Project

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Types of Research

How do we know something exists? There are a numbers of ways of knowing…

-Sensory Experience

-Agreement with others

-Expert Opinion

-Logic

-Scientific Method (we’re using this one)

The Scientific Process (replicable)

Identify a problem

Clarify the problem

Determine what data would help solve the problem

Organize the data

Interpret the results

General Types of Educational Research

Descriptive — survey, historical, content analysis, qualitative (ethnographic, narrative,

phenomenological, grounded theory, and case study)

Associational — correlational, causal-comparative

Intervention — experimental, quasi-experimental, action research (sort of)

Researchers Sometimes Have a Category Called Group Comparison

Ex Post Facto (Causal-Comparative): GROUPS ARE ALREADY FORMED

Experimental: RANDOM ASSIGNMENT OF INDIVIDUALS

Quasi-Experimental: RANDOM ASSIGNMENT OF GROUPS (oversimplified, but fine for now)

General Format of a Research Publication

Background of the Problem (ending with a problem statement) — Why is this important to
study? What is the problem being investigated?

Review of Literature — What do we already know about this problem or situation?

Methodology (participants, instruments, procedures) — How was the study conducted? Who
were the participants? What data were collected and how?

Analysis — What are the results? What did the data indicate?
Results — What are the implications of these results? How do they agree or disagree with
previous research? What do we still need to learn? What are the limitations of this study?

Types of Research Methods

Business research methods can be defined as “a systematic ad scientific procedure of data

collection, compilation, analysis, interpretation, and implication pertaining to any business
problem”[1]. Types of research methods can be classified into several categories according
to the nature and purpose of the study and other attributes. In methodology chapter of your
dissertation, you are expected to specify and discuss the type of your research according to the
following classifications.

General Classification of Types of Research Methods

Types of research methods can be broadly divided into

two quantitative and qualitative categories.

Quantitative research “describes, infers, and resolves problems using numbers. Emphasis

is placed on the collection of numerical data, the summary of those data and the drawing of
inferences from the data”[2].

Qualitative research, on the other hand, is based on words, feelings, emotions, sounds and other
non-numerical and unquantifiable elements. It has been noted that “information is considered
qualitative in nature if it cannot be analysed by means of mathematical techniques. This
characteristic may also mean that an incident does not take place often enough to allow reliable
data to be collected”[3]

Types of Research Methods According to Nature of the Study

Types of the research methods according to the nature of research can be divided into two
groups: descriptive and analytical. Descriptive research usually involves surveys and studies that
aim to identify the facts. In other words, descriptive research mainly deals with the “description
of the state of affairs as it is at present”[4], and there is no control over variables in descriptive
research.

Analytical research, on the other hand, is fundamentally different in a way that “the researcher
has to use facts or information already available and analyse these in order to make a critical
evaluation of the material”.[5]
Types of Research Methods According to the Purpose of the Study

According to the purpose of the study, types of research methods can be divided into two
categories: applied research and fundamental research. Applied research is also referred to as
an action research, and the fundamental research is sometimes called basic or pure research.
The table below summarizes the main differences between applied research and fundamental
research.[6] Similarities between applied and fundamental (basic) research relate to the
adoption of a systematic and scientific procedure to conduct the study.[7]

When you start planning a research project, developing research questions and creating

a research design, you will have to make various decisions about the type of research you want
to do.

There are many ways to categorize different types of research. The words you use to describe
your research depend on your discipline and field. In general, though, the form your research
design takes will be shaped by:

The type of knowledge you aim to produce

The type of data you will collect and analyze

The sampling methods, timescale and location of the research

This article takes a look at some common distinctions made between different types of
research and outlines the key differences between them.

What is Research: Definition

A careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or problem using scientific

methods. According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “Research is a systematic
inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed phenomenon. Research involves
inductive and deductive methods.”

Inductive research methods are used to analyze an observed event. Deductive methods are used
to verify the observed event. Inductive approaches are associated with qualitative research and
deductive methods are more commonly associated with quantitative research.

Research is conducted with a purpose to understand:

What do organizations or businesses really want to find out?

What are the processes that need to be followed to chase the idea?

What are the arguments that need to be built around a concept?

What is the evidence that will be required for people to believe in the idea or concept?