M.C.A. (Online Mode) Semester I Examination

Paper Code: OCA-531 RM
Title: Research Methodology
Time: 3 Hours
Maximum Marks: 70

Q1) Multiple Choice Questions with reasoning — answer any 25 of 30 [25 × 2 = 50]

For every attempted question, select one option and give a brief reason.

No.	Question	A	B	C	D
1	Which is not a characteristic of good research?	Systematic	Controlled	Empirical	Expensive
2	Basic research primarily seeks to:	Solve one immediate problem	Discover general knowledge	Market a product	Avoid theory
3	Socially constructed reality is associated with:	Positivism	Constructivism	Empiricism only	Determinism
4	A sharply defined research problem benefits from:	Iterative refinement	Ignoring feasibility	Avoiding literature	Remaining broad
5	The head of a fishbone diagram represents the:	Cause category	Effect or problem	Dataset	Solution
6	The 5-Why method supports:	Sample sizing	Root-cause analysis	Randomisation	Scale validation
7	Which design best supports a causal claim?	Cross-sectional survey	Correlation	Randomised experiment	Case study
8	“Exercise reduces stress” is a:	Null hypothesis	Two-tailed hypothesis	Directional hypothesis	Non-testable claim
9	Which is not an internal-validity threat?	Confounding	Selection bias	History	Reliability
10	A five-point agreement Likert item is normally:	Nominal	Ordinal	Ratio	Absolute
11	Cronbach's alpha primarily assesses:	Internal consistency	External validity	Causality	Sampling bias
12	Which is a validity type?	Test-retest	Parallel forms	Construct validity	Inter-rater reliability
13	Stratified sampling selects units:	Within every stratum	As whole clusters only	By convenience	By referrals
14	Increasing random sample size generally reduces:	Population size	Sampling error	All bias	Sampling frame
15	Using p=0.5 in proportion sample-size planning gives:	The smallest n	The largest conservative n	A known population mean	Zero error
16	With strong outliers, the preferred centre is often the:	Mean	Median	Variance	Range
17	Pearson r=−0.80 indicates a:	Strong positive linear relation	Weak negative relation	Strong negative linear relation	Causal effect
18	In y=3+2x, the slope means:	y is always positive	y rises 2 per unit x	y rises 3 per unit x	x rises 2 per unit y
19	For independent events, P(A∩B) equals:	P(A)+P(B)	P(A)−P(B)	P(A)P(B)	P(A)/P(B)
20	Bayes' theorem is used to:	Update probability using evidence	Calculate only a mean	Select sample size	Prove causation
21	The central limit theorem concerns the distribution of the:	Sample mean	Population median	Raw population only	Range
22	At α=0.05, a p-value of 0.06 means:	Reject H₀	Fail to reject H₀	Prove H₀	Reverse H₀
23	Two independent small-sample means are commonly compared with a:	Paired t-test	Two-sample t-test	Chi-square test	Sign test only
24	The probability of a Type I error is controlled by:	β	α	Power	Effect size
25	Preparation, incubation, illumination, verification describe:	Sampling	A creativity model	Peer review	Regression
26	IEEE references normally use:	Author-date citations	Numbered brackets	Footnotes only	No in-text citations
27	The Belmont principles are:	Speed, cost, impact	Respect for persons, beneficence, justice	Privacy, patents, profit	Validity, reliability, power
28	Fabricating data is:	A reliability coefficient	Research misconduct	Random error	Triangulation
29	A strong CS study should show its artefact is:	Only implemented	Correct, analysed, and empirically evaluated	Popular	Written in LaTeX
30	A major threat in simulation research is:	Model realism	Citation count	Page length	Font choice

Q2) Answer any five in approximately two sentences [5 × 2 = 10]

1. Distinguish basic and applied research.
2. State the five feasibility dimensions used to refine a research problem.
3. Distinguish internal and external validity.
4. Name the four measurement scales and give one example of each.
5. Distinguish probability and non-probability sampling.
6. Explain Type I and Type II errors.
7. What four elements should a CS proposal evaluation plan contain?

Q3) Answer any two in approximately ten lines [2 × 5 = 10]

1. Refine “social media and mental health” into a focused research problem with population, exposure, outcome, and time frame.
2. Design a four-item Likert scale for library satisfaction and explain how its reliability and validity would be checked.
3. A fair die is rolled twice. Find the probability that the sum is 7, showing the sample space reasoning.
4. Outline a CS research proposal for reducing mobile-app battery consumption, including evaluation and ethics.