. Their characteristics lead to the possibility they have good perception of
the use of Internet in doing writing VI exercises and of the Internet’s contributions
toward their writing ability. However, those possibilities are theories only, therefore,
the researcher conducted this research to know whether the students will perceive the
use of Internet positively or not.
Writing VI course is a course which focuses on training the students to practice
to write research paper as the basis to make their thesis. In the course, the lecturers give
weekly tasks for the students. The students have to download the task and the materials
from the Internet. The purpose of the tasks is to encourage the students to write more
and more. The weekly tasks must be done seriously and with responsibility. This
responsibility is greatly influenced by the students’ perception toward the Internet. If
the students perceive Internet positively, they would have positive attitudes in their
mind. The positive attitude leads to strong positive motivation. Strong motivation is a
great energy for the students to organize their behaviors. When the students do the
tasks in positive behaviors, it can be said that they have responsibilities to do the tasks.
As someone perceives the Internet positively, it means that he tends to see the
use of the Internet as effective, important, beneficial, and contributory. This positive
Internet. It turns in arises a motivation to use Internet in doing the writing tasks
seriously and with responsibility. By this motivation, the students would be able to
manage “moving toward’ behaviors in doing the tasks. The term “moving toward”
means the serious effort in doing the tasks. In managing the behaviors, a student has
positive thinking toward the use of the Internet, including one thing which allows him
to see the Internet’s contributions, especially toward their writing proficiency. The
better the students perceive the use of Internet in doing writing VI exercises, the better
they would perceive the Internet’s contributions toward their writing proficiency. The
students’ positive perceptions of the use of the Internet influence the students’
perceptions of the Internet’s contributions which can increase their writing ability. By
having positive perception of the use of the Internet and the Internet’s contributions as
well, the students may be helped to improve their proficiency in English, in writing.
In order to conduct the research, the researcher distributes questionnaires and
conducts interviews. The research procedure and methodology that the researcher
conducts will be discussed further in Chapter III.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter gives further information on how this study was conducted. It
consists of six parts, namely method, respondents, instrument, data gathering
techniques, data analysis techniques, and research procedures.
A. Method
The qualitative approach was applied in this study. Qualitative method was
described as approaches used to gather data systematically, but the data were purely
descriptive, and therefore not numerical (Sprinthall and Schemutte, 1991: 100). This
study was a survey study. It aims at obtaining the answers for the questions stated in
problem formulation. According to Ary et al (1979:297), survey study is a study that
permits the researcher to summarize or measure the characteristics, attitudes, and
opinions of several different groups toward some issues.
Survey research which focused on a group’s attitudes, opinion, and
characteristics, often takes the form of a questionnaire that is sent out to a group of
people. The advantage of using this type of research is that substantial amounts of
information can be collected in a relatively short time. This approach can aid in
discerning patterns in large amounts of information (Brown, 1988:3).
There are three features in survey studies. The first feature is that probability
sampling is employed in order to represent the large number of respondents from the
whole population. The second is questionnaires or interviews are used to ask some
questions about the current issues to the respondents, and then record the answers. The
last is that for quantitative study, the answers are summarized in numerical codes.
While for qualitative study, the numerical data is used as an evidence of the conclusion
of a certain issues (Singleton and Straits, 1999).
The purpose of this survey study was to know the students’ perceptions of the
use of Internet in Writing VI class. This survey research in education involved the
collection of information from a group of students, the ones who associated with the
educational issues.
B. Respondents
The term population refers to the entire group of persons, things, or events that
share at lest one common trait (Sprinthall, Schmutte, and Sirois, 1991:27). The
population of this study was the students who were taking Writing VI class in the
academic year of 2006/2007 at the English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma
University.
The respondents and sources of data of this research were the sixth semester
students from four writing classes in the academic year of 2006/2007 at the English
Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University. There were five writing classes
in English Education Study Program. However, the researcher took four classes as the
respondents. There were 65 respondents from Class A, Class C, Class D and Class E.
Actually, there was also Class B, but the researcher did not include the Class B
students as this class does not use www.writing6.wordpress.com. The researcher had
purposive sampling that is there is judgment of typical or representative sample
elements which are chosen from the population (Ary, D., et. all, 2002). The researcher
took the respondents as purposive sampling because the focus of this research was the
The respondents for the interview were ten students. Those ten students were
the representative of class A, C, D, and E. The interview was a secondary source for
this study. Thus the researcher considered that the data result as a supporting data
would support the primary data which was the questionnaire data result.
C. Setting
This research was conducted in even semester Academic Year of 2006/2007 in
April until May 2007. It took place in Writing VI class of English Language Education
Study Program, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta.
D. Instruments
In carrying out this study, the researcher used two kinds of instruments;
interview and questionnaire.
1. Questionnaire
According to Ary et.al (2002: 566), questionnaire was an instrument in which
respondents provided written response to questions on mark items that indicated their
reponses. The questionnaire was distributed to a group of people assembled at a certain
place for a specific purpose.
The questionnaire used Likert scale, a scale with a number of points that
provide ordinal scale measurement (Wiersma, 1995: 183). A set of related responses,
one for each point, was provided. The responses were valued from strongly disagree,
disagree, agree, strongly agree. The rank was one to four. The choices are SD (Strongly
Disagree), D (Disagree), A(Agree), and SA (Strongly Agree). In answering the
questionnaire in this study aims to know the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet
in Writing VI class.
The writers asked seventeen questions that could answer the problem in this
study. The items in the questionnaires reflected the theories have been discussed in
chapter II. In chapter II, the researcher have discussed about the factors that affect
perception, Internet in education, writing proficiency, and students’ characteristics. The
questions can be seen as follows:
Table 3. 1.Questionnaire Blueprint
Question Indicate No. 1 and 2 Students’ experiences in using Internet
No. 3 - 9 The perception of the use of Internet in Writing VI class
No. 10 - 15 The perception of the Internet contributions toward the students’
writing ability
No. 16 - 17 The students’ recommendations and suggestions
It was clear from the table; the questionnaire is divided into four parts. They
are:
a. Students’ Experiences in using the Internet
The perceiver’s experience, needs, and emotions can affect his or her
perceptions of a target (Robbins, 2001: 122- 124). Experience becomes the most
important characteristics of the perceiver that influences his or her impression of a
target. In this study, the researcher asked the students’ experiences in using Internet to
b. The perception on the use of Internet in Writing VI class
Since perception is a mental and cognitive process, the students’ perception can
be measured through their evaluation upon some indicators which represents their
perceptions on the use of Internet in writing VI class. The indicators are indicators in
which a student observes, views, responds, and understand the use of Internet as media
in Writing VI class. Then, he or she draws a meaning on it, or in short, perceives it as
an important and beneficial media.
c. The perception on the Internet contributions toward students’ writing ability
The students’ perception of the Internet’s contributions toward their writing
ability means the students’ awareness to observe, view, respond and understand
Internet as contributory for them in improving their writing ability. Perception leads to
the behavior’s responses and learning achievement, therefore high perception leads to
the high achievement in writing. The questions in these numbers indicate students’
achievements in writing course, whether internet gives contribution to their writing
proficiency or not.
d. The students’ recommendations and suggestions
Having good suggestion about the use of Internet is implied that the use of
Internet is beneficial for the students and students perceive it positively. It is also
implied that Internet is a good media in learning English.
2. Interview
The personal interviews were conducted to get the additional data. It is a
interview, the interviewer gathers information in the physical presence of the
respondent. Through personal interview, the interviewer is able to develop a personal
rapport with respondents through eye contact, sharing, and other kinds of visual
behavior that can enhance the completion of an interview. According to Backstrom and
Cesar, physical presence gave the interviewer greater control over respondent’s
behavior.
In doing the interview, the researcher had the opportunity to repeat questions
several times. The questions could be repeated or the meaning could be explained in
case the respondents did not understand them. Furthermore, the interviewer could also
press the additional info when a response seemed incomplete in which the interview
was held in face to face setting (Ary, et.al, 2002:382).
As explained by Ary et.al (2002:382), conducting research by applying
personal interview would bring some advantages. The first advantage of interview was
a greater response rate, that is, the proportion of the selected respondents who agreed to
be interview or returned a complete questionnaire. The response rate on an interview
could be 90% or better as the interviewer could get an answer to all or most of the
questions. The second advantage was the control the interviewer had over the order
with which questions were considered. The interviewees not know the later questions,
as their responses to these questions might influence earlier responses. Another expert
also states that Internet brings an advantage. Best (1986:186) mentions an advantage of
interview, that is the interviewer can explain more explicitly the research purpose and
just what information he or she wants. Besides, if the subjects misinterpret the
In this study, during the interview, the respondents were let to develop their
ideas and speak more widely on the issues raised by the writer. A tape recorder was
used to record the result of the interviews. The purpose of using a tape recorder to
record the result of the interview was to make the data could be analyzed more easily.
Tape recorder captures the proceedings on record which provides an objective record.
The interview was conducted to obtain the additional information. It is meant to
ensure and to recheck the students’ answer in the questionnaire.
E. Data Gathering Techniques
In order to get the data, the researcher conducted interview and questionnaire.
The data from the questionnaire were used to know and to see the students’ perceptions
of the use of Internet in writing VI class. The interview was used in order to get some
additional information.
The data were first gathered from the questionnaires. The questionnaires were
distributed on four different days (as the four classes had different schedule).
Questionnaire was distributed to the 65 students of Writing VI class. In distributing the
questionnaires to the respondents, the researcher had an opportunity to explain the
purpose and significance of the research. The second technique to gather the data was
an interview. The researcher asked several questions and recorded it.
The data obtained from the questionnaires are the main elements of this
research. The writer used four point scales to collect the respondents’ perceptions of
the use of Internet in Writing VI class from the questionnaires.
They were:
1 = Strongly disagree with the statement
2 = Disagree with the statement
3 = Agree with the statement
4 = Strongly agree with the statement
Having gathered the questionnaires, the researcher analyzed them by recording
all the data in the table and discussed them based on the frequency. Then, the data was
described and summarized by using descriptive analysis; i. e. measured the central
tendency. The central tendency was used because the function of survey study is to find
out the tendency of the respondents toward the statements presented.
The scores of the questionnaires were calculated using descriptive statistics to
the source of variance. The source of variance here was number of cases, mean, mode,
median. Modus is the score that occurs most frequently in the set of scores. Median is
the middle point occurs in the set of scores. Mean or average point is the indicator of
central tendency of the set of score. The frequency and central tendency could be
recorded in a table as follow:
Table 3.2. Frequency of Questionnaire Distribution
No
Respondents’
opinions on
Frequency of Points of Agreement
