UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2013/2014
ORDINARY EXAMINATION FOR THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BIT 2209 2301 RESEARCH SKILLS
DATE: APRIL, 2014 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question ONE and any other TWO
QUESTION ONE:(30 MARKS)
The Oxford Encyclopedia English Dictionary defines research as;
the systematic investigation into the study of materials, sources etc. in order to
establish facts and reach new conclusions.
an endeavour to discover new or collate old facts etc. by the scientific study of a
subject or by a course of critical investigation.
a) From the above definitions, discuss the distinguishing characteristics of
scientific research. (12 Marks)
b) Discuss at least five (5) factors that you need to consider before embarking on
tackling a research problem. (10 Marks)
c) Discuss Four (4) possible products of computing and Information Systems
researches. (8 Marks)
QUESTION TWO 🙁 20 MARKS)
Some facts about problem statements are stated below.
A persuasive research problem statement consists of three (3) parts; the Ideal, the
reality, and the consequences to face if problem is unattended to.
A well constructed problem statement will convince your audience that the
problem is real and is worth having you investigate.
Identify and construct a current (in terms of the solution space) , relevant (based on your
educational training) and Interesting (to your scientific audience within computing & IT)
The statement should not be more than 150 words. (20 Marks)
QUESTION THREE :(20 MARKS)
a) Write short notes on each of the following research strategies.
i) Experiments
ii) Case Studeis
iii) Design and Creation
iv) Ethnography
v) Action Research
vi) Surveys
(10 Marks)
b) Write short notes on each of the following data generation methods.
i) Questionnaires
ii) Interviews
iii) Questionnaires
iv) Documents
v) Observation
(10 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR :(20 MARKS)
a) Write short notes on each of the following explaining their importance in the
scientific research process.
i) Work breakdown Structure (WBS)
ii) PERT charts
(6 Marks)
b) Outline a structure (outline of contents) that you would use for your final year
proposal document. (14 Marks)
QUESTION FIVE :(20 MARKS)
a) What is Plagiarism? (4 Marks)
b) Briefly list and discuss Four (4) examples of plagiarism. (12 Marks)
c) Why do we do research? (4 Marks)
