UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREES OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY/ APPLIED COMPUTING
BIT2209 BAC 1305: RESEARCH SKILLS AND DESIGN
FULLTIME/ PART TIME
ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS
DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE [30 MARKS]
a) What is research and why is it important? Explain and give THREE reasons (4 Marks)
b) You have been contacted by your university to conduct interviews with students about their
attitudes towards the biometric system at KCA University entrance gate:
i) State and explain any TWO advantages and TWO disadvantages of interview
method of data collection. (4 Marks)
ii) Identify ONE null and ONE alternate hypothesis of the study (2 Marks)
iii) Write TWO research questions of this study
iv) Define the population and explain sampling method that you would use for this study.
Give reasons for each case (4 Marks)
c) Briefly describe the following research concepts. Use relevant example to illustrate each
concept
i) Survey research
ii) Case study
iii) Experimental design study
iv) Quantitative research (8 Marks)
d) Discuss any FOUR types of focus groups (8 Marks)
QUESTION TWO [20 MARKS]
a) What is a research proposal? Briefly describe (2 Marks)
b) You have been asked to conduct a research study on the theme “Internet access in KCA
University”. Draft a research proposal that consists of the following subtopics:
i) Problem statement of the study (2 Marks)
ii) Main objective of the study (2 Marks)
iii) THREE specific objectives of the study (3 Marks)
iv) Hypothesis (2 Marks)
v) Significance of the study (2 Marks)
vi) Sampling method to be applied (2 Marks)
vii) Data collection method (3 Marks)
viii)Target population of this study (2 Marks)
QUESTION THREE [20 MARKS]
a) What is ‘Literature Review’? Define. (2 Marks)
b) The literature review is commonly organized into one of the following organization
formats. Explain each of these formats and cite their relevance (6 Marks)
i) Historical format,
ii) The conceptual format,
iii) Methodological format
c) Using relevant examples, distinguish between the following terms in the context of
research skills and design:
i) Taking census and sampling (4 Marks)
ii) Primary data and Secondary data (4 Marks)
d) Identify any FOUR characteristics of focus group discussions. (4 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR [20 MARKS]
a) Describe the utilitarian approach to conducting ethical research (2 Marks)
b) Distinguish between accuracy and reliability with respect to measurement studies, and give
appropriate examples to illustrate (6 Marks)
c) Privacy, anonymity and confidentiality are tenets of good research. Define each of these
concepts and how they are applied (6 Marks)
d) Discuss any SIX characteristics of a good final report (6 Marks)
QUESTION FIVE [20 MARKS]
a) Identify FOUR primary purposes of data collection (4 Marks)
b) Describe the structure of a well written abstract (4 Marks)
c) Identify FOUR reasons why it is important to apply ethics in research (4 Marks)
d) Explain and use examples to illustrate the following sampling methods:
i) Systematic sampling
ii) Stratified sampling
iii) Quota sampling
iv) Purposive sampling (8 Marks)
