Types of Research - Methodologies and Characteristics

Writing a research paper is essential for your degree. Almost every university or college student is asked to write a research paper for his academics.

A research paper is one of the most difficult forms of writing as it involves extensive research and analysis. Also, a research paper requires extraordinary writing skills to persuade the audience.

Good research papers are written when you know the types of research and methodologies to collect data for those researches.

Continue reading the blog to know everything about the types of research.

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What is Research?

Research is a careful and detailed study regarding a particular problem or a topic using scientific methods. It is an inquiry through which a researcher describes, predicts, explains, and observes a certain problem or phenomenon.

Research is not done for only the scientific subjects and issues, but the non-scientific issues like social issues are also researched. This is the reason that the students of almost every field and discipline are asked to conduct research for their degree.

There are basically two research methods involved in the research; a deductive and an inductive method. An inductive method analyzes an observed problem or an event. In contrast, a deductive method verifies that observed event.

Types of Research

There are different types of research conducted on different subjects and for different purposes. It is important to understand that every topic takes a specific research type. Below are the common types of research.

Let’s discuss them in detail.

• Applied Research

Applied research is the type of research that researches the facts and finds the opportunity for further investigation. This is research based on experiments and applies different concepts and theories to prove and validate the answer offered by fundamental research.

This research type looks for answers and provides suitable solutions to the problem. The two very important parts of this research are case studies and experimental research, without which the applied research can not be possible.

The key components of this research include:

• Applied research aims to study a specific research problem or case with an objective.
• It studies all the minor and major aspects like variables and or data that make a difference.
• This research proposes a possible change.
• It discards and eliminates wrong facts.
• The research is done in common and simple language.

The applied research can further be multiplied into three types; quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research.

• Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a study that is based on numbers, figures, and statistics. In this research type, the quantitative data collected and gathered is in the form of numbers, graphs, and tables. The collected data is then studied to come up with results.

This is a conclusive form of research. The results obtained through this research can be replicated and measured. This type of research is conducted for scientific subjects and research-based field subjects.

The data collected for this research is from:

• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Polls

• Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is a research type that is based on theories and the quality of the data. This research deals with the descriptions, and the chosen issue is referred to as the previous studies and researches.

The basic purpose of this research is to investigate and explain a specific question. Qualitative research includes the following qualitative methods to gather data:

• Case Studies
• Interviews
• Ethnographic research
• Focused groups

• Mixed Research

This research is the blend of both techniques; qualitative and quantitative. Each qualitative and quantitative research has limitations but by bringing the best of both the researches, more targeted results are achieved.

In this research type, the analysis is made using mixed methods on both the numerical data and the theoretical concepts.

• Action Research

Action research is a research type that analyzes, evaluates, and investigates institutional and organizational methods. This is done to examine if the existing methods of data collection need any betterment and improvement.

This kind of research is mostly done by the instructors and educators to self examine the learning techniques and teaching methods used. This research aims to improve the system and methodologies used within the system.

• Descriptive Research

Descriptive research is similar to a descriptive essay . Just as the essay describes an event, the research describes an event and phenomenon as well. The main research question under this research is studied and the causes and reasons behind it.

The number of people in the sample population is studied in detail under this research type. The objectives of this research are to explain and describe a phenomenon and validate the findings.

The major reason descriptive research takes place is to describe affairs or situations that exist in the present. In this type of research, a researcher doesn’t have any control over the variables and reports the happenings.

• Exploratory Research

This is the research type in which a problem or a topic is researched because there were no clear studies present before regarding the issue. This research demands priorities creates an operational definition, and provides a better research model than the existing one.

It mainly focuses on explaining the study of the literature in detail and an in-depth interview of the focus group of people. It can include exploring a new phenomenon or concept by studying it in-depth.

Exploratory research mainly focuses on explaining the study of the literature in detail and an in-depth interview of the focus group of people. It can include exploring a new phenomenon or concept by studying in-depth.

Exploratory research never provides you with a conclusive answer to the research question. But this research type explores the topic on another level. In other words, it can be said that exploratory research is a basic or initial stage of research. Exploratory research, being conclusive research, help in sampling method, research design, and data collection.

Moreover, it helps you to draw conclusions from the research design. Also, it is different from explanatory research.

• Policy-Oriented Research

Policy-oriented research is a type of research that studies the issues faced by the public and aims to solve these issues using diferent methods. This research informs and understands the prevailing public issues that will help in decision-making.

The useful policies and implementation of the changes can be done through this research type. It is social-scientific research.

• Basic Research

Basic or fundamental research is a simple investigation that a person does on the basic principles or concepts. That is involved in the occurrence of a particular issue, event, or phenomenon. This research is also known as theoretical research.

Concepts and ideas related to science are studied and examined using this research type. Basic research does the following things:

• It searches for generalized information and ideas.
• Use basic methods and processes.
• Explain the basic reasons behind an event
• Gathers as much information and data as possible

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Purpose and Characteristics of Research

Research is conducted for a lot of purposes. It is done through the consideration of the rules, concepts, and research design. If doing it for academics, the purpose of writing a research paper can include the analysis of your writing and evaluating skills.

No matter which type of research paper you are writing, the basics remain the same. Even the purpose of writing a research paper is the same for every paper type.

The general purposes of the research are answering questions like:

• What are the organizations and businesses striving to find out?
• What arguments should be built on the chosen concept?
• What are the facts and evidence that will make your audience believe you?
• What are the processes and methods involved in chasing an idea successfully?

Research has some characteristics that differ from other forms of writing. These characteristics include:

• For the data collection for the research paper, a systematic approach is needed
• Your research is based only on logical and strong reasons. Both deductive and inductive reasoning can be done in research.
• Data should be deeply analyzed and gather at single and several points in time.
• Your research should be opening a new path of questions
• Your research should be accurate and reliable.
• Your research should contain causal relationships

It is no doubt a daunting job to conduct research. But if you know which type of research you are being asked to conduct and what are the methodologies used to gather data for the research, it becomes easier.

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