UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2010/2011
SECOND YEAR EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BIT 2301 RESEARCH METHODS
DATE: DECEMBER2011 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One and Any Other Two Questions
Question One: Compulsory (30 Marks)
a) Describe five characteristics of a good research process. (5 Marks)
b) You are having difficulties finding and identifying a problem for your research project. State
and briefly explain five sources/origins of a research problem. (5 Marks)
c) Suppose that you are carrying out your literature review. Briefly describe six sources of
literature review that you would consult. (6 Marks)
d) State and explain four ethical issues that you should put into consideration when collecting
data from human beings. (8 Marks)
e) After collection of data it important to tabulate the data. Explain four importance’s of
Tabulation (6 Marks)
Question Two: 20 Marks
a) Define the following terms (10 Marks)
i. Research
ii. Research problem
iii. Literature review
iv. Research design
v. Research proposal
b) Explain the meaning of the term “null hypothesis”. (2 Marks)
c) State and briefly explain eight characteristics of a good hypothesis (8 Marks)
Question Three: 20 Marks
a) State and explain Six purposes of research. (6 Marks)
b) Describe Six benefits of carryout a literature review. (6 Marks)
c) State and explain four wrong denotations of research. (4 Marks)
d) Discuss four characteristics of an eligible research problem (4 Marks)
Question Four: 20 Marks
a) Describe the following data collection methods citing two advantages and two disadvantages
for each. (12 Marks)
i. questionnaires
ii. interview
iii. observation
b) Differentiate between primary data and secondary data (4 Marks)
c) Describe briefly the following methods of data analysis, giving their advantages and
disadvantages . (4 Marks)
i. The mean
ii. The range
Question Five: 20 Marks
a) Describe the major sections found in the research proposal (10 Marks)
b) Describe a research report? (2 Marks)
c) Explain what you understand by the term “data interpretation” in the context of research and
why you think it is necessary. (2 Marks)
d) Describe the following types of research (6 Marks)
i. Basic (Fundamental) Research
ii. Applied Research
iii. Action Research
