MAASAI MARA UNIVERSITY
REGULAR UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR
FIRST YEAR SECOND SEMESTER
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
MSC. HRM & MBA
COURSE CODE: HRD 897 & MBA 8105
COURSE TITLE: RESEARCH METHODS
DATE: 2ND MAY, 2019 TIME: 1430 – 1730HRS
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
1. Answer Question ONE and any other THREE questions
2. All Examination Rules Apply
This paper consists of 2 printed pages. Please turn over.
QUESTION ONE (25 MARKS)
After course at Maasai Mara University, you are required to develop a research
proposal that will enable you proceed to data collection and analysis of the
collected data in order to give solutions to the research problem. Inline to this,
think of a research problem in your area of specialization and develop the
following:
i). A research problem statement that meets all qualities in your area of
specialization and justified by the main objective (10 Marks)
ii). Five specific research doing statements that are SMART
(Specific ,Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound), precise, accurate
and researchable. (10 Marks)
iii). Five key assumptions to be made from the doing statements in (ii) above that
will help you test the situations. (5 Marks)
QUESTION TWO (15 MARKS)
Research is conducted based on scientifically agreed norms. If you were to conduct
a study on female Genital Mutilation among the Ogiek community in Narok County,
what are some of the norms that you should take into account as an ethical
researcher?
QUESTION THREE (15 MARKS)
Lemooke Consultancy ltd invited you as a lead consultant to orient a team of new
research assistants on research methodology. If you were to carry out an exercise
using Nesoore distiller’s population data of 100 employees, describe how you will
carry out the following.
i). Research design (3 Marks)
ii). Sampling design (3 Marks)
iii). Pilot test (3 Marks)
iv). Data collection and Instruments (3 Marks)
v). Data analysis (3 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR (15 MARKS)
In research, we reference to acknowledge the citations of materials and information
used in the study. Being a research student undertaking a study on a particular area
of interest, use examples to show your understanding on the APA system of
referencing based on the following:
i) Book referencing (3 Marks)
ii) Journal referencing (3 Marks)
iii) Website referencing (3 Marks)
iv) Unpublished work referencing (3 Marks)
v) Newspaper referencing. (3 Marks)
QUESTION FIVE (15 MARKS)
Research is conducted to gather information that will be helpful in finding solutions
to the problem under investigation. The data collected is analyzed statistically to
make it meaningful for easy interpretation. As a lead expert in statistical analysis,
describe the key descriptive and inferential analysis methods used in research to
analyze data.
