Research Methods and Metric Studies Questions and Answers

Q: Mean, Median and Mode are :

Mean, median and mode are measures of central tendency.Each gives one value that represents the centre of a distribution. The mean is the sum of the values divided by their number, the median is the middle value when the data are arranged in order, and the mode is the value that occurs most often.Measures of deviation (dispersion), such as the range, mean deviation and standard deviation, describe the spread of the data around that centre, not the centre itself. Ways of sampling (random, stratified, systematic) concern how data are collected. 'Measures of control tendency' is a distractor built on a near-miss of the correct term.

Q: Identify the correct logical sequence :

The logical sequence is problem identification, data collection, interpretation, findings.Research starts by identifying and defining the problem, because the problem decides what data are needed. Data are then collected, analysed and interpreted, and the findings come out of that interpretation.The other orders put a step before something it depends on. Data cannot be collected meaningfully before the problem is known, so both sequences starting with data collection are wrong, and one of them even ends with problem identification. The first option puts data collection after the findings, but there is nothing to interpret and nothing to find until the data have been gathered.

Q: In the research context, the phrase "focus group" is associated with :

A focus group is associated with interviews.A focus group is a group interview: a moderator leads a small group, usually six to twelve people, through a discussion of a topic, and the interaction among participants brings out opinions and reasons that one-to-one interviews may miss. It is a qualitative data-collection method.Sampling is how the participants are chosen, not the method itself. A questionnaire collects written answers individually without discussion. Observation records behaviour as it happens rather than asking people questions.

Q: Which of the following law is related with "author productivity" ?

The law of author productivity in the key is the Law of Inverse Square, that is, Lotka's law.Alfred Lotka (1926) found that the number of authors making \(n\) contributions is about \(1/n^{2}\) of the number making one: if 100 authors write one paper each, about 25 write two, about 11 write three, and so on. This inverse square law is the classic law of scientific productivity of authors.Bradford's law of scattering describes how articles on a subject are spread over journals, and Zipf's principle of least effort describes word frequencies. Price's square root law, that half the papers come from the square root of the number of authors, also concerns authors, but it is a later corollary; the textbook answer, which the key follows, is Lotka's inverse square law.

Q: Who coined the term 'Scientometrics' ?

The term was coined by Vassily V. Nalimov (spelt Nallimov in the paper).Nalimov and Mulchenko introduced the Russian term naukometriya, scientometrics, in their 1969 book on measuring science as an information process; it means the quantitative study of science and scientific activity.Alan Pritchard (Allen in the paper) coined bibliometrics in 1969, Ranganathan proposed librametry in 1948, and E. Wyndham Hulme used the term statistical bibliography in 1922. Each is a related metric term, which is why they are the distractors.

Q: The phrase 'Controlled Group' is used in :

The phrase 'controlled group' is used in experimental research.An experiment compares an experimental group, which receives the treatment, with a control (controlled) group, which does not but is otherwise as similar as possible. Any difference in outcome can then be put down to the treatment, which is what lets an experiment test cause and effect.Survey research collects data from a sample without intervening, historical research studies past records, and descriptive research describes a situation as it is. None of these manipulates a variable, so none needs a control group.

Q: Identify the odd component :

The odd component is Open ended.Non-participatory, participatory and overt are all types of observation: the observer either joins in the activity or stays outside it, and may observe openly (overt) or covertly.'Open ended' describes a type of question in a questionnaire or interview, one that lets the respondent answer in their own words rather than choose from fixed responses. It belongs to a different data-collection tool, so it is the odd one out.

Q: Action research is :

Action research is an applied research.Action research is carried out by practitioners, such as teachers or librarians, to solve an immediate problem in their own setting: they identify the problem, plan and take action, observe the results and reflect, often in repeated cycles. Its aim is improving practice, which makes it applied rather than fundamental research.It is not defined by a long time span (longitudinal research), by the study of past records (historical research), or by the intensive study of one unit (case study), even though an action project may use some of these techniques.

Which of the following terms best describes data that were originally collected at an earlier time by a different person for a different purpose ?

A.Primary data
B.Secondary data
C.Tertiary data
D.Field study note

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

Data first collected by someone else, at another time and for another purpose, are secondary data.

In research methodology the distinction turns on who collected the data and why. Primary data are gathered first-hand by the researcher for the study in hand, through a survey, interview, experiment or observation. When a researcher reuses census tables, published statistics or another study's dataset, the data are secondary for that researcher.

Primary data is therefore the opposite case. 'Tertiary data' is not a standard category in research methods (tertiary is used for sources such as bibliographies and guides), and a field study note is a primary record made by the researcher during field work.

Discuss in Forum

Mean, Median and Mode are :

A.Measures of deviation
B.Ways of sampling
C.Measures of control tendency
D.Measures of central tendency

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

Mean, median and mode are measures of central tendency.

Each gives one value that represents the centre of a distribution. The mean is the sum of the values divided by their number, the median is the middle value when the data are arranged in order, and the mode is the value that occurs most often.

Measures of deviation (dispersion), such as the range, mean deviation and standard deviation, describe the spread of the data around that centre, not the centre itself. Ways of sampling (random, stratified, systematic) concern how data are collected. 'Measures of control tendency' is a distractor built on a near-miss of the correct term.

Discuss in Forum

A variable used to cause a change in another variable is known as :

A.Discontinuous variable
B.Dependent variable
C.Independent variable
D.Extraneous variable

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

A variable used to cause a change in another variable is an independent variable.

In an experiment the researcher manipulates or selects the independent variable (the presumed cause) and observes its effect on the dependent variable (the outcome). For example, in a study of whether a reading programme improves library use, the programme is the independent variable and library use the dependent one.

The dependent variable is the one that changes, not the one that causes change. An extraneous variable is an outside influence that the researcher tries to control because it could distort the result. A discontinuous (discrete) variable takes separate values and describes the type of measurement, not a variable's role in cause and effect.

Discuss in Forum

Identify the correct logical sequence :

A.Problem identification, interpretation, findings, data collection
B.Data collection, problem identification, interpretation, findings
C.Data collection, interpretation, findings, problem identification
D.Problem identification, data collection, interpretation, findings

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

The logical sequence is problem identification, data collection, interpretation, findings.

Research starts by identifying and defining the problem, because the problem decides what data are needed. Data are then collected, analysed and interpreted, and the findings come out of that interpretation.

The other orders put a step before something it depends on. Data cannot be collected meaningfully before the problem is known, so both sequences starting with data collection are wrong, and one of them even ends with problem identification. The first option puts data collection after the findings, but there is nothing to interpret and nothing to find until the data have been gathered.

Discuss in Forum

In the research context, the phrase "focus group" is associated with :

A.Sampling
B.Questionnaire
C.Observation
D.Interviews

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

A focus group is associated with interviews.

A focus group is a group interview: a moderator leads a small group, usually six to twelve people, through a discussion of a topic, and the interaction among participants brings out opinions and reasons that one-to-one interviews may miss. It is a qualitative data-collection method.

Sampling is how the participants are chosen, not the method itself. A questionnaire collects written answers individually without discussion. Observation records behaviour as it happens rather than asking people questions.

Discuss in Forum

Which of the following law is related with "author productivity" ?

A.Law of Scattering
B.Law of Least Efforts
C.Law of Inverse Square
D.Price Square Root Law

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

The law of author productivity in the key is the Law of Inverse Square, that is, Lotka's law.

Alfred Lotka (1926) found that the number of authors making \(n\) contributions is about \(1/n^{2}\) of the number making one: if 100 authors write one paper each, about 25 write two, about 11 write three, and so on. This inverse square law is the classic law of scientific productivity of authors.

Bradford's law of scattering describes how articles on a subject are spread over journals, and Zipf's principle of least effort describes word frequencies. Price's square root law, that half the papers come from the square root of the number of authors, also concerns authors, but it is a later corollary; the textbook answer, which the key follows, is Lotka's inverse square law.

Discuss in Forum

Who coined the term 'Scientometrics' ?

A.S.R. Ranganathan
B.Allen Pritchard
C.H.W. Hulme
D.Vassily V. Nallimov

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

The term was coined by Vassily V. Nalimov (spelt Nallimov in the paper).

Nalimov and Mulchenko introduced the Russian term naukometriya, scientometrics, in their 1969 book on measuring science as an information process; it means the quantitative study of science and scientific activity.

Alan Pritchard (Allen in the paper) coined bibliometrics in 1969, Ranganathan proposed librametry in 1948, and E. Wyndham Hulme used the term statistical bibliography in 1922. Each is a related metric term, which is why they are the distractors.

Discuss in Forum

The phrase 'Controlled Group' is used in :

A.Survey research
B.Historical research
C.Descriptive research
D.Experimental research

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

The phrase 'controlled group' is used in experimental research.

An experiment compares an experimental group, which receives the treatment, with a control (controlled) group, which does not but is otherwise as similar as possible. Any difference in outcome can then be put down to the treatment, which is what lets an experiment test cause and effect.

Survey research collects data from a sample without intervening, historical research studies past records, and descriptive research describes a situation as it is. None of these manipulates a variable, so none needs a control group.

Discuss in Forum

Identify the odd component :

A.Non-participatory
B.Overt
C.Open ended
D.Participatory

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

The odd component is Open ended.

Non-participatory, participatory and overt are all types of observation: the observer either joins in the activity or stays outside it, and may observe openly (overt) or covertly.

'Open ended' describes a type of question in a questionnaire or interview, one that lets the respondent answer in their own words rather than choose from fixed responses. It belongs to a different data-collection tool, so it is the odd one out.

Discuss in Forum

10.

Action research is :

A.An applied research
B.A longitudinal research
C.Historical research
D.Case study

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: A

Action research is an applied research.

Action research is carried out by practitioners, such as teachers or librarians, to solve an immediate problem in their own setting: they identify the problem, plan and take action, observe the results and reflect, often in repeated cycles. Its aim is improving practice, which makes it applied rather than fundamental research.

It is not defined by a long time span (longitudinal research), by the study of past records (historical research), or by the intensive study of one unit (case study), even though an action project may use some of these techniques.

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