Free tool, planning and viva
Research methodology quiz
Ten questions a round, with the reason behind each answer.
This research methodology quiz asks you ten questions in a round, and after each one it explains why the right option is right.
We built it mainly for PhD scholars who are revising for the coursework methodology paper, mostly in the last few weeks. UGC NET aspirants can use it as well. Paper I there has a unit called Research Aptitude, and lot of the same ideas come in that unit. Ask any scholar what validity means, or Type I error, they will tell you quickly. Where they lose marks is when two options are very close and the clock is running. For that reason every answer has a short note, so you can see why the other close option is not correct.
Not sure the answer fits your study? WhatsApp us or call, and we’ll look at it with you.
How the tool works
The bank has 68 multiple-choice questions now. We have grouped them under eight topics.
- types of research, and the approaches used
- the research problem with its hypothesis and variables
- research design
- sampling
- measurement (this covers reliability and validity)
- data collection tools
- statistics, including how a hypothesis is tested
- ethics and plagiarism, along with referencing
The questions are spread almost evenly over these topics. When you start a round, ten of them get picked at random. First it uses up the ones you didn’t get yet. Only after those are over will a repeat come.
Once you decide on one option, press the check button which is just under the options. If your choice is wrong the quiz marks it and shows which option was correct. Explanation of few lines comes under that. Some explanations carry a link to one of our guides when the guide goes deeper on the same point. A reliability question, say, may point you to the Cronbach’s alpha guide, and a question on picking a test may link the guide on statistical tests.
At the end of ten questions your score out of ten comes on screen. Under the score there is a small table with marks for each topic. Any topic where you dropped a mark goes into the revision list, even if it was only one. To go again, press “Try another round” and you get questions not shown to you before.
Whatever you answer, and the score, stays in your own browser and never reaches us. Close the tab and it is gone. On our server side we only log a count that somebody completed a round.
Once the exam is behind you and you sit down to write your thesis, have a look at our methodology chapter guide. That guide talks about putting these ideas into Chapter 3 of your own work.
Questions scholars ask
Is this the same as the coursework exam at my university?
No. Your university sets its own methodology paper, and mostly it has questions where you must write long answers. Clause 9 of the UGC 2022 regulations says coursework should be minimum 12 credits, with Research and Publication Ethics compulsory as one course. The topics you see in this quiz come under that same area. For the exam, old question papers of your university and your own syllabus are still needed.
How are the questions chosen?
Randomly, out of the 68 questions in the bank. As long as the page is open, it keeps track and gives unseen questions first. If you reload, that tracking is lost and it begins again from zero.
I think an answer is wrong. What should I do?
First go through the explanation under that question one time. Different textbooks define some terms in their own way, and that is many times the reason. If it still looks wrong to you, WhatsApp us the question with a photo of the textbook page. Our team will look into it and revert.
How should I use the quiz before an exam?
For around two weeks, do one round a day. Read the explanation for each question, including the ones you answered correctly. Keep a note of which topics come up in the revision list. Suppose the same topic shows there for three rounds, open your notes on it again before the next round.
Can I use it on my phone?
Yes. Any recent browser on the phone runs it fine as long as JavaScript is on in settings, and you get one question on each screen.
Stuck on a chapter? Talk it through with us.
Call or WhatsApp, say where you are in your thesis, and we’ll tell you plainly what kind of help makes sense, if any.