Research Methods and Metric Studies Questions and Answers

Answer: D

Statements (i), (ii) and (iv) describe open-ended questions, so the answer is (i), (ii) and (iv) are correct.

An open-ended question lets respondents answer freely, so it yields mainly qualitative data (i) in the respondent's own words (ii). Because writing an answer takes more time and effort than ticking a box, such questions generally get fewer responses (iv).

Statement (iii) describes the opposite, a closed-ended question, where the respondent chooses from options predefined by the researcher. Every option that includes (iii) is therefore wrong.

Answer: D

The simple random procedures are the random number table and the lottery, so the answer is (iii) and (iv) are correct.

In simple random sampling every element of the population has an equal chance of selection. The two standard ways of achieving this are to number every element and choose with a table of random numbers (iii), or to use a lottery, drawing numbered slips (iv).

Choosing samples conveniently (i) is convenience sampling, a non-probability method. Listing participants category-wise and sampling from each category (ii) is stratified sampling. Neither is simple random sampling, so the options with (i) or (ii) are wrong.

Answer: C

The answer is (A) is true but (R) is false.

Assertion (A) is correct: in the diary technique respondents themselves record their daily activities and experiences over a period, giving the researcher data that would be hard to observe directly, for example how often and why they use a library.

Reason (R) is false. The Delphi method gathers the opinions of a panel of experts through several rounds of questionnaires with controlled feedback, not through diaries. So the options calling (R) true are wrong.

Answer: B

The key marks both statements false, so the answer is Both (A) and (R) are false.

Assertion (A) is false: techniques based on citation counting, such as total citations and the h-index, are widely used to assess the research performance of individuals, alongside peer review.

Reason (R) is false as well: the UGC has itself used research publications and their impact as a measure in its academic performance assessment of teachers, so citation-based assessment is not something the UGC has refused to recognise. With both statements false, every option calling either true is wrong.

Answer: A

The Impact Factor measures a journal.

Devised by Eugene Garfield and published in the Journal Citation Reports, the Journal Impact Factor for a year is the number of citations received that year by items a journal published in the previous two years, divided by the number of citable items it published in those two years. It is a measure of the journal as a whole.

It is not a measure of a thesis, an individual author or a single article, and using it for them is a known misuse. Authors are measured with indicators such as the h-index, and articles by their own citation counts.

Answer: C

The method is snowball sampling.

In snowball sampling the researcher starts with a few respondents and asks each of them to name or recruit others who fit the study, so the sample grows like a rolling snowball. It is used for populations that are hard to reach or have no list, such as rare specialists or hidden groups.

Quota sampling fills fixed numbers from each category, convenience sampling takes whoever is easily available, and purposive sampling has the researcher choose respondents by judgement. None relies on respondents recruiting others.

Answer: C

The Cranfield studies are associated with experimental research.

The Cranfield experiments, led by Cyril Cleverdon at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, between 1957 and 1966, compared indexing languages under controlled conditions: the same documents and test queries were run through different systems, and the results were measured by recall and precision. That controlled comparison is the defining feature of experimental research.

They were not a case study of one institution, not historical research into the past, and not a survey of users' opinions, though their measures are still used in evaluating retrieval systems.

Answer: A

The methodology section covers the population and sample, and the data collection techniques and tools, so the answer is (i) and (iii) are correct.

A research proposal describes the study before it is done. Its methodology section explains how it will be carried out: the population and the sample (i), the research design, and the techniques and tools of data collection (iii), such as questionnaires or interviews, along with the planned analysis.

Results of prior research (ii) belong in the literature review, and findings of the present research (iv) cannot appear in a proposal, since the study has not yet been done. Every option with (ii) or (iv) is wrong.

Answer: C

The correct matching is a-iv, b-iii, c-i, d-ii.

• Research based on the future-oriented opinions of a panel of experts is the Delphi method.
• Research that generalises from samples is the survey.
• In-depth research on one unit, using many tools and techniques, is the case study.
• Research to test a cause and effect relationship is experimental.

Two options start a-iv, b-iii. The near miss gives the in-depth study to experimental research and cause and effect to the case study, which reverses the last two pairs.

Answer: B

The odd one out is Close-ended.

Covert, participatory and non-participatory are all kinds of observation, a method of data collection. In participatory observation the researcher joins the group being studied, in non-participatory observation the researcher watches from outside, and in covert observation the subjects do not know they are being observed.

Close-ended describes a type of question in a questionnaire or interview, with fixed answer options. It belongs to a different method, so it is the odd component.