MCA 249 Research Methodology Notes cover all 4 units of this GGSIPU MCA Semester 3 open elective in one 69-page printed book: 40 solved short-answer questions, 36 long-answer questions, 5 worked numericals and 17 figures, mapped to the MCA syllabus for affiliated institutes from 2025-26.
Written by Prateek Talwar, Founder, Unnati Educations · Reviewed by Ritik Rawat, B.Tech, Senior Full Stack Developer · Checked against official MCA scheme and syllabus, A.S. 2025-26 · Updated 14 October 2026 · Editorial policy
Scheme: MCA (2 years), affiliated institutes, A.S. 2025-26 onwards | Applies to: batches admitted from 2025-26 | Verified against: syllmcaaff050825900p.pdf (BoS 28 Jul 2025)
MCA 249 Research Methodology at a glance: GGSIPU MCA Sem 3 credits, units and exam pattern
MCA 249 is one of four Open Elective II papers in MCA Semester 3. It sits with the other GGSIPU MCA Semester 3 papers in a 27-credit semester.
| Code and title | MCA-249 Research Methodology |
|---|---|
| Course and semester | MCA (2 years), Semester 3 |
| Category and credits | Open Elective II · L 3, T/P nil · 3 credits |
| Marks | 100: 40 internal + 60 end-term |
| Passing marks | 40 out of 100 (MCA scheme, Important Note 9); other rules: GGSIPU Ordinance 11 |
| Applies to | Affiliated institutes, batches admitted from 2025-26 |
| End-term pattern | Q1 compulsory (short answers, whole syllabus) 12 marks; then one of two questions per unit, 12 marks each (12 + 48 = 60 marks) |
| Units and hours | 4 units: 12 + 10 + 12 + 10 = 44 hours |
| Paired lab | None |
MCA 249 Research Methodology Notes unit-wise: 40 solved short-answer questions and 5 worked numericals across 4 units
The MCA 249 Research Methodology IPU notes run to 66 content pages, and their examples come from computing: web servers, spam filters, CDN caching. The official syllabus only numbers the units; the titles below are the notes' own. See sample pages through the View Sample PDF button above. Notes for other MCA papers sit under GGSIPU MCA notes.
MCA 249 Unit 1: Fundamentals of Research and Hypothesis
Unit 1 (pages 4 to 23, 14 sections) covers types of research, Kothari's 11-step research process, defining a problem, research design and Fisher's principles, then ethics, the research proposal, questionnaire design and hypothesis testing. It has 10 solved short answers, 10 long-answer questions and 4 figures; no numericals.
| Decision | H0 is true | H0 is false |
|---|---|---|
| Accept H0 | Correct decision | Type II error (β) |
| Reject H0 | Type I error (α) | Correct decision |
Quick look: hypothesis-testing decisions (from page 20)
- Decision
- Accept H0
- H0 is true
- Correct decision
- H0 is false
- Type II error (β)
- Decision
- Reject H0
- H0 is true
- Type I error (α)
- H0 is false
- Correct decision
MCA 249 Unit 2: Data Collection, Metrics, Measurement and Scaling
Unit 2 (pages 24 to 39, 7 sections) covers data collection methods, then the most computing-heavy part of the book: throughput, latency, overhead, running time, MTBF reliability, accuracy, precision, recall and discomfort, each with a formula or example. Then come NOIR scales, measurement error, validity and reliability. It has 10 solved short answers, 9 long-answer questions and 1 worked numerical.
| Basis | Throughput | Latency |
|---|---|---|
| Measures | Work done per unit time | Delay for one unit of work |
| Unit | requests/s, Mbps | ms, µs |
| Better when | Higher | Lower |
| Example | 12,000 requests in 60 s = 200 requests/s | Reported as p50, p95, p99 |
Quick look: throughput vs latency (from page 29)
- Basis
- Measures
- Throughput
- Work done per unit time
- Latency
- Delay for one unit of work
- Basis
- Unit
- Throughput
- requests/s, Mbps
- Latency
- ms, µs
- Basis
- Better when
- Throughput
- Higher
- Latency
- Lower
- Basis
- Example
- Throughput
- 12,000 requests in 60 s = 200 requests/s
- Latency
- Reported as p50, p95, p99
MCA 249 Unit 3: Sampling and Data Analysis
Unit 3 (pages 40 to 54, 7 sections) holds 4 of the book's 5 worked numericals. It covers sampling concepts, probability sampling methods, sample-size formulas, data preparation, charts on a 160-student OS survey, cross-tabulation and the chi-square test (see the excerpt below). It has 10 solved short answers, 8 long-answer questions and 5 figures.
Quick look: sample size to estimate a proportion (from page 46)
- 95% confidence, ±5% error: z = 1.96, e = 0.05; no prior estimate, so p = q = 0.5.
- n = z²pq / e² = 3.8416 × 0.25 / 0.0025 = 384.16.
- Round up, never down: n = 385 students.
- If N is only 2,000: n = 385 / (1 + 384/2000) ≈ 323 students.
MCA 249 Unit 4: Technical Writing using LaTeX and Citation Management
Unit 4 (pages 55 to 69, 7 sections) covers report writing and report types, then hands-on LaTeX: a minimal research document, equations with \label and \ref, tables, figures, a BibTeX entry and the compile cycle. It ends with citation styles and Zotero vs Mendeley. It has 10 solved short answers, 9 long-answer questions and 7 figures.
| Style | In-text | Reference list order |
|---|---|---|
| APA (author-date) | (Kothari & Garg, 2019) | Alphabetical |
| IEEE (numeric) | [1] | Order of first citation |
| Harvard (author-date) | (Kothari and Garg, 2019) | Alphabetical |
Quick look: TB1 cited in three styles (from page 65)
- Style
- APA (author-date)
- In-text
- (Kothari & Garg, 2019)
- Reference list order
- Alphabetical
- Style
- IEEE (numeric)
- In-text
- [1]
- Reference list order
- Order of first citation
- Style
- Harvard (author-date)
- In-text
- (Kothari and Garg, 2019)
- Reference list order
- Alphabetical
MCA 249 exam corner: 40 short-answer and 36 long-answer questions by unit
Each unit ends with 10 solved short answers and a set of long-answer practice questions; the three numerical long questions are answered too.
| Unit | Short-answer (solved) | Long-answer | Worked numericals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: Research and Hypothesis | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Unit 2: Data Collection and Measurement | 10 | 9 | 1 |
| Unit 3: Sampling and Data Analysis | 10 | 8 | 4 |
| Unit 4: LaTeX and Citation Management | 10 | 9 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 36 | 5 |
MCA 249 exam questions and worked numericals per unit
- Unit
- Unit 1: Research and Hypothesis
- Short-answer (solved)
- 10
- Long-answer
- 10
- Worked numericals
- 0
- Unit
- Unit 2: Data Collection and Measurement
- Short-answer (solved)
- 10
- Long-answer
- 9
- Worked numericals
- 1
- Unit
- Unit 3: Sampling and Data Analysis
- Short-answer (solved)
- 10
- Long-answer
- 8
- Worked numericals
- 4
- Unit
- Unit 4: LaTeX and Citation Management
- Short-answer (solved)
- 10
- Long-answer
- 9
- Worked numericals
- 0
- Unit
- Total
- Short-answer (solved)
- 40
- Long-answer
- 36
- Worked numericals
- 5
The MCA 249 notes solve 40 short-answer questions and list 36 long-answer questions across 4 units, plus 5 worked numericals.
One question per unit, with answer pointers:
- Unit 1: Name the three basic principles of experimental design. Pointer: replication, randomisation, local control; add a computing example for each.
- Unit 2: Distinguish between validity and reliability. Pointer: validity is accuracy, reliability is consistency; a valid tool is reliable, not always the reverse.
- Unit 3: Explain systematic sampling with an example. Pointer: k = N/n; for N = 1,000 and n = 50, k = 20, so a start of 7 gives 7, 27, 47 … 987.
- Unit 4: Differentiate between WYSIWYG and WYSIWYM. Pointer: Word shows final formatting as you type; LaTeX marks structure and formats on compiling.
More practice sits in the MCA 249 important questions.
Who writes and checks the MCA 249 Research Methodology notes?
- Prateek Talwar, author: Founder, Unnati Educations; Associate Company Secretary (ACS), ICSI, membership no. 58704, since 15 May 2019; B.Com, University of Delhi (School of Open Learning), 2012. Author profile
- Ritik Rawat, subject reviewer: Senior Full Stack Developer, Unnati Educations; B.Tech. He checked the Unit 2 metrics and the Unit 4 LaTeX code.
These GGSIPU MCA Sem 3 Research Methodology notes follow the 2025-26 affiliated-institutes scheme and use Kothari's TB1 as the main reference, as the syllabus does. Last updated 14 October 2026; see our editorial policy.
The team also prepares GGSIPU important questions for every course.
How to write MCA 249 answers: definition-led theory answers, comparison tables and step-wise chi-square numericals
Most MCA 249 questions are theory, so the notes build one habit: open with a crisp definition (usually Kothari's), give the parts as a numbered list, then add one computing example. For "Explain hypothesis testing", the tip on page 21 sets the order: H0 and H1, level of significance, the Type I and Type II error table, the six-step flow, one small example.
Comparison questions (primary vs secondary data, questionnaire vs schedule, Zotero vs Mendeley) score better as a 4 to 6 row table than as paragraphs; the unit revision tables give you the rows. For citation management, page 67 asks for both tools' features, a comparison table, the workflow diagram and one APA and one IEEE example.
Numericals need every step. For chi-square, page 52 sets the order: hypotheses, expected-frequency formula, the full O and E table, χ², degrees of freedom, table value, decision and a one-line conclusion in words. For sample size, show the formula, the z value for your confidence level, and round the answer up.
Worked example: classifier metrics (Unit 2, long Q5, page 38)
Given: TP = 45, FP = 5, FN = 15, TN = 35.
- Accuracy = (45 + 35)/100 = 0.80.
- Precision = 45/50 = 0.90.
- Recall = 45/60 = 0.75.
- F1 = 2 × 0.90 × 0.75 / 1.65 = 0.818.
Write the formula, substitute, then say what it means: the model catches 75% of real positives, and 90% of its positive calls are right. That last line is where most students drop marks.
The notes label short answers "2.5 Marks" and long answers "12.5 Marks", but the 2025-26 paper gives 12 marks per long question, so size answers to 12 marks. Practise this format on GGSIPU MCA important questions.
MCA 249 and the GGSIPU MCA Sem 3 papers it connects to
Paired lab: none. MCA 249 is a theory-only open elective; its official topics are in the GGSIPU MCA syllabus.
- Unit 3 sampling and chi-square → MCA-205 Statistics and Data Analytics.
- Unit 2 precision, recall and F1 → MCA-203 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
- Units 1 and 4 (proposal, LaTeX, citations) → MCA-269 Minor Project III and the Sem 4 MCA-202 Dissertation.
- Unit 1 research ethics → MCA-273 Professional Proficiency III (IPR and ethics).
| Group | Papers |
|---|---|
| Core | MCA-201 Design and Analysis of Algorithms; MCA-203 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning |
| Core Elective II | One of MCA-205 to MCA-225 |
| Core Elective III | One of MCA-227 to MCA-247 |
| Open Elective II alternatives | MCA-251 Operational Research; 253 Cyber Security and Cyber Laws; 255 e-Content Development |
| Labs, project, NUES | MCA-261 DAA Lab; 263 AI and ML Lab; 265 and 267 Elective Labs; 269 Minor Project III; 271 Entrepreneurship Mindset; 273 Professional Proficiency III |
Other MCA Semester 3 papers (A.S. 2025-26 scheme)
- Group
- Core
- Papers
- MCA-201 Design and Analysis of Algorithms; MCA-203 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Group
- Core Elective II
- Papers
- One of MCA-205 to MCA-225
- Group
- Core Elective III
- Papers
- One of MCA-227 to MCA-247
- Group
- Open Elective II alternatives
- Papers
- MCA-251 Operational Research; 253 Cyber Security and Cyber Laws; 255 e-Content Development
- Group
- Labs, project, NUES
- Papers
- MCA-261 DAA Lab; 263 AI and ML Lab; 265 and 267 Elective Labs; 269 Minor Project III; 271 Entrepreneurship Mindset; 273 Professional Proficiency III
Chi-square test of association in research data analysis: excerpt from page 51 of the MCA 249 notes
Excerpt from page 51
The question
A survey of 160 students asked which operating system they prefer. Is the preferred OS associated with the programme (UG or PG), or is the difference in the table only due to chance? We test this at the 5% level.
Step 1: State the hypotheses
H0: OS preference is independent of programme. H1: OS preference is associated with programme.
Step 2: Expected frequencies
Each expected frequency is row total × column total ÷ grand total. For UG and Windows: 80 × 80 / 160 = 40. For UG and Linux: 80 × 50 / 160 = 25. For UG and macOS: 80 × 30 / 160 = 15. The PG row has the same expected values (40, 25, 15) because its row total is also 80.
Step 3: Calculate χ²
| Cell | O | E | O − E | (O − E)² / E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UG, Windows | 50 | 40 | 10 | 2.500 |
| UG, Linux | 20 | 25 | −5 | 1.000 |
| UG, macOS | 10 | 15 | −5 | 1.667 |
| PG, Windows | 30 | 40 | −10 | 2.500 |
| PG, Linux | 30 | 25 | 5 | 1.000 |
| PG, macOS | 20 | 15 | 5 | 1.667 |
| Total | 160 | 160 | 0 | χ² = 10.333 |
Chi-square calculation, programme vs OS preference (page 51)
- Cell
- UG, Windows
- O
- 50
- E
- 40
- O − E
- 10
- (O − E)² / E
- 2.500
- Cell
- UG, Linux
- O
- 20
- E
- 25
- O − E
- −5
- (O − E)² / E
- 1.000
- Cell
- UG, macOS
- O
- 10
- E
- 15
- O − E
- −5
- (O − E)² / E
- 1.667
- Cell
- PG, Windows
- O
- 30
- E
- 40
- O − E
- −10
- (O − E)² / E
- 2.500
- Cell
- PG, Linux
- O
- 30
- E
- 25
- O − E
- 5
- (O − E)² / E
- 1.000
- Cell
- PG, macOS
- O
- 20
- E
- 15
- O − E
- 5
- (O − E)² / E
- 1.667
- Cell
- Total
- O
- 160
- E
- 160
- O − E
- 0
- (O − E)² / E
- χ² = 10.333
Step 4: Degrees of freedom and table value
df = (rows − 1)(columns − 1) = (2 − 1)(3 − 1) = 2. The table value of χ² at the 5% level for 2 df is 5.991.
Step 5: Decision and conclusion
The calculated χ² (10.333) is greater than the table value (5.991), so we reject H0. Conclusion in words: there is a significant association between programme (UG or PG) and OS preference. Notice that the test only says an association exists; it does not say how strong it is or that one causes the other.
The same method on a 2 × 2 table
Page 51 then sets up a second case: 200 users tested two app designs, with 70 of 100 succeeding on Design A and 50 of 100 on Design B. The same five steps apply, with df = (2 − 1)(2 − 1) = 1, which makes the 5% table value 3.841.
Do the MCA 249 notes cover the full GGSIPU syllabus?
Almost. Units 2 to 4 are fully covered; Unit 1 has no separate section on "Design and Development Research Methods", though research design is covered.
| Official unit | Official topics | Where in the notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Research meaning, types, process, problems, Design and Development Research Methods, research design, experimental designs, ethics, proposal, questionnaire. Hypothesis testing | Sections 1 to 14, pages 5 to 21 | Partly covered: no section on Design and Development Research Methods |
| II | Data collection. Metrics: throughput to discomfort. Measurement scales, validity, reliability | Sections 1 to 7, pages 25 to 36 | Covered |
| III | Sampling, sample size. Data preparation, univariate analysis, chi-square test of association | Sections 1 to 7, pages 41 to 52 | Covered |
| IV | Report writing, research papers, thesis, project reports, LaTeX. Citations, citation styles, Zotero or Mendeley | Sections 1 to 7, pages 56 to 67 | Covered |
MCA 249 official syllabus mapped to the notes
- Official unit
- I
- Official topics
- Research meaning, types, process, problems, Design and Development Research Methods, research design, experimental designs, ethics, proposal, questionnaire. Hypothesis testing
- Where in the notes
- Sections 1 to 14, pages 5 to 21
- Status
- Partly covered: no section on Design and Development Research Methods
- Official unit
- II
- Official topics
- Data collection. Metrics: throughput to discomfort. Measurement scales, validity, reliability
- Where in the notes
- Sections 1 to 7, pages 25 to 36
- Status
- Covered
- Official unit
- III
- Official topics
- Sampling, sample size. Data preparation, univariate analysis, chi-square test of association
- Where in the notes
- Sections 1 to 7, pages 41 to 52
- Status
- Covered
- Official unit
- IV
- Official topics
- Report writing, research papers, thesis, project reports, LaTeX. Citations, citation styles, Zotero or Mendeley
- Where in the notes
- Sections 1 to 7, pages 56 to 67
- Status
- Covered
Verify in the official MCA syllabus for affiliated institutes, A.S. 2025-26 onwards (ipu.ac.in) (pages 163 to 165).
Extras beyond the list: non-probability sampling and Yates' correction. Every course in GGSIPU notes is mapped to its official PDF the same way.
MCA 249 Research Methodology notes FAQs
How do I get the full MCA 249 notes?
WhatsApp 9899436384 and ask for the MCA 249 notes book. The full notes come only as a 69-page printed book covering all 4 units, not as a PDF. Delivery takes 5 to 7 days at most, depending on your location. You can check a few pages first through the View Sample PDF button.
Is MCA 249 compulsory in GGSIPU MCA Semester 3?
No. MCA 249 is one of four papers in Open Elective II, and you take any one of MCA-249, MCA-251, MCA-253 or MCA-255. The scheme also says an elective needs at least 20 students for classes to run; if fewer join, you complete it through a MOOC platform such as SWAYAM with prior approval, and still sit the institute's evaluation.
What is the passing mark for MCA 249?
MCA 249 is marked out of 100: 40 internal and 60 end-term. The MCA scheme of examination states passing marks as 40%, which is 40 out of 100 for every paper. For any separate end-term minimum and for re-appear rules, follow the university's Ordinance 11, which the MCA scheme says governs the programme. Your institute's notices give the current exam dates.
Which MCA 249 unit has the most numericals?
Unit 3. It holds 4 of the 5 worked numericals in the MCA 249 notes: two sample-size problems (a proportion and a mean) and two chi-square tests (a 2 × 3 table, and a 2 × 2 table also solved with Yates' correction). Unit 2 has the fifth, a spam-filter confusion matrix. Units 1 and 4 are pure theory.
Do the MCA 249 notes include real LaTeX code?
Yes. Unit 4 of the MCA 249 notes shows a minimal research document with title, abstract and citation, numbered equations, table and figure environments, a BibTeX entry for the Kothari textbook and the pdflatex, bibtex, pdflatex, pdflatex compile cycle. It also covers Overleaf, the online editor that needs no installation, and exporting a .bib file from Zotero or Mendeley.
Is there a lab or practical exam for MCA 249?
No. MCA 249 carries 3 lecture hours a week and no tutorial or practical hours, so there is no paired lab. The 60-mark end-term paper has a compulsory 12-mark Q1 plus one 12-mark question from each of the 4 units. Still, try LaTeX on Overleaf once, since Unit 4 questions can ask you to write code.
Get the full MCA 249 Research Methodology Notes on WhatsApp
These are Research Methodology notes in English, sold only as a printed book (no PDF) and posted to you.
| Part | Pages |
|---|---|
| Cover and index | 1-3 (3) |
| Unit 1: Fundamentals of Research and Hypothesis | 4-23 (20) |
| Unit 2: Data Collection, Metrics, Measurement and Scaling | 24-39 (16) |
| Unit 3: Sampling and Data Analysis | 40-54 (15) |
| Unit 4: Technical Writing using LaTeX and Citation Management | 55-69 (15) |
| Total | 69 |
Pages per unit in the MCA 249 notes book
- Part
- Cover and index
- Pages
- 1-3 (3)
- Pages
- 4-23 (20)
- Pages
- 24-39 (16)
- Pages
- 40-54 (15)
- Pages
- 55-69 (15)
- Part
- Total
- Pages
- 69
Delivery: within 5 to 7 days at most; the exact time may vary with your location.
Order the MCA 249 notes book on WhatsApp (4 units, 69 pages)
Unnati Educations is an independent education provider based in Vikaspuri, Delhi. We are not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU). 'GGSIPU' and 'IPU' are used only to describe the syllabus our notes follow. For official information, visit ipu.ac.in.
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