Research Methodology - Introduction
Types Of Research
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There are different types of research. The basic ones are as follows.
Types Of Research:
There are different types of research. The basic ones are as follows.
Descriptive research consists of surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different types. The main objective of descriptive research is describing the state of affairs as it prevails at the time of study. The term ‘ex post facto research’ is quite often used for descriptive research studies in social sciences and business research. The most distinguishing feature of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables here. He/she has to only report what is happening or what has happened. Majority of the ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the researcher attempts to examine phenomena, such as the consumers’ preferences, frequency of purchases, shopping, etc. Despite the inability of the researchers to control the variables, ex post facto studies may also comprise attempts by them to discover the causes of the selected problem. The methods of research adopted in conducting descriptive research are survey methods of all kinds, including correlational and comparative methods.
Meanwhile in the Analytical
research, the researcher has to use the already available facts or information,
and analyse them to make a critical evaluation of the subject.
Research can also be applied or fundamental in nature. An attempt to find a solution to an immediate problem encountered by a firm, an industry, a business organisation, or the society is known as applied research. Researchers engaged in such researches aim at drawing certain conclusions confronting a concrete social or business problem.
On the other hand, fundamental research mainly concerns generalizations and formulation of a theory. In other words, “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research” (Young in Kothari, 1988). Researches relating to pure mathematics or concerning some natural phenomenon are instances of Fundamental Research. Likewise, studies focusing on human behaviour also fall under the category of fundamental research.
Thus, while the principal objective of applied research is to find a solution to some pressing practical problem, the objective of basic research is to find information with a broad base of application and add to the already existing organized body of scientific knowledge.
Quantitative research relates to aspects that can be quantified or can be expressed in terms of quantity. It involves the measurement of quantity or amount. Various available statistical and econometric methods are adopted for analysis in such research. Which includes correlation, regressions and time series analysis etc,.
On the other hand, Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomena, or more specifically, the aspects related to or involving quality or kind. For example, an important type of qualitative research is ‘Motivation Research’, which investigates into the reasons for certain human behaviour. The main aim of this type of research is discovering the underlying motives and desires of human beings by using in-depth interviews. The other techniques employed in such research are story completion tests, sentence completion tests, word association tests, and other similar projective methods. Qualitative research is particularly significant in the context of behavioural sciences, which aim at discovering the underlying motives of human behaviour. Such research helps to analyse the various factors that motivate human beings to behave in a certain manner, besides contributing to an understanding of what makes individuals like or dislike a particular thing. However, it is worth noting that conducting qualitative research in practice is considerably a difficult task. Hence, while undertaking such research, seeking guidance from experienced expert researchers is important.
The research related to some abstract
idea or theory is known as Conceptual Research. Generally, philosophers and
thinkers use it for developing new concepts or for reinterpreting the existing
ones. Empirical Research, on the other hand, exclusively relies on the
observation or experience with hardly any regard for theory and system. Such
research is data based, which often comes up with conclusions that can be
verified through experiments or observation. Empirical research is also known
as experimental type of research, in which it is important to first collect the
facts and their sources, and actively take steps to stimulate the production of
desired information. In this type of research, the researcher first formulates
a working hypothesis, and then gathers sufficient facts to prove or disprove
the stated hypothesis. He/she formulates the experimental design, which
according to him/her would manipulate the variables, so as to obtain the
desired information. This type of research is thus characterized by the
researcher’s control over the variables under study. In simple term, empirical
research is most appropriate when an attempt is made to prove that certain
variables influence the other variables in some way. Therefore, the results
obtained by using the experimental or empirical studies are considered to be
the most powerful evidences for a given hypothesis.
The remaining types of research are variations of one or more of the
afore-mentioned type of research. They vary in terms of the purpose of
research, or the time required to complete it, or may be based on some other similar factor. On the basis of time,
research may either be in the nature of one-time or longitudinal time series
research. While the research is restricted to a single time-period in the former
case, it is conducted over several time-periods in the latter case. Depending
upon the environment in which the research is to be conducted, it can also be
laboratory research or field-setting research, or simulation research, besides
being diagnostic or clinical in nature. Under such research, in-depth
approaches or case study method may be employed to analyse the basic causal
relations. These studies usually undertake a detailed in-depth analysis of the
causes of certain events of interest, and use very small samples and sharp data
collection methods. The research may also be explanatory in nature. Formalized
research studies consist of substantial structure and specific hypotheses to be
verified. As regards to historical research, sources like historical documents,
remains, etc. Are utilized to study past events or ideas. It also includes
philosophy of persons and groups of the past or any remote point of time.
There are different types of research. The basic ones are as follows.
Descriptive Versus Analytical
Descriptive research consists of surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different types. The main objective of descriptive research is describing the state of affairs as it prevails at the time of study. The term ‘ex post facto research’ is quite often used for descriptive research studies in social sciences and business research. The most distinguishing feature of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables here. He/she has to only report what is happening or what has happened. Majority of the ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the researcher attempts to examine phenomena, such as the consumers’ preferences, frequency of purchases, shopping, etc. Despite the inability of the researchers to control the variables, ex post facto studies may also comprise attempts by them to discover the causes of the selected problem. The methods of research adopted in conducting descriptive research are survey methods of all kinds, including correlational and comparative methods.
Applied Versus Fundamental
Research can also be applied or fundamental in nature. An attempt to find a solution to an immediate problem encountered by a firm, an industry, a business organisation, or the society is known as applied research. Researchers engaged in such researches aim at drawing certain conclusions confronting a concrete social or business problem.
On the other hand, fundamental research mainly concerns generalizations and formulation of a theory. In other words, “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research” (Young in Kothari, 1988). Researches relating to pure mathematics or concerning some natural phenomenon are instances of Fundamental Research. Likewise, studies focusing on human behaviour also fall under the category of fundamental research.
Thus, while the principal objective of applied research is to find a solution to some pressing practical problem, the objective of basic research is to find information with a broad base of application and add to the already existing organized body of scientific knowledge.
Quantitative Versus Qualitative
Quantitative research relates to aspects that can be quantified or can be expressed in terms of quantity. It involves the measurement of quantity or amount. Various available statistical and econometric methods are adopted for analysis in such research. Which includes correlation, regressions and time series analysis etc,.
On the other hand, Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomena, or more specifically, the aspects related to or involving quality or kind. For example, an important type of qualitative research is ‘Motivation Research’, which investigates into the reasons for certain human behaviour. The main aim of this type of research is discovering the underlying motives and desires of human beings by using in-depth interviews. The other techniques employed in such research are story completion tests, sentence completion tests, word association tests, and other similar projective methods. Qualitative research is particularly significant in the context of behavioural sciences, which aim at discovering the underlying motives of human behaviour. Such research helps to analyse the various factors that motivate human beings to behave in a certain manner, besides contributing to an understanding of what makes individuals like or dislike a particular thing. However, it is worth noting that conducting qualitative research in practice is considerably a difficult task. Hence, while undertaking such research, seeking guidance from experienced expert researchers is important.
Conceptual Versus Empirical
Other Types Of Research
Research has also been classified
into decision-oriented and conclusion-oriented categories. The
decision-oriented research is always carried out as per the need of a decision
maker and hence, the researcher has no freedom to conduct the research
according to his/her own desires. On the other hand, in the case of
Conclusion-oriented research, the researcher is free to choose the problem,
redesign the enquiry as it progresses and even change conceptualization as
he/she wishes to. Operations research is a kind of decision-oriented research,
where in scientific method is used in providing the departments, a quantitative
basis for decision-making with respect to the activities under their purview.
Tags : Research Methodology - Introduction
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