TYPES OF RESEARCH Descriptive research (Statistical research) Descriptive research, also known as statistical research, describes data and

d characteristics about the population or phenomenon being studied. But it can only describe the "who, what, when, where and how" of a situation Although the data description is factual, accurate and systematic, the research cannot describe what caused a situation. Thus, Descriptive research cannot be used to create a causal relationship, where one variable affects another. It provides the number of times something occurs, or frequency, lends itself to statistical calculations such as determining the average number of occurrences or central tendencies. There are three main types of descriptive methods: observational methods (With the observational method (sometimes referred to as field observation) animal and human behavior is closely observed. There are two main categories of the observational method naturalistic observation and laboratory observation), case-study methods (Case study research involves an in-depth study of an individual or group of individuals. Case studies often lead to testable hypotheses and allow us to study rare phenomena) and survey methods (In survey method research, participants answer questions administered through interviews or questionnaires. After participants answer the questions, researchers describe the responses given) For example, what age group is buying a particular brand, a products market share within a certain industry, how many competitors a company faces, etc Exploratory research Exploratory research is a form of research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined. It allows the researcher to familiarize him/herself with the problem or concept to be studied, and perhaps generate hypotheses (definition of hypothesis) to be tested. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects. Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot studies

 The results of exploratory research are not usually useful for decisionmaking by themselves, but they can provide significant insight into a given situation. Although the results of qualitative research can give some indication as to the "why", "how" and "when" something occurs, it cannot tell us "how often" or "how many". In other words, the results can neither be generalized; they are not representative of the whole population being studied. For instance, a marketer has heard news reports about a new Internet technology that is helping competitors but the marketer is not familiar with the technology and needs to do research to learn more. When gaining insight (i.e., discovery) on an issue is the primary goal, exploratory research is used. Causal Research: In this form of research the marketer tries to determine if the manipulation of one variable, called the independent variable, affects another variable, called the dependent variable. i.e. whether there is a cause and effect relationship between variables, causal research must be undertaken. In essence, the marketer is conducting an experiment. This type of research is very complex and the researcher can never be completely certain that there are not other factors influencing the causal relationship, especially when dealing with peoples attitudes and motivations. There are often much deeper psychological considerations that even the respondent may not be aware of. There are two research methods for exploring the cause and effect relationship between variables: Experimentation (highly controlled method allows the researcher to manipulate a specific independent variable in order to determine what effect this manipulation would have on other dependent variables. Experimentation also calls for a control group as well as an experimentation group, and subjects would be assigned randomly to either group)and Simulation (A sophisticated set of mathematical formula are used to simulate or imitate a real life situation. By changing one variable in the equation, it is possible to determine the effect on the other variables in the equation) For example, if a clothing company currently sells blue denim jeans, causal research can measure the impact of the company changing the product design to the colour white. To summarize, causal research is a way of seeing how actions now will affect a business in the future. Analytical research Analytical research attempts to explain why and how. It usually concerns itself with causeeffect relationships among variables. The

researcher has to use facts or information that is already available and attempts to analyze the situation and make critical evaluation. Basic Research Basic (aka fundamental or pure) research is driven by a scientist's curiosity or interest in a scientific question. The main motivation is to expand man's knowledge, not to create or invent something. There is no obvious commercial value to the discoveries that result from basic research. Many scientists believe that basic research lays the foundation for the applied research that follows. For example, much basic research has been conducted with animals to determine principles of reinforcement and their effect on learning. Applied Research has tested these principles to determine their effectiveness in improving learning. Applied Research: Applied research is designed to solve practical problems of the modern world, rather than to acquire knowledge for knowledge's sake. One might say that the goal of the applied scientist is to improve the human condition. An example of applied research could be a study to find out how the school feeding programme has affected school enrolment rates in drought-prone districts. 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. Conceptual Research Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones. Conceptual analysis is the preferred method of analysis in social sciences and philosophy. Here, a researcher breaks down a theorem or concept into its constituent parts to gain a better understanding of the deeper philosophical issue concerning the theorem. This method of analysis has gained immense popularity; in spite of that, there is a lot of criticism against it. Most researchers will agree that conceptual analysis is a very accurate and useful method for analysis, but should be used along with other analysis methods to get results that are more accurate.

 For example, if you say "Computer games sharpen children's minds" expresses a belief about a causal relationship at a conceptual level. Empirical Research Empirical Research can be defined as "research based on experimentation or observation (evidence)". Such research is conducted to test a hypothesis. Empirical research relies on experience or involves observation alone, often without due regard for system and theory. It is a data-based research, with analyses coming up with conclusions, which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment. We can also call it as experimental type of research. In such a research it is necessary to get at facts at the firsthand, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to usually stimulate the production of the desired information. In such a research, the researcher must first provide himself with a working hypothesis or guess as to the probable results. He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or disprove his hypothesis. Empirical evidence (the record of one's direct observations or experiences) can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively. Examples of Empirical Research Questions: Do gun control laws reduce violent crimes?, Are police officers compensated for working in higherrisk environments? Cross-sectional study Form a class of research methods that involve observation of all of a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time. Cross-sectional studies are descriptive studies (neither longitudinal nor experimental) not causal. They may be used to describe some feature of the population. Researchers record information about their subjects without manipulating the study environment. The defining feature of a crosssectional study is that it can compare different population groups at a single point in time. Think of it in terms of taking a snapshot. Findings are drawn from whatever fits into the frame. In our study, we would simply measure the cholesterol levels of daily walkers and non-walkers along with any other characteristics that might be of interest to us. We would not influence non-walkers to take up that activity, or advise daily walkers to modify their behaviour. In short, wed try not to interfere. The benefit of a cross-sectional study design is that it allows researchers to compare many different variables at the same time. We

could, for example, look at age, gender, income and educational level in relation to walking and cholesterol levels, with little or no additional cost. However, cross-sectional studies may not provide definite information about cause-and-effect relationships. This is because such studies offer a snapshot of a single moment in time; they do not consider what happens before or after the snapshot is taken. Therefore, we cant know for sure if our daily walkers had low cholesterol levels before taking up their exercise regimes, or if the behaviour of daily walking helped to reduce cholesterol levels that previously were high. Longitudinal study A longitudinal study, like a cross-sectional one, is observational. So, once again, researchers do not interfere with their subjects. However, in a longitudinal study, researchers conduct several observations of the same subjects over a period of time, sometimes lasting many years. The benefit of a longitudinal study is that researchers are able to detect developments or changes in the characteristics of the target population at both the group and the individual level. The key here is that longitudinal studies extend beyond a single moment in time. As a result, they can establish sequences of events. To return to our example, we might choose to look at the change in cholesterol levels among women over 40 who walk daily for a period of 20 years. The longitudinal study design would account for cholesterol levels at the onset of a walking regime and as the walking behaviour continued over time. Therefore, a longitudinal study is more likely to suggest cause-and-effect relationships than a cross-sectional study by virtue of its scope. Qualitative & Quantitative Research Qualitative "All research ultimately has a qualitative grounding" - Donald Campbell The aim is a complete, detailed description. Researcher may only know roughly in advance what he/she is looking for. Quantitative "There's no such thing as qualitative data. Everything is either 1 or 0" - Fred Kerlinger The aim is to classify features, count them, and construct statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed. Researcher knows clearly in advance what he/she is looking for.

Recommended during earlier phases of research projects. The design emerges as the study unfolds. Researcher is the data gathering instrument. Data is in the form of words, pictures or objects. Subjective individuals interpretation of events is important ,e.g., uses participant observation, in-depth interviews etc. Qualitative data is more 'rich', time consuming, and less able to be generalized. Researcher tends to become subjectively immersed in the subject matter.

Recommended during latter phases of research projects. All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected. Researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or equipment to collect numerical data. Data is in the form of numbers and statistics. Objective seeks precise measurement & analysis of target concepts, e.g., uses surveys, questionnaires etc. Quantitative data is more efficient, able to test hypotheses, but may miss contextual detail. Researcher tends to remain objectively separated from the subject matter.