The research method is closely related to procedures, techniques, tools, and research designs used. The study design must match the chosen research approach. The procedures, techniques, and tools used in research should be fit well with established research methods. Prior to the study conducted, researchers need to answer at least three basic questions (Nazir, 1985) namely:
The sequence of work or what to do procedures in conducting a study?
These tools (instruments) what will be used in measuring or in collecting data and what technique will be used in analyzing the data?
How to carry out such research?
The answers to these questions is to give precedence to the researchers continue the work carried out in a study. This helps researchers to control the activity or the stages of activity and make it easier to know the progress (process) research.
Describes the research method research design that includes procedures or steps to be taken, time studies, data sources, and in what way the data were acquired and processed / analyzed. In practice there are a number of methods commonly used for research purposes. Beikut will be presented briefly some simple research methods frequently used in educational research.
1. Descriptive Research
Descriptive research is research that attempt to describe a symptom, event, events that occurred while now. Descriptive research to focus on actual problems as they are at the time of the study. Through the descriptive study, researchers tried to describe the events and incidents that became the center of attention without giving special treatment to this event. Variable that may be single (one variable) and one can also more variable.
Descriptive study according to their characteristics have certain steps in implementation. These steps are as follows:
Formulation of the problem. Any research method must begin with the problem, namely the submission of research questions whose answers must be sought to use data from the field. Questions problem contains the variables into the study in this study. In descriptive research the researcher can determine the status of variables or study the relationship between variables.
2. Specify the type of information required. In this case, researchers need to determine what information is needed to answer the question or problem that has been formulated. Whether quantitative or qualitative information. Quantitative information regarding the data or information in the form of numbers / digits like.
Define data collection procedures. There are two elements necessary research, namely the instrument or data collection tool and source of data or sample that is where that information should be obtained. In research there are a number of data collection tool, among others, tests, interviews, observation, questionnaires, sociometry. These tools are commonly used in descriptive research. For example, to obtain information about the steps teachers teach, the right tool or instrument used is the observation or observation. Another way that may be used are interviews with teachers about teaching steps. In order to obtain a clear sample, the research problem must be formulated as special as possible so that gives a definite direction to the instruments and data sources.
Determining the information or data processing procedures. Data and information has been obtained with the selected instruments and data sources or particular sample is still a rough information or data. Information and data need to be processed for materials to answer research questions.
Research conclusions. Based upon the results of data processing, the researchers concluded the results of descriptive research by answering the questions of research and synthesizing all these answers in a conclusion that summarizes the overall research problems.
