MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

E-SMART KISII
MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
COURSE CODE: MBA 809
COURSE TITLE: RESEARCH METHODS
MAIN EXAM

PURPOSE
To familiarize the students with the knowledge and skills of research
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course unit, learners should be able to:
a) Identify a research problem
b) Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative research
c) Discuss the ethical considerations in research in relation to study subjects
d) Identify relevant research designs for social research
e) write a proposal for a thesis or project
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to prepare prospective researchers be able to undertake
educational research. The course focuses on key concepts, issues and skills which
such researchers need in order to do effective research. It offers the course
participants an overview of contemporary thinking and practices in research.
COURSE CONTENT
Introduction to Research (Lesson 1 Week 1)
 definitions
 Characteristics of research
 Types of Research
 Importance of research
The Research Process (Lesson 2 Week 2 - 3)
 Identifying a Research Problem
 Research questions
 Research Hypothesis
 Variables
 Literature Review
Research Methodology (Lesson 3 Week 4 - 6)
 Research Designs
 Sampling Methods
 Instrumentation
 Data Analysis
Reliability and Validity (Lesson 4 Week 7-8)
 validity – definition, types , ways of testing
 reliability _ definition, ways of testing
Ethical Issues in Research Lesson 5 Week 9 - 10)
Principles of ethics in research involving:
 participants
 researcher
 process
Testing of Hypotheses-I (Parametric) Lesson 6 Week 11-13)
 Standard Tests of Hypotheses)
 Basic Concepts Concerning Testing of Hypotheses
 Procedure for Hypothesis Testing
 Tests of Hypotheses 195
 Analysis of Variance and Covariance
  Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
 The Basic Principle of ANOVA
 ANOVA Technique
 (Nonparametric or Distribution-free Tests)
Proposal Writing/research report
 major sections and sub sections of a research proposal
TEACHING & LEARNING METHODOLOGIES
 Whole class discussions
 Small group discussions
 Presentations
 Interactive lectures
MODE OF EVALUATIUON
 Oral presentation and written assignments 20 %
 C.A.T 20%
 End of semester examination 60 %
RECCOMMENDED READINGS
Bryman,A. (2004). Social Research Methods. (2nd . Ed). New York. Oxford
University Press
Gray, D .E. (2004). Doing Research in the Real World. London Sage
Kombo, D.K & Tromp, D.L. A (2006). Proposal and Thesis Writing: An
introduction. Nairobi. Paulines Publications
Kothari, C.R. (1990) Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques (2nd
ed,.)New Delhi. New Age Publishers
Locke, K. (2001). Grounded Theory in Management Research. London. Sage
 (University of Choice)

MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

(MMUST)

E-SMART KISII CAMPUS

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

2014/2015 ACADEMIC YEAR

YEAR ONE FIRST SEMESTER MAIN EXAMINATIONS

FOR THE DEGREE

OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

COURSE CODE: MBA 809

COURSE TITLE: RESEARCH METHODS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Instructions Answer Question 1 and any OTHER THREE (3) Questions

TIME: 3 HOURS
MMUST observes ZERO tolerance to examination cheating
This Paper Consists of 3 Printed Pages. Please Turn Over.
QUESTION ONE
The human resource manager of Vision Point Sacco Limited is concern about
employee productivity in the organization. She has noted high levels of
absenteeism and employees have been complaining of poor working conditions.
There are regular conflicts between supervisors and subordinates. The union
officials have been threatening to call for a strike if salaries are not increased by
100%.The human resource manager has been tasked by the managing director to
resolve the current situation. Before making her decision on the way forward, she
has approached you to conduct a research and advice her
Required
(i) What type of research are you going to conduct? Explain why you have
chosen this type of research (3mks)
(ii) Give a suitable title for your research (2mks)
(iii) Write a statement of the problem (3mks)
(iv) Highlight the objective and hypothesis of the study (6mks)
(v) Construct the conceptual framework (4mks)
(vi) What are sampling techniques you are going to use in this study ,justify why
(3mks)
(vii) Identify sources of data (2mks)
(viii) What are the methods of data collection you are going to use in this study
and justify why (2mks)
(b) What are the challenges that you are likely to face when conducting the
research and how are you going to solve them (5mks)
QUESTION TWO
Research scholars argue that critical literature review is the backbone of every
quality research and that a study may not meet its desired ends if this fundamental
task is not addressed
Required
(i) Explain at least seven reasons why researchers spend a lot of time doing
literature review (7mks)
(ii)Discuss steps that are followed while conducting the actual literature review
(8mks)
QUESTION THREE
(a)As part of your final year masters of business Administration you are
supposed to draft a research proposal. In relation to that, describe the
structure and contents of a research proposal (15mks)
QUESTION FOUR

(a) The credibility of research findings is dependent on the reliability and validity
of data collection instruments
(i) Explain four threats to validity of research instruments (4mks)
(ii)Explain how you can overcome threats to validity of your research
instruments (3mks)
(b) Explain the steps to be followed while selecting sample from universe
(4mks)
(c)While selecting or finalizing the research topic what are factors the researcher
has to take into consideration (4mks)
QUESTION FIVE
(a) Any research should be conducted rigorously, systematically and ethically.
Discuss the Ethical issues that a researcher needs to be aware of (10mks)
(b) Briefly describe any five different non-parametric tests explaining the
significance of each such test (5mks)