Post Graduate Diploma in Management

Additional Core Modules

Research Methods
Continuous Assessment Tests (CAT)

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

TIME: 2 HOURS {MONTH AND YEAR e.g. OCTOBER 2008} Session

 Write your DALC Admission number and name on all the work you hand in.
 Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper.
 You may use a soft pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working.
 At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together, with this question paper.
 The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
 Sketch maps and diagrams should be drawn whenever they serve to illustrate an answer.
FULL NAMES _______________________________________________________________________________________

DALC ADMISSION NUMBER __________________________________________________________________________

CAMPUS __________________________________________________________________________________________

TUTOR ___________________________________________________________________________________________

SIGNATURE _______________________________________________________________________________________

© DALC 2009. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[Turn over
Question 1
A research study conducted by Ben (2010) using literature as its basis, hypothesizes that
job satisfaction of academic professionals is determined by the following:
1. Lecturers with greater working experience are more likely to be satisfied with
their jobs than the younger lecturers.
2. Lecturers are more satisfied with higher levels of income.
3. Lecturers with a high number of dependants are less likely to be satisfied because
of greater monetary demands from large family.
4. Lecturers are more likely to be satisfied with a conducive working environment
(adequate computing facilities, teaching aids and stationery).
5. Lecturers are more likely to be satisfied with a good incentive package (car and
housing loans, payment of school fees for children).
6. Tenured lecturers are more likely to be satisfied because their jobs are more
secure than contract lecturers.
7. Gender has a significant effect on job satisfaction
8. Lecturers are more likely to be satisfied in the presence of good interpersonal
relationships.

(a) Define research [2marks]

(b) Provide a title for the study [2marks]
(c) Develop four objectives for the study [8marks]
(d) Outline four reasons you would prefer to use a questionnaire to collect
data for the above study [4marks]
(e) Which method of sampling would you have used? Justify the choice of the
method [4marks]

Question 2
My hypothesis is: If a parent spanks a child then the child will be well-behaved. I've
conducted four tests of the hypothesis. For each, write supported, not supported, or
unaffected with explanation, based on your assessment. [12 marks]

(a) I have parents spank their children and the children are well-behaved.
(b) I gather some well-behaved children and find that their parents don't spank them.
(c) I make parents not spank their children and the children are not well-behaved.
(d) I get some children who aren't well-behaved and find that their parents don't
spank them.

Question 3
I design an experiment to investigate the relationship between viewing violence and
committing violent acts. I randomly assign a group of children to watch an adult get
angry at a “Bobo” doll. The adults hit and kick the doll repeatedly, shouting things like
“Sock him in the nose,” “Kick him in the leg.” A different group of children (also chosen
via random assignment) doesn't get to watch the doll beating. Then I give all of the kids
a really frustrating task. I observe how they treat a “Bobo” doll in the testing room. I
count the number of times the kids hit the doll. The ones who watched the adult hit the
doll are more likely to hit the doll themselves. [18 marks]

(a) Propose a hypothesis for the experiment.

(b) What’s the independent variable?
(c) What’s the treatment group?
(d) What’s the control group?
(e) What’s the dependent variable?
(f) What’s my operational definition of “viewing violence”?
(g) Can I conclude that viewing violence causes violent actions? Why or why not?