We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Find out more

Business Research Methods, Chapter 4: Research Design

Instructions: For each question, click on the radio button beside your answer. When you have completed the entire quiz, click the Submit my answers button at the bottom of the page to receive your results.

Question 1:


a) Experiments are not strong in terms of internal validity
b) The vast majority of independent variables with which business researchers are concerned cannot be manipulated
c) Often experiments do not offer confidence in the robustness and trustworthiness of causal findings.
d) None of the above

Question 2:


a) Two groups are established, the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group receives the treatment and is compared against the control group. The dependent variable is measured before and after the experimental manipulation.
b) Two groups are established. Both groups receive the treatment and the effects of the treatment are compared.
c) Two groups are established, the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group receives the treatment and is compared against the control group. The independent variable is measured after the experimental manipulation.
d) None of the above

Question 3:


a) To eliminate the risk of the so-called ‘experimenter effect’
b) Differences between the control and experimental group can be more confidently attributed to manipulation of the independent variables
c) To show that the independent variable really affects the dependent variable
d) All of the above

Question 4:


a) Internal validity is difficult to establish
b) We can’t be sure how well the findings are applicable to the real world and to everyday life
c) The responses of volunteers to experimental treatments may be distinctive
d) All of the above

Question 5:


a) A cross-sectional design comprises the collection of data on a series of variables at a single point in time. The outcome is a rectangle of data that comprises variables and cases. For each case, data are available for each of the variables.
b) A cross-sectional design comprises a collection of data with the help of a control-group and one experiment group at a single point in time.
c) A cross-sectional design comprises a collection of data in at least two waves, based on the same variables (the same people or organizations)
d) None of the above

Question 6:


a) laboratory experiments
b) experimental designs
c) longitudinal designs
d) case study designs

Question 7:


a) uses several methods of data collection
b) formulates research questions and hypotheses in advance
c) uses only qualitative methods of data collection
d) None of the above

Question 8:


a) Comparative design entails a study using more or less identical methods to study two or more contrasting cases
b) Comparative design may be realized in the context of either qualitative or quantitative research
c) Comparative design can entail the collection and/or analysis of data from two or more nations
d) All of the above

Question 9:


a) Individuals
b) Small groups
c) Organizations and societies
d) All of the above

Question 10:


a) It is the distinction between positivist and post-positivist research
b) It is a technique for collecting data
c) It is a framework for the collection and analysis of data
d) A reflection of the choice between quantitative and qualitative methods