Reg. No.

:
Name

TERM END Examination DECEMBER 2014

Programme
Course
Faculty
Time

:
:
:
:

Ph.D

Semester
Code
Slot
Max. Marks

Research Methodology
Common
Three Hours

: FALL 14-15
: RES701
:
: 100

Answer All Questions

Q.No.

Sub.
Sec.

Question Description

Marks

Caption the topic of your research and justify your choice. How would you proceed with 10
the collection of knowledge and data for your research topic

Distinguish the various research methodologies available and similarly distinguish the 10
various research processes available from which a researcher could start his work.

In Apollo hospital doctors have reported an inverse relationship between central nervous
10
system malformations and water hardness. Based on their research the data are as follows:
CNS Malformation
rate(X)

Water Hardness(Y)

120

130

90

150

160 100

140

80

200

Based on the medical records the dean wants to know the value of CNS rate if the water
hardness is 145 and correlation coefficient between CNS malformation rate and water
hardness for further research .
4

Suppose the mean weight of King Penguins found in an Antarctic colony last year was 5
15.4 kg. In a sample of 35 penguins same time this year in the same colony, the mean
penguin weight is 14.6 kg. Assume the population standard deviation is 2.5 kg. At 5%
significance level, can we reject the null hypothesis that the mean penguin weight does not
differ from last year? (Critical values for z at 5 % level of significance lies between -1.96
and 1.96)

The demand for a product in each of the last six months is shown below.
Month

5
5

Demand (00s)
14
18
20
24
25
27
a) Use a three month moving average to generate a forecast for demand in the seventh
month. (2)
b) Apply exponential smoothing with a smoothing constant of 0.9 to generate a forecast for
demand in the seventh month. (3)
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Suggest properties of each of these objects that can be measured by each of the four levels
10
of
measurement
a) Resistance offered by an electrical gadget
b) Voter attitudes
c) hardness of steel alloys
d) Types of buildings
e) profitability of various divisions in a company

Explain the characteristics of probabilistic and non probabilistic sampling methods

Consider the problem below and discuss how you would find a solution using evolutionary 10
computation. Discuss the representation of the chromosome, the fitness function, and
whether any special mutation and cross-over operators would be required. Justify your
approach.

10

Problem description: You are given a list of 100 items, each with a weight and a utility
value. The problem is to select an optimal set of items from the list, up to 6 items total,
such that the weight is less than 20 pounds, and the utility is maximized.
9

Minimize the following function using Genetic algorithm

10

Note: Use bit-wise operators and show at least two generations.

10

Explain the significance of referencing and types of referencing related to scientific

literature

11

Explain the significance of publishing your research and narrate the various steps involved 12
in writing your research in a peer reviewed journal paper

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