HRPYC81 Assignment 15/30/35/40/45 with solutions ASSIGNMENT 15/30/35/40/50
The research scenario The research company …
You own a consultation company specialising in social science research. The company is called
PsyCom. You employ a number of social scientists and professional psychologists, but there are also
student researchers who do their practical at the company.
Meeting the client …
You have been contacted by Dr Lukele, the director of the Employee Wellness Division of a company
called PTA Steelworks to help him solve a problem. You set up a meeting with Dr Lukele.
According to Dr Lukele HIV/AIDS is becoming a serious problem for the company. The average
number of days of sick leave taken per employee has been increasing over the last five years and is
now reaching alarming proportions. The rise in sick leave taken is associated with HIV/AIDS related
ailments. Therefore the company now decided to implement an HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
programme (HASP). The programme is to be implemented throughout the company at all work
levels. To save costs they bought an existing programme (the least costly one they could find) and
tailored it to suite the specific needs of PTS Steelworks. They are ready to implement the amended
programme but would like to get a research consultancy company such as PsyCom on board to
assess the impact of the programme. They are hoping that the programme will improve employees’
conduct with regard to HIV.
Discussing the client’s problem … HRPYC81 Assignment 15/30/35/40/45 with solutions
Question 1
You introduce the project to the team. When you finish Peter says: “The client is not very specific
about the research, so we have to think about the study.” He turns to the student researchers: “How
would you approach this?”
A Lesiba: “Well, we cannot conduct the study without data. So I think we have to consider our data
gathering procedures first so that we can start collecting the data we need for the study.”
B Irene: “Yes, but remember, the research hypotheses are the most important aspect of the
research process. If we do not have the right hypotheses and if they are not formulated correctly the
entire research project will be null and void. So we have to begin with a clear formulation of the
research hypotheses.”
C Kobus: “I think we should make sure we are clear about the research problem and the research
question before we talk about data collection and research hypotheses.”
Rank the three responses (a, b and c) from the best response to the worst response, and then select
the most appropriate order of responses from the list provided below:
1. b c a
2. a b c
3. c a b
4. a c b
the correct answer 5. c b a ……….
, Question 2
Boshadi to the students: “Talking about research problems and hypotheses, what do you think the
research problem is in this case?”
A Lesiba: “The research problem is whether the rise in sick leave taken by employees is due to
HIV/AIDS related ailments.” HRPYC81 Assignment 15/30/35/40/45 with solutions
B Irene: “No, I think the research problem is whether the tailored HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
programme (HASP) is a valid version of the original programme.”
C Kobus: “To my mind the research problem is whether the HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
programme (HASP) has a significant impact.”
Rank the three responses (a, b and c) from the best response to the worst response, and then select
the most appropriate order of responses from the list provided below:
1. c a b
the correct answer 2. c b a
3. a c b
4. a b c
5. b a c
Question 3
Peter: “What do you think would be a suitable research question in light of the research problem
you indicated?”
A Lesiba: “Is the rise in sick leave taken by employees due to HIV/AIDS related ailments?”
B Irene: “Is the impact of the tailored HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support programme (HASP) on
employee conduct equivalent to the impact of the original programme?”
C Kobus: “Does the HIV/AIDS conduct of employees correlate with their HASP performance?”
Rank the three responses (a, b and c) from the best response to the worst response, and then select
the most appropriate order of responses from the list provided below:
the correct answer 1. b a c
2. a b c
3. c b a
4. c a b
5. b c a
Question 4
The research scenario The research company …
You own a consultation company specialising in social science research. The company is called
PsyCom. You employ a number of social scientists and professional psychologists, but there are also
student researchers who do their practical at the company.
Meeting the client …
You have been contacted by Dr Lukele, the director of the Employee Wellness Division of a company
called PTA Steelworks to help him solve a problem. You set up a meeting with Dr Lukele.
According to Dr Lukele HIV/AIDS is becoming a serious problem for the company. The average
number of days of sick leave taken per employee has been increasing over the last five years and is
now reaching alarming proportions. The rise in sick leave taken is associated with HIV/AIDS related
ailments. Therefore the company now decided to implement an HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
programme (HASP). The programme is to be implemented throughout the company at all work
levels. To save costs they bought an existing programme (the least costly one they could find) and
tailored it to suite the specific needs of PTS Steelworks. They are ready to implement the amended
programme but would like to get a research consultancy company such as PsyCom on board to
assess the impact of the programme. They are hoping that the programme will improve employees’
conduct with regard to HIV.
Discussing the client’s problem … HRPYC81 Assignment 15/30/35/40/45 with solutions
Question 1
You introduce the project to the team. When you finish Peter says: “The client is not very specific
about the research, so we have to think about the study.” He turns to the student researchers: “How
would you approach this?”
A Lesiba: “Well, we cannot conduct the study without data. So I think we have to consider our data
gathering procedures first so that we can start collecting the data we need for the study.”
B Irene: “Yes, but remember, the research hypotheses are the most important aspect of the
research process. If we do not have the right hypotheses and if they are not formulated correctly the
entire research project will be null and void. So we have to begin with a clear formulation of the
research hypotheses.”
C Kobus: “I think we should make sure we are clear about the research problem and the research
question before we talk about data collection and research hypotheses.”
Rank the three responses (a, b and c) from the best response to the worst response, and then select
the most appropriate order of responses from the list provided below:
1. b c a
2. a b c
3. c a b
4. a c b
the correct answer 5. c b a ……….
, Question 2
Boshadi to the students: “Talking about research problems and hypotheses, what do you think the
research problem is in this case?”
A Lesiba: “The research problem is whether the rise in sick leave taken by employees is due to
HIV/AIDS related ailments.” HRPYC81 Assignment 15/30/35/40/45 with solutions
B Irene: “No, I think the research problem is whether the tailored HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
programme (HASP) is a valid version of the original programme.”
C Kobus: “To my mind the research problem is whether the HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
programme (HASP) has a significant impact.”
Rank the three responses (a, b and c) from the best response to the worst response, and then select
the most appropriate order of responses from the list provided below:
1. c a b
the correct answer 2. c b a
3. a c b
4. a b c
5. b a c
Question 3
Peter: “What do you think would be a suitable research question in light of the research problem
you indicated?”
A Lesiba: “Is the rise in sick leave taken by employees due to HIV/AIDS related ailments?”
B Irene: “Is the impact of the tailored HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support programme (HASP) on
employee conduct equivalent to the impact of the original programme?”
C Kobus: “Does the HIV/AIDS conduct of employees correlate with their HASP performance?”
Rank the three responses (a, b and c) from the best response to the worst response, and then select
the most appropriate order of responses from the list provided below:
the correct answer 1. b a c
2. a b c
3. c b a
4. c a b
5. b c a
Question 4
