JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

OF
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

ABA 2401 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT TESTS No. 1 & No. 2
DATE ISSUED: 22ND SEPTEMBER 2023
DATE DUE FOR CAT No. 1: 27TH OCTOBER 2023
DATE DUE FOR CAT No. 2: 24TH NOVEMBER 2023
LECTURER: Dr. Arch. Ralwala Anthony Oduor.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Late submission attracts severe penalty (5% of the marks will be lost for each day past the
submission deadline).
2. Plagiarism will lead to a score of zero. You must cite each source that you refer to. You
must provide a LIST of REFERENCES at the end of each assignment according to APA
referencing style.
3. Use Online sources to familiarize yourselves fully with the latest version of APA
Referencing Style for in-text citations and the LIST of REFERENCES.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS
• The class will be divided into FIVE groups for the group assignment.
• Each group will undertake the assigned tasks and process the collected information.
• The work will be presented in class in the form of POWERPOINT presentations for
selected groups.
 • Each group’s work will be distributed to ALL members of the class well before the
commencement of the examinations.
• The names and registration numbers of all members of each group, and division of labour
schedule shall appear in the back pages (Appendices) of the WORD version of the work.
• All cited sources should be included at the end of the presentation in the LIST of
REFERENCES.
• Credit should be given to the sources of information through appropriate methods of
referencing (APA style—check online for more information), to avoid all forms of
plagiarism.

CONTENT OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The following is an outline of a research proposal

FRONT PAGES (Paginated in lower case Roman Numerals)

i. Title Page (not paginated)
ii. Declaration of Originality; Dedication; Acknowledgements
iii. Table of contents
iv. List of Figures; List of Tables; List of Acronyms/ Abbreviations
v. Abstract (It is normally written when the entire Research Proposal or Study is complete).

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

vi. Background to the study (Page 1 starts from here)

vii. Statement of the problem
viii. Study hypothesis (must be tested mathematically) OR Study proposition (no need for
mathematical testing). Both must be revisited in Chapter 4 of the study when analyzing
findings.
ix. Study objectives
x. Research questions (ix and x are interchangeable but MUST be isomorphic—show one to
one correspondence)
xi. Significance of the study
xii. Justification of the study
xiii. Scope of the study (Geographical; Methodological; Theoretical)
 xiv. Limitations
xv. Delimitations and exclusions
xvi. Assumptions
xvii. Definitions of key terms as used in the study
xviii. Organization of the study

CHAPTER 2

xix. Literature review

xx. Conceptual framework/ theoretical model/ paradigm

CHAPTER 3

xxi. Research design

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

xxii. Work plan and Budget

xxiii. Annexures (other documents)—Research Authorization Letters; Letter of Introduction;
Questionnaire; Interview Schedules; Observation Checklists

THE ASSIGNMENT
CAT 1 (Question 1) (15 marks)
Write a twelve (12) page qualitative study research proposal on any topic of your choice related
to Architecture. The page count excludes References.

CAT 2 (Question 2) (15 marks)

Write a twelve (12) page quantitative study research proposal on any topic of your choice related
to Architecture. The page count excludes References.
HOW TO ASSESS A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
1) Is the research problem clear and focused?
2) If not what would you consider an appropriate research problem formulation?
3) Does the research have a hypothesis, and is it appropriate for the problem identified?
If not what would be an appropriate hypothesis for the study?
4) Is the aim/ main research objective clear about the problem to be solved?
5) If not what would be SMART objective(s)?
6) What are the Research Questions; do they facilitate the line/ direction of investigations,
or unravelling issues in the study problem?
7) What type of research is it, and is the research design applied appropriate?
8) Does the Research Proposal review previous studies, and are they relevant to the
research problem?
9) Does the Research Proposal have a clear conceptual/theoretical model to provide
benchmark/investigation guide for the study?
10) Does the Research Proposal clearly state the data sources, how the data will be collected
and how the data will be analysed?
11) Are the tools of data collection and methods of analysis appropriate?
12) What are the ethical considerations in the Research Proposal?
13) Is the Research Proposal logically organized?
14) Is formatting and referencing style appropriate?
15) Overall, what do you consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of the Research
Proposal?

LATER AFTER THE FIELD INVESTIGATION IS DONE AND THE STUDY IS

COMPLETE
16) How is the presentation of the findings from the field investigation?
17) What challenges were encountered in the field investigation?
18) Are the interpretations of the results relevant to the Research Problem and Objectives?
19) What is the most important finding? Does it support or not support the Research
Hypothesis or Research Proposition?
20) Are the conclusions justified, and are they based on the results obtained?
21) Do the conclusions promote better understanding of the phenomenon/ research
problem?
22) Do the interventions lead to/ enhance better performance in the context of the problem?
23) What are the key study recommendations and do they emanate from the study findings?
24) Is the process followed in the research scientific or replicable?
25) Does the study indicate at least two areas of further research emanating from the study
that was conducted?
26) Is the entire Research logically organized?
27) Is formatting and referencing style appropriate?
28) Overall, what do you consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of the entire Research
Study?