RSE4801 ASSIGNMENT 1 COMPLETE ANSWERS STUDY GUIDE 2025/2026
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS || 100% GUARANTEED PASS
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Section 1: The Foundation and Language of Research
1. What is the primary goal of academic research?
To produce new knowledge that is systematic, logical, and empirical, contributing to a
specific field of study.
2. Differentiate between a methodology and a method.
Methodology is the overall strategy and rationale of your research (the 'why'). Method is a
specific technique for collecting or analyzing data (the 'how').
3. Define 'epistemology'.
Epistemology is the theory of knowledge, concerned with the nature, sources, and limits of
knowledge (e.g., what constitutes valid knowledge?).
4. Define 'ontology'.
Ontology is the study of the nature of reality and being (e.g., whether social reality is
objective and external to social actors, or constructed by them).
5. What is the relationship between ontology, epistemology, methodology, and methods?
Your ontology (view of reality) informs your epistemology (theory of knowledge), which
shapes your methodology (research strategy), which guides your choice of methods (data
collection techniques).
,6. What is a paradigm in research?
A paradigm is a framework comprising a set of shared assumptions, concepts, values, and
practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares it.
7. Name the two primary research paradigms.
Positivism (and post-positivism) and Interpretivism (also Constructivism).
8. What is the primary aim of research in the Positivist paradigm?
To explain, predict, and control phenomena by discovering general laws and patterns through
objective observation and measurement.
9. What is the primary aim of research in the Interpretivist paradigm?
To understand and interpret the subjective meanings, experiences, and perspectives of people
in their specific contexts.
10. How does a researcher's role differ in Positivist vs. Interpretivist research?
In Positivism, the researcher is an objective, detached observer. In Interpretivism, the
researcher is an involved, empathetic interpreter.
Section 2: Research Problems, Questions, and Objectives
11. What is a research problem?
A general issue, controversy, or gap in knowledge that justifies the need for a research study.
, 12. What is the purpose of a 'problem statement'?
To clearly and concisely articulate the specific research problem, its context, and its
significance, establishing the need for the study.
13. What are the key characteristics of a good research problem?
It should be clear, specific, researchable, significant, and ethical.
14. What is the difference between a research topic and a research problem?
A topic is a broad subject area (e.g., "online learning"). A problem is a specific, researchable
issue within that topic (e.g., "the impact of online learning on student engagement in rural high
schools").
15. What is a research question?
A clear, focused, and concise question that the research aims to answer, derived directly from
the problem statement.
16. Differentiate between a primary and secondary research question.
The primary question is the central, overarching question of the study. Secondary
questions are sub-questions that break down the primary question into more specific,
manageable parts.
17. What are the characteristics of a well-formulated research question?
It is feasible, clear, significant, and ethical (often remembered as FINER: Feasible,
Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant).
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS || 100% GUARANTEED PASS
<LATEST VERSION>
Section 1: The Foundation and Language of Research
1. What is the primary goal of academic research?
To produce new knowledge that is systematic, logical, and empirical, contributing to a
specific field of study.
2. Differentiate between a methodology and a method.
Methodology is the overall strategy and rationale of your research (the 'why'). Method is a
specific technique for collecting or analyzing data (the 'how').
3. Define 'epistemology'.
Epistemology is the theory of knowledge, concerned with the nature, sources, and limits of
knowledge (e.g., what constitutes valid knowledge?).
4. Define 'ontology'.
Ontology is the study of the nature of reality and being (e.g., whether social reality is
objective and external to social actors, or constructed by them).
5. What is the relationship between ontology, epistemology, methodology, and methods?
Your ontology (view of reality) informs your epistemology (theory of knowledge), which
shapes your methodology (research strategy), which guides your choice of methods (data
collection techniques).
,6. What is a paradigm in research?
A paradigm is a framework comprising a set of shared assumptions, concepts, values, and
practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares it.
7. Name the two primary research paradigms.
Positivism (and post-positivism) and Interpretivism (also Constructivism).
8. What is the primary aim of research in the Positivist paradigm?
To explain, predict, and control phenomena by discovering general laws and patterns through
objective observation and measurement.
9. What is the primary aim of research in the Interpretivist paradigm?
To understand and interpret the subjective meanings, experiences, and perspectives of people
in their specific contexts.
10. How does a researcher's role differ in Positivist vs. Interpretivist research?
In Positivism, the researcher is an objective, detached observer. In Interpretivism, the
researcher is an involved, empathetic interpreter.
Section 2: Research Problems, Questions, and Objectives
11. What is a research problem?
A general issue, controversy, or gap in knowledge that justifies the need for a research study.
, 12. What is the purpose of a 'problem statement'?
To clearly and concisely articulate the specific research problem, its context, and its
significance, establishing the need for the study.
13. What are the key characteristics of a good research problem?
It should be clear, specific, researchable, significant, and ethical.
14. What is the difference between a research topic and a research problem?
A topic is a broad subject area (e.g., "online learning"). A problem is a specific, researchable
issue within that topic (e.g., "the impact of online learning on student engagement in rural high
schools").
15. What is a research question?
A clear, focused, and concise question that the research aims to answer, derived directly from
the problem statement.
16. Differentiate between a primary and secondary research question.
The primary question is the central, overarching question of the study. Secondary
questions are sub-questions that break down the primary question into more specific,
manageable parts.
17. What are the characteristics of a well-formulated research question?
It is feasible, clear, significant, and ethical (often remembered as FINER: Feasible,
Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant).
