Q1. Research may best be defined as what?

• (A) A systematic search for new and reliable knowledge
• (B) A careful reading of a single textbook chapter
• (C) A record of a teacher’s daily classroom routine
• (D) A survey of parents’ opinions about one school event

Q2. Educational research ultimately aims to improve which of the following?

• (A) The length of the school syllabus
• (B) The difficulty of examinations
• (C) Teachers’ workloads automatically
• (D) The quality of decisions made in education

Q3. A study investigating the nature of curiosity in learning, with no immediate practical use in mind, is which type of research?

• (A) A school timetable evaluation
• (B) Basic research
• (C) A textbook evaluation
• (D) An action research project

Q4. A principal uses research findings to reduce dropout in her own district. This use of research is best described as which type?

• (A) Pure theoretical inquiry
• (B) Applied research
• (C) Historical inquiry
• (D) Philosophical inquiry

Q5. A teacher who investigates her own marking feedback to improve it is conducting which type of research?

• (A) A national survey
• (B) A laboratory experiment
• (C) Action research
• (D) A study of old archives

Q6. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of good research?

• (A) It is systematic in its steps
• (B) It is objective in its judgements
• (C) It is based on observed evidence
• (D) It is based on guesswork alone

Q7. Why do education policy makers need research?

• (A) To justify decisions that have already been made, without examining evidence
• (B) To standardise every classroom routine in all schools
• (C) To replace teachers’ professional judgement entirely
• (D) To base policy decisions on evidence rather than opinion

Q8. Which attitude is most scientific for a researcher?

• (A) Willingness to revise a conclusion when the evidence points another way
• (B) Refusal to change an opinion under any circumstances
• (C) Preference for results that please a sponsor
• (D) Reliance on authority without checking evidence

Q9. What is the main difference between basic and applied research?

• (A) Basic research collects no data, while applied research does
• (B) Applied research is not systematic, while basic research is
• (C) Basic research aims at theory and understanding, while applied research aims at practical use
• (D) Basic research is always qualitative, while applied research is always quantitative

Q10. Research is described as empirical because it is based on what?

• (A) Personal opinions alone
• (B) Philosophical argument alone
• (C) Observed and measured evidence
• (D) Long written reports alone

Q11. Why is research important in teacher training?

• (A) It helps future teachers base their practice on evidence rather than habit alone
• (B) It removes the need for classroom practice
• (C) It guarantees a teaching post for every trainee
• (D) It replaces subject knowledge entirely

Q12. What is the expected outcome of a successful action research project?

• (A) A universal law of learning for all schools
• (B) A national ranking of schools
• (C) A new textbook for the whole country
• (D) Improved local practice together with reflection by the practitioner

Q13. After a research problem has been identified, which step usually follows?

• (A) Writing the final report
• (B) Reviewing related literature
• (C) Analysing collected data
• (D) Drawing final conclusions

Q14. What does a literature review mainly help a researcher to build?

• (A) A list of respondents
• (B) A theoretical framework and a sense of the gap in knowledge
• (C) A set of examination questions
• (D) A list of references for the appendix only

Q15. How do research objectives relate to the research problem?

• (A) Objectives break the problem into specific, achievable aims
• (B) Objectives replace the problem entirely
• (C) Objectives are the same as the final conclusions
• (D) Objectives are written only after data analysis

Q16. What role does a hypothesis play in a study?

• (A) It offers a tentative answer that the study will test
• (B) It is the final conclusion of the study
• (C) It is a tool for collecting data
• (D) It is a list of the population members

Q17. When is the research design normally prepared?

• (A) After the final report is written
• (B) Before the problem is identified
• (C) After the data have been analysed
• (D) Before data collection begins

Q18. Sampling normally takes place at which point in the process?

• (A) After the design is set and before data are collected
• (B) After the report has been published
• (C) Before the research problem is chosen
• (D) After the conclusions are written

Q19. When should research tools such as a questionnaire be developed?

• (A) Before fieldwork, so they can be piloted and refined
• (B) After the final report is printed
• (C) During the writing of references
• (D) Only after all conclusions are drawn

Q20. Data analysis follows which stage in the usual sequence?

• (A) Problem identification
• (B) Literature review
• (C) Research design
• (D) Data collection

Q21. What happens at the interpretation stage of research?

• (A) Meaning and conclusions are drawn from the analysed data
• (B) New data are collected from a fresh sample
• (C) A new sample is selected
• (D) Literature is reviewed for the first time

Q22. Why must research findings be reported?

• (A) So that others can examine, use and build on the findings
• (B) So that the methods can be hidden
• (C) So that the sample size can be increased
• (D) So that analysis can be avoided

Q23. What is the main benefit of a pilot study?

• (A) It publishes results early
• (B) It detects flaws in tools and procedures before the main study
• (C) It provides the final conclusion
• (D) It replaces the main sample

Q24. A research problem is feasible when it meets which condition?

• (A) It can be studied within the available time, resources and access
• (B) It is extremely broad and vague
• (C) It has already been fully answered
• (D) It has no significance for education

Q25. Which combination is a recognised source of research problems?

• (A) A supervisor’s orders alone
• (B) A single textbook chapter alone
• (C) Past examination papers alone
• (D) Practical experience, gaps in literature, theory and social needs

Q26. What is an operational definition of a variable?

• (A) A vague general idea of the variable
• (B) The title of the study
• (C) A clear statement of how the variable will be observed or measured
• (D) A hypothesis about the variable

Q27. In a study of the effect of a revision method on test performance, the revision method is which variable?

• (A) The independent variable
• (B) The dependent variable
• (C) A variable held constant for all pupils
• (D) An intervening variable

Q28. A factor outside the study’s main variables that may still affect the outcome, such as pupils’ prior tutoring, is best called a:

• (A) Dependent variable
• (B) Independent variable
• (C) Extraneous variable
• (D) Research question

Q29. Motivation that comes between a teaching method and pupils’ achievement, and helps explain the link, is best called which variable?

• (A) The outcome variable
• (B) The manipulated variable
• (C) A constant variable
• (D) An intervening variable

Q30. If pupils in two groups differ in prior knowledge and this is not controlled, prior knowledge may act as which variable?

• (A) An extraneous variable that distorts the result
• (B) The dependent variable
• (C) A constant of the study
• (D) The sampling frame

Q31. A hypothesis that states a difference exists but does not say which group will do better is which type?

• (A) A directional hypothesis predicting higher scores for one group
• (B) A non-directional hypothesis
• (C) A null hypothesis of no difference
• (D) A statement with no variables

Q32. Which statement is a research hypothesis rather than a null hypothesis?

• (A) There is no difference between the two groups
• (B) There is no relationship between the variables
• (C) There is a significant difference between the two groups
• (D) The sample cannot be described

Q33. A good hypothesis must be which of the following?

• (A) Vague so that any result fits it
• (B) Impossible to test with available data
• (C) Clear, specific and testable
• (D) Already proven before the study starts

Q34. What is a sampling frame?

• (A) A list from which the sample is drawn
• (B) The final sample itself
• (C) A definition of the population only
• (D) A questionnaire used in the study

Q35. What is the key feature of probability sampling?

• (A) Selection by the researcher’s personal judgement
• (B) Random selection, giving each member a known chance of selection
• (C) Selection of volunteers who are easy to reach
• (D) Selection of a set quota from each category

Q36. What is the main advantage of stratified sampling?

• (A) It ignores small subgroups in the population
• (B) It selects whole clusters at once
• (C) It ensures that each important subgroup is represented in the sample
• (D) It uses only volunteers

Q37. When a population is spread over a wide area, why might a researcher choose cluster sampling?

• (A) It guarantees every subgroup is represented proportionally
• (B) It requires a complete list of every individual
• (C) It is more economical because intact groups in fewer places are studied
• (D) It uses the researcher’s judgement for every choice

Q38. What is a known risk of systematic sampling?

• (A) It needs no list of the population
• (B) A hidden pattern in the list may bias the selection
• (C) It depends on the researcher’s judgement
• (D) It can only use volunteers

Q39. A researcher who selects a few expert science teachers because of their special knowledge is using which method?

• (A) Purposive sampling
• (B) Simple random sampling
• (C) Cluster sampling
• (D) Systematic sampling

Q40. A researcher surveys shoppers in a nearby market simply because they are available. This is which method?

• (A) Stratified sampling
• (B) Convenience sampling
• (C) Simple random sampling
• (D) Cluster sampling

Q41. A researcher studying a rare teaching specialism asks each participant to recommend another specialist. This is which method?

• (A) Quota sampling
• (B) Systematic sampling
• (C) Stratified sampling
• (D) Snowball sampling

Q42. In quota sampling, how are participants selected?

• (A) Entirely at random from a complete list
• (B) In set numbers from each category, but without random selection within categories
• (C) As whole intact clusters
• (D) By taking every tenth name from a list

Q43. Which tool is best when a researcher needs to probe deeply into a teacher’s views and clarify answers on the spot?

• (A) A closed questionnaire
• (B) A rating scale
• (C) A standardised test
• (D) An interview

Q44. Watching and recording how pupils actually behave during group work is an example of which tool?

• (A) A questionnaire
• (B) A written test
• (C) Observation
• (D) A literature review

Q45. A scale on which pupils rate their interest in science from strongly disagree to strongly agree is which tool?

• (A) An achievement test
• (B) An attitude or rating scale
• (C) A sampling frame
• (D) A case study

Q46. A standardised test of mathematics achievement is used mainly to do what?

• (A) Record classroom behaviour
• (B) Collect opinions about a school
• (C) Measure pupils’ knowledge or skill in a subject
• (D) Select a research sample

Q47. In a true experiment, the researcher does which of the following?

• (A) Studies only documents from the past
• (B) Surveys a large sample once
• (C) Describes a single case in depth
• (D) Manipulates a variable and compares groups under controlled conditions

Q48. A survey’s main limitation compared with an experiment is that a survey:

• (A) Cannot collect data from large numbers of people
• (B) Always produces biased samples
• (C) Can describe relationships but cannot prove cause and effect
• (D) Cannot use questionnaires at all

Q49. A researcher studies one innovative school in depth over a year, using several sources of evidence. This is which design?

• (A) A survey
• (B) An experiment
• (C) A correlational study
• (D) A case study

Q50. A researcher studies the effects of a training programme after it has already finished, without manipulating anything. This is:

• (A) A true experiment
• (B) A survey of current opinions
• (C) A case study of one pupil
• (D) An ex post facto study

Q51. A study that checks whether attendance and test scores rise and fall together, without manipulating either, is which design?

• (A) An experiment
• (B) A correlational study
• (C) A historical study
• (D) A case study

Q52. Interview transcripts describing teachers’ experiences in their own words provide which type of data?

• (A) Qualitative data
• (B) Quantitative test scores
• (C) Experimental data from a laboratory
• (D) Secondary census data

Q53. Which pair correctly contrasts descriptive and inferential statistics?

• (A) Descriptive statistics test hypotheses, while inferential statistics only describe a sample
• (B) Descriptive statistics summarise data, while inferential statistics draw conclusions about a population from a sample
• (C) Descriptive statistics use only interviews, while inferential statistics use only tests
• (D) Descriptive statistics need no data, while inferential statistics need no sample

Q54. For the scores 2, 4, 4, 6 and 9, what is the mean?

• (A) 2
• (B) 5, because the total of 25 divided by 5 scores equals 5
• (C) 6
• (D) 9

Q55. What does the standard deviation describe?

• (A) The most frequent score
• (B) The middle score in an ordered list
• (C) How spread out scores are around their mean
• (D) The relationship between two variables

Q56. When would a researcher most appropriately use a chi-square test?

• (A) To compare the means of two groups
• (B) To test whether observed frequencies in categories differ from expected frequencies
• (C) To find the average of a set of scores
• (D) To describe a single case in depth

Q57. Keeping participants’ identities and responses private, so they cannot be linked to individuals, is which ethical principle?

• (A) Plagiarism
• (B) Informed consent only
• (C) Confidentiality
• (D) Random sampling

Q58. Presenting another author’s words or ideas as one’s own, without acknowledgement, is which ethical violation?

• (A) Confidentiality
• (B) Informed consent
• (C) Plagiarism
• (D) Random sampling

Q59. A teacher-researcher who plans a change, tries it, observes the result and reflects before revising the plan is following which cycle?

• (A) A survey cycle
• (B) A historical cycle
• (C) An experimental cycle with random assignment
• (D) The action research cycle

Q60. In a thesis, where do full details of sources cited in the text belong, and why are they given?

• (A) In the introduction, to lengthen the chapter
• (B) In the methodology, to describe the sample
• (C) In the results, to present the findings
• (D) In the reference list, to allow readers to trace sources and give credit to authors