Mount Kenya University

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION 2010/2011

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND PUBLIC MANAGAMENET
DEPARTMENT ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
UNIT CODE: MBA 700
TITLE: RESEARCH METHODS
DATE: AUGUST 2011 MAIN EXAM TIME: 3 HRS

Instructions
1. This paper has two parts: Section ‘A’ and Section ‘B’.
2. Section ‘A’ has ONE question which is COMPULSORY and carries 20 marks.
3. Section ‘B’ has FOUR questions of which you are required to attempt ANY TWO.
4. The TWO questions in Section ‘B’ carry a total of 40 marks.

SECTION A :( 20MARKS)

1. State a research topic that is worth investigation and derive possible research
objectives, corresponding research questions, identify the key variables and
construct a conceptual framework. (20mks)

SECTION B: (40MARKS)

1. a. Discuss the meaning and purpose of research. (6mks)

b. Using examples, describe the meaning and purposes of the following activities in a
research:
(8mks)
(i)Data collection
(ii) Data coding
(iii) Data analysis
(iv)Data presentation
c. State some limitations of survey research design and describe control procedures
that can be used to minimize these limitations. (6mks)
3. a. The following result was obtained according to a study that was done to determine
the influence of government policy on individuals’ level of education and innovations in
Kenya.

level of Education Innovations

Illiterate 15%
O-level 35%
First Degree 25%
Masters’ and above 25%
 Represent the above result in form of

(i) histogram (7mks)

(ii) pie chart (7mks)

b. Using appropriate examples, proof that descriptive statistics form the basis of
inferential statistics. (6mks)
4. a. State FIVE characteristics of a good research problem. (10mks)
b. Define the following concepts: (10mks)
(i) Data
(ii) Research objective
(iii) Target population
(iv) Research problem
(v) Assumption of the study.
5 a. Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative data. (4mks)
b. Define the following terms: (6mks)
(i) Independent variable
(ii) Dependent variable
(iii) Intervening variable
c. Define sampling procedure and sample size. Describe three advantages of simple
random sampling. (10mks)