CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore – 560 029

CIA – 2 December 2020

 
PROGRAMME NAME: PG-CBCS
COURSE NAME: Behavioural Research - 2        MAX. MARKS: 30
TIME: 6.30 PM – 8.00 PM                                                                                                         
___________________________________________________________________________
SECTION A

A.    Case study - Compulsory question. (400-500 Words)                     (15 marks)

Read the following research scenario and answer the questions that follow.

A researcher from a metropolitan city decided to examine the hospitality sector employees'
mental health needs who are offering quarantine facilities for the public during the COVID
19 pandemic. The government required 17 hotels to provide quarantine facilities for travellers
entering the city from abroad. The researcher on touring a few of these hotels found that
many such travellers were unhappy with the quarantine and were uncooperative with the
hotel staff. They also had high demands on the staff and raised frequent complaints about the
quality of service.  There was also a shortage of protective gear to prevent contracting the
virus. The staff was also restrained from visiting their families to avoid the spread of the
virus. The stress of the pandemic, high pressure from quarantined inmates, inability to leave
the city, increased risk of contracting the virus from the quarantined inmates took its toll on
the hotel staff. The researcher contemplated a one-time quantitative assessment on a select
sample of staff. He decided to examine the level of pandemic anxiety, work pressure, and
general well-being of the staff. 

1.     What is the appropriate research design to effectively examine the variables intended to
study (4 Marks)? How do you think the researcher should go about collecting the data (3
Marks)?

2.     What is the sampling method the researcher should use to recruit a representative sample for
the study? Justify your answer (5 Marks).

3.     What are the implications of this study (3 Marks)?

SECTION B

Scenario-Based Question. Answer any one of the following (150 Words minimum) (15
Marks)

B.    The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the need for research in psychological variables
related to affective, cognitive, and behavioural aspects. One of the main issues was
accessibility to samples due to social distancing and other physical contact restrictions. A
team of undergraduate researchers are particularly interested in accessing recovering COVID
-19 patients and their families and understanding their well-being and coping styles. They
create subcategories of the population and select the participants based on a common
characteristic (e.g., those who have a travel history, those who live in crowded locations, and
so). Furthermore, they intend to understand how these variables vary district wise within
 Karnataka state, based on case records maintained in health departments and hospitals in each
district. 

1. Would the Ethical Review board pass this research proposal? Why or why not? Justify your
answer (6 marks).

2. Is the sampling technique used in this study suitable? What advantages or disadvantages does
it have over other methods? (6 marks)

3. Since the case records are required for this study, what research method could the team use to
get this information? Briefly explain its usefulness for this study (3 marks)

OR

C.  As a researcher, suppose you conduct a study on the role of peer attachment in emotional
management. For the research, you will collect data from a sample of young adults belonging
18-25 years. The literature review suggests that gender has also shown a significant impact
on the identified variables. You had decided to have an equal proportion of males & females
in the sample.

1. Frame appropriate alternate hypotheses you will test in this research (2 mark). Identify the
independent variable and Dependent variable in the study (2 marks).

2. Suggest the best sampling method and justify your choice (4 marks).

3. Identify the appropriate research design for the study (2 mark). Justify why the identified
research design is suitable over others (5 marks).

ANSWER BELOW
SECTION A

A. 1. The research design that is best suited for this situation is Correlational since we are
trying to measure the effects of one variable on the other. Since either of the variables aren’t
in control of the researcher, this fits well. The experiment design will measure the effects of
how mental health is affected with the increase in constraints and how the duration affects
also. The data can be used to describe and understand the situation in whole and what all
areas need immediate attention. Other factors can be incorporated within the research survey
to emphasise how every single scenario affects the employees and to what extent. The
method of collecting data should be a survey since it is mental health that is also being
observed as well as the stress one feels, they are subjective and the person being interviewed
is the only one who can accurately describe it. Upon gathering the data and analysing the data
the areas that need the most improvement and attention will be identified which will make the
process smoother for people who HAVE to work during the pandemic and can’t afford to
stay home.
 2. The sampling method to be used to provide an accurate representative sample is
simple random sampling. This will ensure that the data collected is not biased and not
referring to a particular gender, race, or any other subcategory within the hospitality
staff and the result will be generalized. Systematic sampling can be used also.
Other methods like stratified sampling or cluster sampling do not make sense since
there isn’t anything based on geography or any other subcategory within the
hospitality staff.

3. The implications of this study are ethical, and social. The former because it is
unethical to not let one part of the population be away from their family without
protection from the virus or rude travellers when the stress is already at the peak. And
social since people and the government need to be kinder to those who aren’t okay
during this trying time. Making decisions for others while being comfortable and safe
within their own homes, or travelling out by choice don’t need to be a cause for
suffering for another person.

SECTION B

C. 1. Peer attachment plays a significant role in the ability to manage one’s emotions in
the age group of 18-25. Independent variable is the peer attachment and it’s degree
while the dependent variable is the ability to manage emotions.

2. The method of sampling should be first stratified sampling where the people are
divided into groups based on gender since it plays an effective role in the research and equal
representation is important. Once the two groups are formed, random sampling of equal
numbers from each group (for example, 20 male and 20 female samples) and then the
research should be conducted. It shouldn’t be any other way since we know exactly how
many people are there in the research so no need for systematic sampling and since it isn’t
based on any other factor other than gender, cluster sampling isn’t needed either.

3. The research design best suited for this situation is correlational, since there is a
need to understand the relationship between the two variables. Other research designs
do not suit the situation. Qualitative research is directly out of the picture since we
need precise results and we aren’t starting from a general premise working towards a
precise one. Descriptive research design would not work since the variables need to
be studied differently. And Experimental design isn’t needed since we already know a
relationship between the variables exists.
We don’t need to find if there is a relationship between the variables or and we don’t
need to just describe it. We need to gauge how one affects the other.