Epistemology refers to:

a statistical test.
a form of interviewing.
a software package.
acceptable knowledge in a field of study.

If your research philosophy reflects the principles of positivism, then

you will probably:
adopt the philosophical stance of the natural scientist.

want to be sure that all your answers are beyond dispute.

not accept any argument about your research conclusions.

reject the possibility of working with numbers.

Which one of the following is a data collection method?

The interview.

The case study.

Positivism.
The onion.

Which of these is a philosophical concern for fact or reality and a

rejection of the impractical?

Unrealism.
Stealthism.
Realism.
Prism.

Interpretivism refers to:

an epistemology that advocates that it is advisable for the researcher to
understand differences between humans in our role as social actors.
looking at phenomena and making up your own mind about what you are
seeing.
the purely subjective.

an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to

understand differences between humans in our role as social actors.

Symbolic interactionism is:

a branch of research philosophy which refers to the study of material artifacts.

a way of looking at the stars.

a famous research methods book.

a continual process of interpreting the social world around us

Pragmatism argues:

that the most important determinant of the research philosophy adopted is

the research question
that you make it up as you go along.

that you adopt the research philosophy that you want.

the art of the possible.

Recognizing our own values in the pursuit of research is essential

because:
it allows us to be honest with ourselves about what may influence our
research.
it allows us to eliminate them.

it enables us to persuade others of our values.

at least we know what we can ignore.

The radical change paradigm is:

only the concern of sociologists.

a valuable way of adopting a critical stance on organizational life.

only for those who wish to find fault with organizational life.

of little use in management and business research.

Defining hypotheses is a useful way of approaching research

because:
it looks suitably scientific.

it allows for the development of indisputable proof to be established in

research findings.
it will impress the reader.

it allows the development of testable propositions.

Combining deductive and inductive approaches to research will:

ignore the question of which research approach to adopt.

develop a research approach which fits the research question and objectives.

avoid making any difficult decisions.

allows us to sit on the fence.

Buchanan et al. (1988:59) argue that 'needs, interests and

preferences (of the researcher) . . . are typically overlooked but are
central to the progress of fieldwork'. Is this:

a realization that we are likely to sustain or interest longer if we're conducting

or research in a way that we prefer?
a possible justification for research approach decisions which are not reflective
of the research question and objectives?

a legitimization of the opportunity to exhibit your prejudices?

a license to do what you like?

The word paradigm means:

a branch of physics.
a type of sampling.
being forced to do something.
a theoretical framework.

Carefully study the stages below. Do they refer to Induction or

Deduction?
Theory developed
Hypothesis worded
Observations made
Hypothesis tested on data
Theory revised
Induction.
Deduction.

Induction.
Deduction.

Which of the following is NOT part of the sampling design process?

Specifying the sampling unit.

Defining of the population of the study.

Refining the research question.
Selection of the sampling technique.
Determining the relevant sample frame.

The target population be defined in terms of:

elements - the object about which information is desired.

extent - the geographical boundaries.

sampling units - the set of elements available for selection during the sampling process.

time - the time period under consideration.

all of the above.

What is a sampling unit?

The method used to collect the sample.

The basic unit containing the elements of the population to be sampled.

The population.

The sampling frame.

All the individual elements of the final sample, drawn together.

None of the above.

Which of the following is NOT a qualitative factor that should be considered

in determining the sample size?
The number of variables.
The nature of the analysis.
The precision needed for the results.
The importance of the decision.
Sample sizes used in similar studies.

Which of the following is NOT true of probability sampling?

Sampling units are selected by chance as opposed to the judgement of the researcher.

The number of elements to be included in the sample set can be pre-specified.

Estimates are statistically projectable to the population.

The results will always be more accurate than non-probability sampling.

It is possible to specify the probability of selecting any particular sample of a given size.

What is the least expensive and least time-consuming of all sampling

techniques?
Snowball sampling.

Convenience sampling.
Judgmental sampling.
Stratified sampling.
Simple random sampling.

What are the distinguishing features of simple random sampling?

Random numbers determine which elements are included in the sample.

A sampling frame must be compiled in which each element has a unique identification
number.

Each element in the population has a known and equal probability of selection.

Each possible sample of a given size has a known and equal probability of being the
sample actually selected.

All of the above.

Which of the following are NOT criteria for the selection of stratification
variables in stratified sampling?
Across the strata, the elements should be as heterogeneous as possible.

The strata should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive so that every
population element should be assigned to one and only one stratum.

Stratifications variables should not be closely related to the characteristic of interest.

Stratification variables should be easy to measure and apply.

Elements within a stratum should be as homogeneous as possible.

Select all of the following statements which you believe to be true.

A truly random sample of the general population would be obtained by:
Allocating each individual a unique number and using a computer to randomly generate
numbers for selection.

selecting an individual from every fourth house on a street.

Closing your eyes and sticking a pin into a telephone directory.

selecting every 20th individual from a list of patients registered with a GP.

selecting every individual with a surname beginning with the letter S.

Below is a list of populations and samples. Select the sample that is most
likely to be representative (rather than biased) of the population from which
it is drawn.
Population: Adults from a single geographic area. Sample: Employees at a local factory.

Population: Owners of luxury cars. Sample: subscribers to What Car magazine.

Population: Owners of luxury cars. Sample: BMW owners.

Population: The general population in an inner London borough. Sample: All patients
registered at local GP surgeries in the same area.

Population: Online shoppers. Sample: List of individuals who have web-based email.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of quota sampling?

Those who are available to be surveyed in public places are unlikely to be a
representative sample.

The random selection of units makes it possible to calculate the standard error.

It is a relatively fast and cheap way of finding out about public opinions.

The sample is subdivided into groups from which the researcher must obtain a certain
number of responses.

The researcher chooses who to approach and so might bias the sample.

Snowball sampling can help the researcher to:

collect data cost effectively.

overcome the problem of not having an accessible sampling frame.

theorise inductively in a qualitative study.

access difficult or hidden populations.

all of the above.

What effect does increasing the sample size have upon the sampling error?
It has no effect on the sampling error.
It increases the sampling error.
It reduces the sampling error.
It maintains the sampling error, regardless of other variables.
None of the above.

Which of the following is NOT a type of non-probability sampling?

Convenience sampling.
Cluster sampling.
Quota sampling.
Judgemental sampling.
Snowball sampling.

The standard error is a statistical measure of:

the clustering of scores at each end of a survey scale.

the degree to which a sample has been accurately stratified.

the extent to which a sample mean is likely to differ from the

population.
a measure of whether the sample was randomly selected or not.
Research philosophy means simply thinking hard about research.
the normal distribution of scores around a sample mean.

Epistemology concerns what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a

field of study.
True
False

Positivism and interpretivism are research philosophies.

True
False

The positivist paradigm focuses on the facts or causes.

True
False

The positivist paradigm focuses on the subjective meaning of the

subject under investigation.
True
False

Realism is about ignoring creativity in research and concentrating on what is real.

True

False

Interpretivism is an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the

researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors.
True

False

Phenomenology refers to the way in which we as humans understand exceptional

events.
True

False

Objectivism portrays the position that social entities exist in reality external to social

actors.
True

False

Paradigm is a term which academics use only in situations where they want to
impress others deliberately.
True

False

Which research philosophy is 'better' depends on the research question(s) you are
seeking to answer.
True

False

A hypothesis is simply a statement about what might happen.

True

False

In the inductive approach theory would follow data rather than vice versa as with
deduction.
True

False

Induction is often seen as the alternative to deduction.

True

False

It is never a good idea to combine deductive and inductive approaches to research. It

only leads to confusion.
True

False

Literature review is not usually concerned with helping in:

literary appreciation.

research instrument
design.

subsequent data
collection.

objective setting.

The literature review will examine:

only facts.

only opinions.

all aspects of a topic.

only one side of the main argument.

The starting point for a literature search is:

tertiary data.

secondary data.

primary data.

some other data.

Researchers need to be cautious of some material, particularly

material found online. Why?
It is too recent.

It has been used before.

The quality is unknown.

The authors name often does not appear.

Which one of these is likely to be peer-reviewed?

The Guardian.

The Economist.

The European Journal of Management.

Woman's Own.

Which of these will NOT help you to decide whether a publication is

reputable?
Audience.

Importance to peers.

Advertising inside.

Citation rate.

The likely readers (or audiences) for a journal is a useful guide to

the importance of that journal to your research. Why?
It indicates the likely content.

It indicates the likely publisher.

It indicates the likely editor.

It indicates the likely number of pages.

Citation means that a particular paper has been:

discussed orally by another author.

quoted in another paper by another author.

reproduced elsewhere.

sold to another publisher.

When you discover that an author has, (1) cited another author (2)
it is good practice to:
use the work and attribute it to author 1.

locate and read the original, then attribute it to author 2.

use the work and attribute it to author 2.

not to use the work.

Before searching you should define the timeframe of your search.

Why?
So you do not incur unnecessary costs.

So you don't find the library busy.

So you work when you are most efficient.

So you find the most articles.

Which is the major disadvantage of using peer-reviewed journals in

literature reviews?
Subscription fees are high.

Humans control the quality.

Information could be as old as four years.

The information is too recent.

Why is it important for a researcher to review the literature?

Because it shows time has been spent on the subject.

Because it will find if anyone has done the work before.

Because it is traditional.

Because it identifies like-minded researchers.

Which one of these is not normally used by researchers to store

references?
Word processing software.

Panels.

Handwritten index cards.

Spreadsheets.

When you cite Internet resources, you do not need to find:

date created.

date last updated.

date of access.

date of birth of the author.

Sampling provides a valid alternative to a census when it would be

impracticable for you to survey the entire population.

True/ False

With probability samples the chance, or probability, of each case being

selected from the population is unknown.

True/ False

The sampling frame for any probability sample is a complete list of all the
cases in the population from which your sample will be drawn.

True/ False

The larger your sample's size, the higher the likely error in generalising to
the population.

True/False

Researchers normally work to a 95 % of certainty. This means that if your

sample was selected 100 times, at least 5% of these samples would be
certain to represent the characteristics of the population.

True/False

A perfect representative sample is one that exactly represents the

population from which it is taken.

True/False

Simple random sampling involves you selecting the sample at random

from the sampling frame using either random number tables or a
computer.

True/False

Quota sampling means simply that the research manager gives an

interviewer a target of completing 100 interviews.

True/ False

Generalisations about populations from data collected using any

probability sample are based on intuition.

True/ False

Statisticians have also shown that a sample size of 30 or more will usually
result in a sampling distribution for the mean that is very close to a normal
distribution.

True/False

Purposive sampling is inappropriate when working with very small samples

such as in case study research and when you wish to select cases that are
particularly informative.

True/ False

Critical case sampling selects critical cases on the basis that they can
make a point dramatically or because they are important.

True/ False

Convenience sampling is as prone to bias as any other type of sampling.

True/ False

One of the strengths of snowball sampling is that is leads to a very

heterogeneous sample thus reducing bias.

True/ False

Choice of sampling technique or techniques is dependent on your research

question(s) and objectives and the feasibility of gaining access to the data.

True/False