BDCU001 RESEARCH METHODS 1 CAT

DBM/2019/44119 ROBIN RUNO

1.Explain the challenges posed by emerging issues and trends in research methods.(10mks)

Lack of scientific training.The research methodology is not systematic.Many researchers undertake

research work without having actual knowledge of the research methods.Before undertaking research
projects,researchers should be well equipped with all the methodological aspects.

Time management.Spending ample time in learning the skills and practical implementation consumes a
lot of time.This is common especially in areas that have not been done thorough research on, like the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which is still a new to mankind.In such a scenario ,taking out time for
intense research and to draft a topnotch research paper becomes difficult.

Insufficient data.Insufficiency of data is a potential problem.Most of the business establishments are of

the opinion that researchers may misuse the data provided by them.This ,in many cases causes them to
withdraw information which may be valuable for the research.This affects the purpose of research
studies for which that particular data may be of utmost importance.

Lack of standardization in the research process for distance.There are logistical issues surrounding the
research process that need to be addressed.What appears on paper may not be what appears or what is
necessarily the reality on the ground.

Reliance on self-reported data.As with any research endeavor involving opinions and behaviours of
humans,reliance on self-reported data means our data is ‘’as good as the responses we ask for.’’

2.The following is a research for a second year student in MKU University.(10mks)

‘’Factors influencing the rise of inflation in the Kenyan economy.A case of Thika Municipality ,Kiambu
County;Kenya.’

a)State the broad objective and any two specific objectives from the research topic.

The broad objective is to find out the cause of rise of inflation in Thika Municipality, Kiambu County.

Objectives;

To determine the effect of government regulations in relation to inflation in Kiambu County

To establish the effect of rise in prices in Kiambu County in relation to inflation.

b)State any two research questions from the research topic.

How government regulations affect rise of inflation in Kiambu County.

How rise in prices contribute to rise in inflation in Kiambu County.

c)State any two hypothesis from the research topic.

It was concluded that if a favourable monetary policy was to be conceived by the experts in economy
and the prices of raw materials,goods and services were to be regulated to suit the residents of Kiambu
County,the rise of inflation would significantly reduce.

d)Develop the problem statement from the above research topic.

According to survey conducted by the residents and community of Thika Municipality,Kiambu County
has shown that rise in inflation is causing low purchasing power which is in turn leading to increased
poverty and rise of prices of goods and services.In order to reduce inflation,it is important for the
County government to formulate a favourable monetary policy.

3.Explain the various ways of data presentation in a research project.(10mks)

Data presentation involves displaying the collected data using various formats in order to help simplify
large amounts of data in a sensible way;

A)Statistical Techniques

Statistics generate simple numbers to describe distributions, either grouped or ungrouped.It’s the
science of organizing,describing and analyzing quantative data.Under statistical techniques;

i)Descriptive Statistics

They help the researcher to meaningfully describe a distribution of scores or measurement using a few
indices or statistics.Descriptive statisics consists of methods of for organizing,displaying and describing
data by using tables,graphs,etc and summary measures like the mean,medium,mode and standard
deviation.

B)Inferential Statistics

Deal with inferences about a population based on the results obtained from the sample.Inferential
statistics help to generalize the results from samples to population.Concerned with determining how
likely it is for the results obtained from a sample to be similar to results expected from the entire
population-test of hypothesis.It may consist of methods such as ; frequency distribution
tables,percentage comparison,ranking or weighed average techniques.graphical presentation under
which we have;tables,graphs,pie charts,bar charts and frequency polygons.