Types of research

Researchers have different worldviews or belief systems which guide them in their research, this influences the decisions they make about how to conduct their studies, what counts as valid knowledge, what is the right way to obtain that knowledge, how it should be analysed (e.g. using quantitative or qualitative based methods), there are various ways to conducting research.

The difference between research and other ways of obtaining answers to questions is that in a process that is classified as research, you work within a framework of a set of philosophies, use methods that have been tested for validity and reliability, and attempt to be unbiased and objective.

Types of research can be looked at from three different perspectives :

1. Applications of the findings of the research study;
2. Objectives of the study;
3. Mode of inquiry used in conducting the study;

There are two broad categories of research based on its applications pure research and applied research.

Pure research ( also called basic research) involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future. The main motivation is to expand man’s knowledge, not to create or invent something. Many scientists believe that basic research lays the foundation for the applied research that follows.

Applied research is designed to solve practical problems of the society. It can be argued that the goal of applied research is to improve the human condition.

Applied research is increasingly gaining favour as it is helps to address the problems facing the world today such as overpopulation, pollution, depletion of natural resources, drought, floods, declining moral standards and disease. Action research is a unique form of applied research. Action implies that the practitioner is involved in the collection of data, analysis, and the interpretation of results. He or she is also involved in implementing results of the research and is thus well placed to judge the effectiveness of the interventions.

If you examine a research study from the perspective of its objectives, broadly a research endeavour can be classified as descriptive, correlational, explanatory or exploratory.

A research study classified as a descriptive study attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or programme,Its main characteristic is that the researcher has no control over the variables, He only reports the situation as it is at the time.

In a correlational study the aim is to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/ association between two or more aspects of a situation. 

Explanatory research attempts to clarify why and how there is a relationship between two aspects of a situation. Here the researcher begins with ideas about the possible causes of a phenomenon, then plans a study that can provide systematic evidence supporting (or not supporting) these initial ideas about cause.

Whereas Exploratory research is when a study is undertaken with the objective either to explore an area where little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study.

The third perspective in research typology concerns the process you adopt to find answers to your research questions, the structured  approach to inquiry is usually classified as quantitative research and the unstructured as qualitative research. 

Qualitative research deals with designs techniques and measure that do not produce discrete numerical data. It involves extensive narrative data in order to gains insights into phenomena. Data analysis includes the coding of the data and production of verbal synthesis (inductive process). Examples include historical research, ethnographic research, participant observational research and the case study.

Quantitative research includes designs, techniques and measures that produce discrete numerical or quantifiable data. Data analysis is mainly statistical (deductive process).

Although, theoretically, a research study can be classified in one of the above objectives–perspective, inquiry mode categories, in practice, most studies are a combination of all of them.

References:

Wikieducator
Alzheimer-europe
KUMAR, R. 2010. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners, Sage Publications Ltd.