Types of research, Research methodology| Lecture 2

By Zahra Javeed ( BS Biochemistry )

Types of research, Research methodology| Lecture 2

Research:

Means “ re”,” finding”. The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Types of research:

There are basic two types of research

1.      Basic or fundamental research

2.      Applied research

1. Fundamental or basic research

Basic research is a study on basic principles and reasons for occurrence of a particular event or process or phenomenon. It is also called theoretical research. Study or investigation of some natural phenomenon or relating to pure science are known  as basic research. Basic researches sometimes may not lead to immediate use or application. It is original or basic in character. It provides a systematic and deep insight into a problem and facilitates extraction of scientific and logical explanation and conclusion on it. It helps build new frontiers of knowledge. The outcomes of basic research form the basis for many applied research.

Basic research

• Seeks generalization
• Aims at basic processes
• Attempts to explain why things happen
• Tries to get all the facts
• Reports in technical language of the topic

2. Applied research:

In an applied research one solves certain problems employing well known and accepted theories and principles. Most of the experimental research, case studies and inter-disciplinary research are basically applied research. Applied research is helpful for basic research. A research, the outcome of which has immediate application is also termed as applied research. Such a research is of practical use to current activity.

Applied research

• Studies individual or specific cases without the objective to generalize
• Aims at any variable which makes the desired difference
• Tries to say how things can be changed
• Tries to correct the facts which are problematic
• Reports in common language

Basic and applied research, further divided into three types of research bearing some characteristics feature as follows:

1.     Quantitative research

• It is numerical, non-descriptive, applies statistics or mathematics and uses numbers.
• It is an iterative process whereby verification is evaluated.
• The results are often presented in tables and graphs.
• It is conclusive.
• It investigates the what, where and when of decision making.

2.     Qualitative research

• It is non-numerical, descriptive, applies reasoning and uses words.
• Its aim is to get the meaning, feeling and describe the situation.
• Qualitative data cannot be graphed.
• It is exploratory.
• It investigates the why and how of decision making.

3.     Mixed research

Mixed research- research that involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or paradigm characteristics. Nature of data is mixture of variables, words and images.

The other types of research are as following:

1.   Descriptive

2.  Explanatory

3.  Exploratory

4.  Cross-sectional

5.  Action

6.  Policy

7.  Cooperative

8.  Casual

9.  Theory testing

10.Theory building

1. Descriptive method

Descriptive studies are used to describe the behavior of a sample population. In a descriptive study, only one variable is required to conduct the study. The three main purposes of descriptive research are describing, explaining, and validating the findings.it deals with the problems having the questions like how ,why,when etc, e.g why a patient has disease of diabetes?

2. Explanatory

Explanatory research or causal research is conducted to understand the impact of certain changes in existing standard procedures. Conducting experiments is the most popular form of casual research. For example, a study conducted to understand the effect of a drug on a disease.

3. Exploratory

As the name suggests, exploratory research is conducted to explore a group of questions. The answers and analytics may not offer a final conclusion to the perceived problem. It is conducted to handle new problem areas which haven’t been explored before. This exploratory process lays the foundation for more conclusive research and data collection.

4. Cross-sectional Research

One-shot or cross-sectional studies are those in which data is gathered once, during a period of days, weeks or months. Many cross-sectional studies are exploratory or descriptive in purpose. They are designed to look at how things are now, without any sense of whether there is a history or trend at work.e.g If we have to find participants in the population the probability of finding the participant is same in a particular time.

5. Action research

In this we find the fact about the problem. Fact findings to improve the quality of action in the social world. E.g finding the fact about  why sun rise from the east?

6. Policy

In this type we form a policy to resolve the problem. Reports employing this type of research focus on the question ‘How can problem ‘X’ be solved or prevented ?’

7. Comparative research

To identify similarities and differences between units at all levels, e.g research in areas where private for-profit businesses don't see sufficient profit potential

8. Causal research

It aims at establishing cause and effect relationship among variable.e.g study of the causes of COVID-19 and the effects of this on humans.

9. Theory-testing research

It aims at testing validity of a unit.e.g If a scientist gives a hypothesis about any fact he will use this type of research to prove his hypothesis.

10. Theory-building research

To establish and formulate the theory, e.g in previous example he will build his theory after testing his hypothesis about any fact.