Free tool · PhD planning
Research methodology quiz
Ten random questions a round, with the reason behind every answer and a link to learn more.
This free research methodology quiz gives you ten multiple-choice questions at a time, picked at random from a bank of 61, and tells you after each answer whether you were right and why. At the end of the round you get your score and a topic-by-topic breakdown, so you know what to revise before a PhD coursework exam, a university research entrance test (RET) or the research aptitude part of UGC NET Paper I.
Every question was written for this site. None of them is taken from a previous year’s paper, and none is copied from a question bank. The questions test ideas that trip people up in exams: moderator or mediator, stratified or cluster sampling, reliability or validity, a Type I or a Type II error.
Method
How this tool works
The bank holds 61 questions in eight topics: research types and approaches; the research problem, hypotheses and variables; research design; sampling; measurement, reliability and validity; data collection tools; statistics and hypothesis testing; and ethics, plagiarism and referencing. Forty of them are the questions in our research methodology MCQs guide, word for word, and 21 more appear only here.
Each round shuffles the bank and deals ten questions, one at a time. Pick an option and press “Check answer”. The quiz marks the correct option and your own choice in words, gives a one-line reason, and where we have a guide on the idea, links it. Press “Next question” when you are ready. After the tenth question you see your score and how you did in each topic that came up.
“Try another round” deals ten questions you haven’t seen yet. Once fewer than ten unseen questions remain, the quiz tops the round up with ones you have seen and starts counting again. Seven rounds cover the whole bank.
Read the explanation even when you get a question right. Exam questions on research methodology tend to reuse the same ideas in new wording, and the reason is what carries over. If you keep missing the same topic, open the linked guide rather than taking another round straight away. For example, a wrong answer on p-values is best fixed by reading how hypothesis testing works, and a wrong answer on cluster sampling by the sampling techniques guide.
The quiz is fully keyboard accessible. Use the arrow keys to choose an option and Enter to check it. Focus moves to the Next button after each answer and to your score at the end, and a screen reader hears each verdict and reason as it appears.
Limits
What this tool can’t do
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Are these questions from past UGC NET papers?
No, every one is our own, written to test the same concepts that research methodology exams cover. They are practice questions, not a prediction of any paper. The National Testing Agency publishes answer keys for past UGC NET sessions on its own website, ugcnet.nta.ac.in.
Will this help with a PhD entrance test?
It should. The UGC PhD Regulations 2022 (clause 5(2)(ii)) require half of the syllabus of a university’s own entrance test to be research methodology, with the other half on your subject. The format of that test is set by each university, so look at its previous papers or notification as well.
Is my score recorded?
No. The questions, your answers and your score stay in your browser. Like every tool on this site, we count only that the quiz was used, with nothing that identifies you.
Does UGC NET have negative marking?
For the June 2025 session, NTA’s information bulletin gave each question 2 marks and said there is no negative marking. Check the bulletin for your own session, because the rules are published fresh each time.
I think one of the answers is wrong. What should I do?
Tell us through our contact page, with the question and your reasoning. We check each question against standard textbook definitions, and we correct the bank if a question turns out to have a second defensible answer.
Which books should I read for research methodology?
Start with the reading list in your own coursework syllabus. Two standard textbooks are C. R. Kothari and Gaurav Garg’s Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques and John W. Creswell’s Research Design. Our coursework guide explains how the coursework papers and the RPE course are set up.
Evidence
Sources
- UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, clause 5(2)(ii): entrance test syllabus (PDF)
- NTA, UGC-NET June 2025 information bulletin: pattern of examination and marking scheme (PDF)
- UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2018 (PDF)
Keep reading
Related guides and services
Research methodology MCQs with answers
Topic-wise practice questions with the answer and the reason, linked to a guide for each concept.
PhD coursework and the RPE course
Credits, the Research and Publication Ethics course, and how the coursework exam works.
How to write the research methodology chapter
Design, sampling, instruments, analysis and ethics, and how to justify each choice.
Talk it through with a specialist for free
Send us where you are and what you need. We’ll reply within one working day with clear advice, a written scope and a fixed quote. No obligation.
Book a free consultation