SECTION A: Write the correct answer in the booklet provided (30 Marks)

1. When each member of a population has an equally likely chance of being selected, this is
called:
A. A non-random sampling method
B. A quota sampling method
C. A probability selection method
D. A snowball sampling method

2. Qualitative methods of research include the following except

A. Ethnography
B. Extended case studies
C. Focus groups
D. Structured interview

3. If a distribution is skewed to the left, then it is __________.

A. Negatively skewed
B. Positively skewed
C. Symmetrically skewed
D. Symmetrical

4. Tertiary sources of data are also called

A. Secondary
B. Search engines
C. Archival source
D. Outmoded source

5. Mr. Kodom tells Ewura Adwoa, who is a student he is supervising that after grouping her
population into male and female, she should conveniently select 12 men and 15 women.
What type of sampling is she using?
A. Random
B. Stratified
C. Quota
D. Snowball

6. Which of the following are not ways of conducting exploratory research?

A. Reading journal articles
B. Running regression analysis
C. Interviewing an expert
D. Conducting a focus group discussion

7. What is a research design?

A. A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory.
 B. The choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods.
C. The style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph.
D. A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data.

8. What is a cross-sectional design?

A. The collection of data from more than one case at one moment in time
B. A study of one particular section of society, e.g. the middle classes
C. One that is devised when the researcher is in a bad mood
D. A comparison of two or more variables over a long period of time

9. When planning to do social research, it is better to:

A. Do a pilot study before getting stuck into it
B. Be familiar with the literature on the topic
C. Approach the topic with an open mind
D. Forget about theory because this is a very practical undertaking

10. Which of the following is not a type of a research philosophy?

A. Positivism
B. Pragmatism
C. Realism
D. Subjectivism

11. The most important skills needed in conducting literature review include the following
except
A. Ability to evaluate what you read
B. Ability to relate what you read to what you are doing
C. Ability to read with a foreign accent
D. Ability write what you read in your own words

12. Which of the following is not a data collection method?

A. Research questions
B. Unstructured interviewing
C. Postal survey questionnaires
D. Participant observation

13. What is triangulation?

A. Using three quantitative or three qualitative methods in a project
B. Cross-checking the results found by different research strategies
C. Allowing theoretical concepts to emerge from the data
D. Drawing a triangular diagram to represent the relations between three concepts
14. Conducting an in-depth interview and at the same time observing the behaviour of the
participants is an example of a:
A. Mono method
B. Mixed method
C. Multiple method
D. Qualitative method

15. What is the epistemological position held by a positivist?

A. There is no substitute for an in-depth, hermeneutic understanding of society
B. Events and discourses in the social world prevent us from having direct knowledge of
the natural order
C. Scientific research should be based on value-free, empirical observations
D. It is important to remain optimistic about our research, even when things go wrong

16. Closed ended questions are those that:

A. Have a fixed range of possible answers
B. Prevent respondents from allocating themselves to a category
C. Encourage detailed, elaborate responses
D. Relate to the basic demographic characteristics of respondent

17. To read critically means:

A. Taking an opposing point of view to the ideas and opinions expressed
B. Evaluating what you read in terms of your own research questions
C. Skimming through the material because most of it is just padding
D. Being negative about something before you read it

18. A sampling frame is:

A. A summary of the various stages involved in designing a survey
B. An outline view of all the main clusters of units in a sample
C. A list of all the units in the population from which a sample will be selected
D. A wooden frame used to display tables of random numbers

19. Which of the following is not a contrast between quantitative and qualitative research?
A. Distance vs. proximity of researcher to participants
B. Generalization vs. contextual understanding
C. Hard, reliable data vs. rich, deep data
D. Interpretivist vs. feminist

20. The value of piloting a questionnaire is that it helps you to:

 A. Get to know the community people live better
B. Identify and amend any problems in the question wording, order and format
C. Helps you to see how many questions you are supposed to put on a page
D. Helps the pilot to know the speed with which people will answer the
questionnaire

These are the scores of students in Business Research Methods Exams: 55, 45, 79, 24, 46, 44, 45,
77, 35, 82 and 45.
21. The average score of the students is approximately
A. 47
B. 57
C. 50
D. 53

22. The Median score is

A. 44
B. 45
C. 46
D. 47

23. The mode is

A. 45
B. 46
C. 47
D. 48

24. In a distribution where the mode is two, the nature of the distribution is called
A. Double Mode
B. Bimodal
C. Second mode
D. Two modes

25. The feasibility of a research study should be considered in light of the following except
A. Cost and time required to conduct the study
B. Strength of the researcher and the respondents
C. Skills required of the researcher
D. Potential ethical concerns

26. Why do qualitative researchers like to give detailed descriptions of social settings?
A. To provide a contextual understanding of social behaviour
 B. Because once they have left the field, it is difficult to remember what happened
C. So that they can compare their observations as a test of reliability
D. Because they do not believe in going beyond the level of description

27. If the grading of diabetes is classified as mild, moderate and severe the scale of
measurement used is:
A. Interval
B. Nominal
C. Ordinal
D. Ratio

28. In hypothesis testing, Type I Error occurs if ___________________

A. the null hypothesis is accepted even though it is false
B. both the null hypothesis as well as alternative hypothesis are rejected
C. the null hypothesis is rejected even though it is true
D. None of the above

29. In an experiment, the group from which some treatment is withheld is called:
A. a privacy group
B. a treatment group
C. a pretest group
D. a control group

30. The level of measurement that allows researchers to add and subtract is:
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Interval
D. all of the above

SECTION A: CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER ON THE QUESTION PAPER AND

WRITE THE CORRESPONDING LETTER IN THE ANSWER BOOKLET (40 Marks)
31. When planning to do social research, it is better to:
E. Do a pilot study before getting stuck into it
F. Be familiar with the literature on the topic
G. Approach the topic with an open mind
H. Forget about theory because this is a very practical undertaking

32. Which of the following are not ways of conducting exploratory research?
 A. Writing a research proposal
B. Reading journal articles
C. Interviewing an expert
D. Conducting a focus group discussion

33. Which of the following is not a quality of a good research project?

A. It meets the standard of the institution
B. It tries to match career goals and objectives
C. It is addresses current issues of relevant to society
D. It is conducted in urban areas

34. Tertiary sources of data are also called

E. Secondary
F. Search engines
G. Archival source
H. Outmoded source

35. Research questions are crucial because they will:

A. Help you decide which research area interests you
B. Ensure that your findings have external validity
C. Guide your decision about what data to collect and from where
D. Prevent you from thinking about research strategies

36. Which of the following can best be described as a categorical variable?

A. Age
B. annual income
C. grade point average
D. religion

37. What is a research design?

A. A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory
B. The choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods
C. A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data
D. The style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph

38. One of the drawbacks of snowball sampling is:

A. it is a very expensive form of sampling.
B. the sampling error tends to be very large.
C. it may miss people who are isolated from social networks
D. it leads to bias if the elements are listed in the sampling frame in a cyclical fashion.
39. Which of the following is not a data collection method?
E. Research questions
F. Unstructured interviewing
G. Postal survey questionnaires
H. Participant observation

40. What is triangulation?

E. Using three quantitative or three qualitative methods in a project
F. Allowing theoretical concepts to emerge from the data
G. Drawing a triangular diagram to represent the relations between three concepts
H. Cross-checking the results found by different research strategies

41. What is the epistemological position held by a positivist?

E. There is no substitute for an in-depth, hermeneutic understanding of society
F. Scientific research should be based on value-free, empirical observations
G. Events and discourses in the social world prevent us from having direct knowledge of
the natural order
H. It is important to remain optimistic about our research, even when things go wrong

42. Which of the following is not a type of a research philosophy?

A. Positivism
B. Pragmatism
C. Realism
D. Subjectivism

43. A sampling frame is:

E. A summary of the various stages involved in designing a survey
F. An outline view of all the main clusters of units in a sample
G. A list of all the units in the population from which a sample will be selected
H. A wooden frame used to display tables of random numbers

44. Mrs. Smith is writing her daily observations of a student and writes, without
interpretation, that the student is not completing the class work and is constantly speaking
out of turn. Which of the following objectives does she appear to be using?
A. prediction
B. description
C. explanation
D. exploration
45. Which type of research provides the strongest evidence for the existence of cause-and-
effect relationships?
A. nonexperimental research
B. survey research
C. archival research
D. experimental research

46. Closed-ended questions are those that:

E. Prevent respondents from allocating themselves to a category
F. Encourage detailed, elaborate responses
G. Have a fixed range of possible answers
H. Relate to the basic demographic characteristics of respondents

47. ____________defines how knowledge is constructed

A. Positivism
B. Ontology
C. Discourse
D. Epistemology

48. Which of the following is an ontological question?

A. Should I use questionnaires or interviews in my project?
B. What can (and should) be considered acceptable forms of knowledge?
C. How long is it since I last visited the dentist?
D. Do social entities have an objective reality, external to social actors?

49. Data collection can be defined as:

A. Outlining how you will gather the information for your research question
B. Collecting the research question and objectives together
C. Gathering the information which will help you address your research question
D. The Methodology used for gathering and analysing data

50. Which of the following is not a contrast between quantitative and qualitative research?
A. Distance vs. proximity of researcher to participants
B. Generalization vs. contextual understanding
C. Hard, reliable data vs. rich, deep data
D. Interpretivist vs. feminist

51. The value of piloting a questionnaire is that it helps you to:

E. Get to know the community people live better
F. Identify and amend any problems in the question wording, order and format
G. Helps you to see how many questions you are supposed to put on a page
H. Helps the pilot to know the speed with which people will answer the
questionnaire
52. People who are available, volunteer, or can be easily recruited are used in the sampling
method called ______.
A. Simple random sampling
B. Cluster sampling
C. Systematic sampling
D. Convenience sampling

53. The term “secondary analysis” refers to the activity of

A. analysing your own data in two different ways
B. conducting a study of secondary schools
C. analysing existing data that has been collected by another person or organization
D. working part time on a project alongside other responsibility

54. Which of the following is not a source of data which is appropriate for qualitative study?
A. Experiments
B. Participant Observations
C. Biographies
D. Historical records

55. The feasibility of a research study should be considered in light of the following except
A. Cost and time required to conduct the study
B. Strength of the researcher and the respondents
C. Skills required of the researcher
D. Potential ethical concerns

56. Which of the following sampling methods is the best way to select a group of people for a
study if you are interested in making statements about the larger population?
A. Convenience sampling
B. Quota sampling
C. Purposive sampling
D. Random sampling

57. Why do qualitative researchers like to give detailed descriptions of social settings?
E. To provide a contextual understanding of social behavior
F. Because once they have left the field, it is difficult to remember what happened
G. So that they can compare their observations as a test of reliability
H. Because they do not believe in going beyond the level of description
Height of farmers: 25, 17, 34, 17, 21, 18, 17, 31 and 18.
58. The average height of the farmers is
E. 17
F. 21
G. 22
H. 23

59. The Median height is

E. 17
F. 18
G. 21
H. 25

60. The mode is

E. 17
F. 18
G. 21
H. 25

61. In a distribution where the mode is two, the nature of the distribution is called
A. Double Mode
B. Bimodal
C. Second mode
D. Two modes

62. If the grading of diabetes is classified as mild, moderate and severe the scale of
measurement used is:
E. Interval
F. Nominal
G. Ordinal
H. Ratio

63. In hypothesis testing, Type II Error occurs if ___________________

E. the null hypothesis is rejected even though it is true
F. the null hypothesis is accepted even though it is false
G. both the null hypothesis, as well as alternative hypothesis, are rejected
H. None of the above

64. The control group is very important in experiments because:

 A. it provides the basis of comparison from which the effects of the independent
variable are measured.
B. people in this group are exposed to random variability.
C. it tells whether an experiment has external validity or not.
D. it helps to conduct the debriefing after an experiment.

65. When each member of a population has an equally likely chance of being selected, this is
called:
A. A non-probability sampling method
B. A quota sample
C. A snowball sample
D. A probability selection method

66. Plagiarism is the act of presenting other people’s ideas, works or findings as if it were
your own. A. True B. False

67. Research is conducted to satisfy our ignorance.

A. True B. False

68. Research hypothesis is a plan of action that answers the question: How are we going to
answer these research questions?
A. True B. False

69. The three objectives of research are to conduct a general exploration of the issue, to
describe a population, and to attribute cause and affect relationships among two or more
variables.
A. True B. False

70. Abstracts are examples of secondary sources of data .

A. True B. False

SECTION A: CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER ON THE QUESTION PAPER AND

WRITE THE CORRESPONDING ANSWER IN THE ANSWER BOOKLET.
71. A distinction between exploratory and descriptive interviewing would be that:
A. Exploratory is looking for quantification of findings; descriptive is looking for
insights
B. Exploratory is looking for insights; descriptive is looking for quantification.
C. Exploratory typically would involve conducting more interviews than descriptive
D. There is no distinction—they would both be conducted the same way.
72. Qualitative methods of research include the following except
E. Ethnography
F. Extended case studies
G. Focus groups
H. Structured interview

73. Mr. Kodom tells Irene and Praise, who are students he is supervising to go out and select
for personal interview 12 men and 15 women. Irene and Praise are using __________
sampling for this phase of the research.
E. Random
F. Stratified
G. Quota
H. Snowball

74. Tertiary sources of data are also called

I. Secondary
J. Search engines
K. Archival source
L. Outmoded source

75. What is abbreviation of ANOVA?

A. Analysis of variance
B. Analysis of variation
C. Analysis of variant
D. None of these

76. What is not a research design?

A. A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory.
B. The choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods.
C. The style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph.
D. A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data.

77. If a study is "reliable", it means that:

A. The measures devised for concepts are stable on different occasions
B. It was conducted by a reputable researcher who can be trusted
C. The findings can be generalized to other social settings
D. The methods are stated clearly enough for the research to be replicated

78. What is a cross-sectional design?

E. The collection of data from more than one case at one moment in time
F. A study of one particular section of society, e.g. the middle classes
G. One that is devised when the researcher is in a bad mood
 H. A comparison of two or more variables over a long period of time

79. When planning to do social research, it is better to:

I. Do a pilot study before getting stuck into it
J. Be familiar with the literature on the topic
K. Approach the topic with an open mind
L. Forget about theory because this is a very practical undertaking

80. A deductive theory is one that:

A. Allows theory to emerge out of the data
B. Involves testing an explicitly defined hypothesis
C. Allows for findings to feed back into the stock of knowledge
D. Uses qualitative methods whenever possible

81. Which of the following is not a data collection method?

I. Research questions
J. Unstructured interviewing
K. Postal survey questionnaires
L. Participant observation

82. What is triangulation?

I. Using three quantitative or three qualitative methods in a project
J. Cross-checking the results found by different research strategies
K. Allowing theoretical concepts to emerge from the data
L. Drawing a triangular diagram to represent the relations between three concepts

83. Cross cultural studies are an example of:

A. Longitudinal design
B. Comparative design
C. Experimental design
D. Case study design

84. What is the epistemological position held by a positivist?

I. There is no substitute for an in-depth, hermeneutic understanding of society
J. Scientific research should be based on value-free, empirical observations
K. Events and discourses in the social world prevent us from having direct knowledge of
the natural order
L. It is important to remain optimistic about our research, even when things go wrong

85. Which of the following is not a type of a research philosophy?

A. Positivism
B. Pragmatism
C. Realism
 D. Subjectivism
86. Conducting a research to study someone’s life history is an example of
A. Qualitative method
B. Quantitative method
C. Survey method
D. Experimental method

87. Closed ended questions are those that:

I. Prevent respondents from allocating themselves to a category
J. Encourage detailed, elaborate responses
K. Have a fixed range of possible answers
L. Relate to the basic demographic characteristics of respondents

88. To read critically means:

E. Taking an opposing point of view to the ideas and opinions expressed
F. Skimming through the material because most of it is just padding
G. Evaluating what you read in terms of your own research questions
H. Being negative about something before you read it

89. Which of the following might you include in an introductory letter to respondents?
A. An explanation of who you are and who is funding your research
B. An overview of what the research is about and how the data will be collected
C. A statement of their ethical rights to anonymity, confidentiality, etc
D. All of the above

90. A sampling frame is:

I. A summary of the various stages involved in designing a survey
J. An outline view of all the main clusters of units in a sample
K. A list of all the units in the population from which a sample will be selected
L. A wooden frame used to display tables of random numbers

91. Which of the following is a general rule of thumb for designing questions?
A. Always bear in mind your research questions
B. Never ask a closed question
C. Always use vignettes rather than open questions
D. Use ambiguous terms to put respondents at ease

92. How might qualitative research help with the analysis of quantitative data?
A. By identifying a sample of respondents for a follow-up study
B. By providing hard, statistical data about them
C. By making the research more value-laden and subjective
D. By helping to explain the relationship between two variables
93. ____________defines how knowledge is constructed
A. Positivism
B. Ontology
C. epistemology
D. discourse

94. Which of the following is not a contrast between quantitative and qualitative research?
A. Distance vs. proximity of researcher to participants
B. Generalization vs. contextual understanding
C. Hard, reliable data vs. rich, deep data
D. Interpretivist vs. feminist

95. The value of piloting a questionnaire is that it helps you to:

I. Get to know the community people live better
J. Identify and amend any problems in the question wording, order and format
K. Helps you to see how many questions you are supposed to put on a page
L. Helps the pilot to know the speed with which people will answer the
questionnaire

96. Qualitative research is often exploratory and has all the following characteristics except:
A. It is typically used when a great deal is already known about the topic of internet
B. It relies on the collection of non-numerical data such as words and pictures
C. It is used to generate hypotheses and develop theory about phenomena in the
world
D. It uses the inductive scientific method

97. The feasibility of a research study should be considered in light of the following except
A. Cost and time required to conduct the study
B. Strength of the researcher and the respondents
C. Skills required of the researcher
D. Potential ethical concerns

98. Which of the following sampling methods is the best way to select a group of people for a
study if you are interested in making statements about the larger population?
A. Convenience sampling
B. Quota sampling
C. Purposive sampling
D. Random sampling

99. Why do qualitative researchers like to give detailed descriptions of social settings?
I. To provide a contextual understanding of social behaviour
J. Because once they have left the field, it is difficult to remember what happened
K. So that they can compare their observations as a test of reliability
 L. Because they do not believe in going beyond the level of description

100.The flexibility of qualitative research designs is an advantage because:

A. The researcher does not impose any predetermined formats on the social world
B. It allows for unexpected results to emerge from the data
C. The researcher can adapt their theories and methods as the project unfolds
D. All of the above

101.Which of the following is not correct when formulating a research question?

I. The research topic and questions should be of personal interest
II. Your personal interest should not influence your choice of questions
III. Thoroughly search the existing literature for suggestions of future research
IV. Questions should be of contemporary relevance
V. Questions should be broadly focused to capture all the necessary items of
the field of work

A. II only
B. I only
C. V only
D. II and V
These are the scores of students in Business Research Methods Exams: 65, 55, 89, 56, 35, 34, 56,
54, 55, 87, 45, 92 and 55.
102.The average score of the students is approximately
I. 59
J. 60
K. 61
L. 62

103.The Median score is

I. 54
J. 55
K. 56
L. 57

104.The mode is
I. 55
J. 56
K. 57
L. 58

105.In a distribution where the mode is two, the nature of the distribution is called
A. Double Mode
 B. Bimodal
C. Second mode
D. Two modes

106.What is the median of the following numbers: 8, 5, 7, 3, 8, 4

A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6

107.If the grading of diabetes is classified as mild, moderate and severe the scale of
measurement used is:
I. Interval
J. Nominal
K. Ordinal
L. Ratio

108.Measure of how well is a technique, concept or process is considered as

A. Continuity of variables
B. Goodness of variables
C. Validity
D. Reliability

109.In hypothesis testing, Type I Error occurs if ___________________

I. the null hypothesis is rejected even though it is true
J. the null hypothesis is accepted even though it is false
K. both the null hypothesis as well as alternative hypothesis are rejected
L. None of the above

110._______ refers to inferring about the whole population based on the observations made
on a small part.
A. Deductive inference
B. Inductive inference
C. Pseudo-inference
D. Objective inference