Research Methods Question Paper

Research Methods

Course:Bachelor Of Commerce

Institution: Kenyatta University question papers

Exam Year:2010

KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS 2010/2011
FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
COMMERCE
BMS 305: RESEARCH METHODS

DATE: Thursday 2nd December, 2010 TIME: 8.00 a.m. – 10.00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________________________
INSTRUCTIONS
Answer Question ONE and any other TWO questions.

QUESTION ONE
The managing director of a company, established before the dawn of independence is facing a problem. The company which was initially profitable and attracted very many graduates to work with is currently unprofitable. It is operating, in the MD’s opinion, inefficiently. The company offers a wide range of communications facilities including parcel services in the country, region and world wide. Initially, the company was a monopolist but the changing world market trends and globalization; survival will be more difficult in the future. In particular, many communications and parcel service delivery companies
are bypassing its services by not only offering door to door delivery but also offering the services at affordable rates. In addition, many of the companies that have joined the communications and parcel services have stationed themselves in various strategic positions so that customers can reach at their service delivery points at ease. As a research consultant, the MD has commissioned you to undertake a comprehensive study on the firm as a whole to determine possible strategies the company can undertake to face the existing problem.

i)
State an appropriate research title for the research.[3 marks]
ii)
Identify a possible research problem from the above case study for a proposed study[4marks]
iii)
Formulate three possible research objectives and three possible research questions for the
proposed study.[6 marks]
iv)
In formulating your objectives above, what factors did you take into consideration?[3marks]
v)
Briefly explain some ways that you would use to improve the reliability and validity of the study.[4 marks]
vi)
Explain any four ethical considerations that you would bear in mind while conducting your
research.[5 marks]
vii)
Conceptualize variables in the above situation that could be used in a conceptual framework.[6 marks]

QUESTION TWO
a)
Differentiate between the following terms as used in research
i)
Experimental research and Ex post facto research [2 marks]
ii)
Internal validity and external validity [2 marks]
iii)
Reliability and validity [2 marks]
iv)
Pure research and applied research [2 marks]

b)
Briefly explain five characteristics of scientific research. [5 marks]
c)
Research design can be thought of as the structure of research. It is the “glue” that holds all of the elements in a research project together. Identify and explain any four types of research designs. [7 marks]

QUESTION THREE
Develop a prototype research proposal on a topic of your own choice and state your title of the study, the background to the study, the research problem, three research objectives and a justification to the study. [20 marks]

QUESTION FOUR
a)
A good research report is one which communicates the research findings to readers efficiently and effectively. State any five components of a research report that would be required to achieve the above objective.[5 marks]
b)
State any five purposes of literature review in research proposal and any four qualities of an effective literature review. [9 marks]
c)
A recent market survey showed that from a randomly selected sample of people, who have
bought compact cars, 155 are women and 169 are men. You are asked to test the claim that more than half of the buyers of compact cars are men.
d)
i)
Write down appropriate null and alternative hypotheses for the test. [2 marks]
ii)
Briefly discuss the logical steps you would take to conduct the above test.[4 marks]

QUESTION FIVE
a)
Briefly explain FOUR sources of measurement differences in data collection. [4 marks]
b)
Discuss the following sampling techniques and show how each type can be used in data collection:
i.
Stratified sampling
ii.
Multistage sampling
iii.
Cluster sampling
iv.
Quota sampling
[8 marks]

c)
Briefly explain the concept of validity and reliability. [4 marks]
d)
Suggest a suitable method to determine an appropriate sample size. [4 marks]

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