Research Methodology in Public Administration Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The option that is not a function is using inappropriate research methodology.

A research report communicates the results of a study, helps decision makers such as executives choose the right course of action, and allows other researchers to check and verify conclusions.

Using an inappropriate methodology is a fault in research, not a function of the report, which is why it is the answer.

Answer: A

Basic research is also called theoretical research.

Basic, pure or fundamental research seeks to extend knowledge and build or test theory for its own sake, without an immediate practical use in view, so it is theoretical in orientation.

Applied research is the opposite category: it aims to solve a practical problem. Qualitative and quantitative refer to the kind of data and methods used, and both basic and applied studies can be either, so neither is another name for basic research.

Answer: B

The model is deduction.

Deductive reasoning moves from the general to the particular: from a general theory or principle the researcher derives specific, testable hypotheses, and then collects data to test them.

Induction works the other way, from particular observations to general conclusions or theory. Micro and macro theory describe the scale of a theory (individual and small-group behaviour versus whole societies or systems), not the direction of reasoning from principle to hypothesis.

Answer: C

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

A research report presents the problem, method, findings and conclusions of a study, so the research has to be done before the report can be written. The Assertion is true.

The Reason is false because of the word 'only'. A report is not merely an elaborate presentation; it communicates findings so they can be checked, replicated and used, and writing it involves analysis and interpretation. With (R) false, the options treating it as true are wrong, and (A) is not false.

Answer: C

Descriptive statistics are measurements used to summarise data sets.

They describe the main features of collected data: measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), of dispersion (range, standard deviation) and frequency distributions, tables and charts. They summarise what the data show without drawing inferences about a larger population, which is the job of inferential statistics.

The set of all elements that could be measured is the definition of a population. Describing a single variable or two variables is univariate or bivariate analysis, which are particular uses of statistics, not the definition of descriptive statistics.

Answer: B

Axiology is related to researchers' values.

Axiology is the branch of philosophy concerned with values. In research philosophy it asks what role the researcher's values play in the research process, and whether research can be value-free or is value-laden.

Perceptions of the nature of reality are the subject of ontology. Approaches to research are matters of methodology, and the role of the researcher, as insider or detached observer, is usually discussed under epistemology and methodology. Only values define axiology.

Answer: C

Framing a questionnaire is a research technique.

A technique is a specific tool or procedure for collecting or analysing data, such as constructing a questionnaire, an interview schedule or a scale. A method is the broader approach in which techniques are used (a survey, a case study, an experiment), and methodology is the reasoning about which methods to use and why.

A research question is what the study sets out to answer, not a means of collecting data. So the questionnaire is a tool of the survey method, and drawing it up is a technique.

Answer: C

Such a hypothesis is a null hypothesis.

A null hypothesis states that there is no difference between groups, situations or outcomes, or no relationship between variables. The study then tests whether the data allow it to be rejected.

An alternative hypothesis is the opposite: it states that a difference or relationship does exist. A hypothesis of association states that two variables are related, and a hypothesis of difference states that groups differ. Both assert something, so neither is the 'no difference' hypothesis.

Answer: B

This is action research.

Action research is carried out by practitioners, or with them, in order to improve their own practice or to take action on a problem or issue in their setting. It moves in a cycle of planning, acting, observing and reflecting, and its results are used directly.

Participatory research stresses involving the community or the people studied as partners. Feminist research studies social life from the standpoint of gender. Holistic research looks at a phenomenon as a whole. None of these is defined by the aim of improving one's practice.

Answer: B

Such material goes in the appendix.

An appendix at the end of a report holds pertinent but supplementary material, such as questionnaires, detailed tables, calculations or documents, which would interrupt the main text but may be of value to some readers.

A footnote gives a source or a brief clarification at the foot of the page. A bibliography lists the works consulted or cited. A preface comes before the main text and introduces the report and its background. None of them is the place for supporting material of this kind.