Types of Research Methodology l Different Types of Research l Types of Research l BS English Research Methodology l MA English Research Methodology

Different Types of Research
Research is the process of carefully studying a subject or issue in order to generate new knowledge. It is done using recognized methods.
A crucial tool for scientific advancement allows researchers to test or reject hypotheses based on clearly defined parameters, settings, and assumptions. The fact that research can thus be verified and repeated allows us to reliably contribute the knowledge we have.

Knowledge of the various types of research and the emphasis of each may help you organize your project more efficiently, use the most appropriate methodologies and approaches and communicate your findings, among other things, more successfully to other researchers and supervisors.

Classification of Research

Each research kind is categorized based on its goal, depth of investigation, data analysis, and time needed to investigate the phenomena. A research endeavor will generally employ many types of research, not just one.

i. Theoretical Research

Research that is purely theoretical, often known as pure or fundamental research, seeks to generate new information. Data gathering is used to create new general ideas or to address a theoretical research issue.

They are typically based on the documentary study, mathematical formula creation, and high-level researcher contemplation.

So, for example, a philosophical dissertation that aims to create new ideas from current facts without addressing how the results might be used or implemented.

ii. Applied Research

The aim is to identify methods to solve a particular research issue. Applied research is widely used in STEM disciplines such as engineering, computer science, and medicine.

There are two kinds of research:

Technological applied research: It aims to enhance efficiency in a specific producing sector by enhancing processes or equipment.

Applied scientific research: It predicts, using this study methodology, we can anticipate consumer behaviour and the feasibility of commercial initiatives.

For example, Market research may be used to create new goods and marketing campaigns based on consumption trends.

Note:  Applied research is often based on theoretical research findings.

In reality, most research projects begin by defining the area of study and identifying potential hypotheses that might be investigated or used to address the project's particular issue.

iii. Exploratory research 

Exploratory research is utilised for the exploratory study of a topic that is not yet fully understood or adequately studied. It helps to create a frame of reference and a hypothesis from which in-depth research may be built that will allow compelling findings to be produced.

Because exploratory research is focused on the study of little-studied phenomena, it depends less on theory and more on the gathering of data to find patterns that explain these occurrences.

For example, a study of the function of social media in the sense of self-image.

iv. Descriptive Research 

The main goal of descriptive research is to describe the features of phenomena without exploring their causes. In this kind of study, the researcher must avoid interfering with the observed item or event, since this may alter its behaviour.

For example The public census of important government officials in urban and rural regions.

v. Explanatory Study

Explanatory study establishes cause-and-effect connections that enable generalisations to be extended to comparable realities. However, it offers extra information about the seen item and its interactions with the surroundings.

For example: Investigating the brittleness of a particular material under compression.

vi. Correlation Research

It is a kind of research that looks at how things are related to one another.

The goal of this kind of scientific investigation is to determine the nature of the connection between two or more different variables. In order to establish whether or not variable changes, it is necessary to first know how much the other components of the observed system change.

vii. Qualitative Research

Discourse analysis, interviews, surveys, records, and participant observations are all examples of qualitative approaches used in the social sciences to gather, compare, and analyse data.

To utilise statistical techniques to verify their findings, the data must be quantitatively assessed. Qualitative research is subjective since not all data can be controlled. In this way, this kind of study methodology is more suited to understanding an event's significance (the "why") than its causes (the "how").

For example, sleep deprivation and mood.

viii. Quantitative Research

Measurements are made using mathematical, statistical, and computer-aided techniques in quantitative research studies. This enables long-term projections.

For example: Conducting a computer simulation on the effects of car strikes, for example, may be used to gather quantifiable data.

ix. Experimental Research 

It concerns developing or reproducing phenomena whose variables are changed under tightly controlled circumstances such that their impact on another independent variable or item is identified or discovered. The phenomena to be investigated is assessed by groups of studies and controls and by scientific procedure standards.

For example: randomized controlled trial studies to measure the efficacy of novel human pharmaceuticals.

x.Non-Experimental Research These studies are referred to as observational research since they examine events in their natural environment. The researcher does not directly intervene, but rather assesses the factors needed for the study. It is often used in descriptive research due to its observational nature.

For example: A non-experimental study on the effects of particular chemical substances on a given demographic group is one example.