DISTANCE EDUCATION
M.B.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION, MAY 2017.
Second Semester
RESEARCH METHODS
(2012-13 Academic Year and 2013 Calendar Year only)
(English Medium Only)
Time Three hours Maximum 100 marks
SECTION A — 8 40 marks)
Answer any FIVE questions.
All questions carry equal marks.
1. What is social research and what are its objectives?
2. What is research design and what are the features of a
good research design?
3. What is sampling and non-sampling errors? What are the
reasons for such errors?
4. What is Likert scale? What are the advantages and
limitations of Likert scale?
Sub. Code
23
DE-893
2
Sp 2
5. A milk producers union wishes to test whether the
preference pattern of consumers for its product is
dependent on income levels. A random sample of
500 individuals gives the following data
Income Level Product preferred
Product A Product B Product C
Low 170 30 80
Medium 50 25 60
High 20 10 55
Can you conclude that the preference patterns are
independent of income level?
6. Write notes on factor analysis method.
7. What are the various types of reports?
8. Narrate the characteristics of a good questionnaire.
SECTION B — 15 60 marks)
Answer any FOUR questions.
All questions carry equal marks.
9. What is exploratory research? What are the usual
methods of conducting the same?
10. Briefly explain the steps involved in hypothesis testing.
11. Discuss the factors that are to be considered while
selecting a sampling procedure.
12. Discuss the different interview methods by which data
could be collected. Highlight the suitability of each
method to specific need.
DE-893
3
Sp 2
13. The following are the number of mistakes counted on
pages randomly selected from reports typed by a
company's two secretaries
Male Secretary 15 20 5 6 8 10 12
Female Secretary 12 8 7 9 10 5 4
Use the Mann-Whitney U-test at 2 percent level
significance to test the null hypothesis that the two
secretaries average equal mistakes per page.
14. Explain the use and importance of tools of analysis of
data.
15. Discuss the contents of a research report.