Specific research

SPECIFIC RESEARCH is a method used when gathering primary information for a market survey where targeted customers / consumers are asked very specific and in-depth questions geared toward resolving problems found through prior exploratory research.

Empirical evidence:
Empirical evidence (also empirical data, sense experience, empirical knowledge, or the a posteriori) is a source of knowledge acquired by means of observation or experimentation.[1] Empirical evidence is information that justifies a belief in the truth or falsity of an empirical claim. In the empiricist view, one can only claim to have knowledge when one has a true belief based on empirical evidence. This stands in contrast to the rationalist view under which reason or reflection alone is considered to be evidence for the truth or falsity of some propositions.[2] The senses are the primary source of empirical evidence. Although other sources of evidence, such as memory, and the testimony of others ultimately trace back to some sensory experience, they are considered to be secondary, or indirect.[2] In another sense, empirical evidence may be synonymous with the outcome of an experiment. In this sense, an empirical result is a unified confirmation.

QUALITATIVE VERSUS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative Research
To understand & interpret social interactions. Smaller & not randomly selected. Study of the whole, not variables. Words, images, or objects. Qualitative data such as open- ended responses, interviews, participant observations, field notes, & reflections. Identify patterns, features, themes. Subjectivity is expected. Researcher & their biases may be known to participants in the study, & participant characteristics may be known to the researcher. Particular or specialized findings that is less generalizable.

criteria
Purpose Group Studied Variables Type of Data Collected Form of Data Collected

Quantitative Research
To test hypotheses, look at cause & effect, & make predictions. Larger & randomly selected. Specific variables studied Numbers and statistics. Quantitative data based on precise measurements using structured & validated data-collection instruments. Identify statistical relationships. Objectivity is critical. Researcher & their biases are not known to participants in the study, & participant characteristics are deliberately hidden from the researcher (double blind studies). Generalizable findings that can be applied to other populations.

Type of Data Analysis Objectivity and Subjectivity Role of Researcher

Results

Scientific Method

View of Human Behavior Most Common Research Objectives Focus Nature of Observation Nature of Reality Final Report

Exploratory or bottomup: the researcher generates a new hypothesis and theory from the data collected. Dynamic, situational, social, & personal. Explore, discover, & construct. Wide-angle lens; examines the breadth & depth of phenomena. Study behavior in a natural environment. Multiple realities; subjective. Narrative report with contextual description & direct quotations from research participants.

Confirmatory or top-down: the researcher tests the hypothesis and theory with the data. Regular & predictable. Describe, explain, & predict. Narrow-angle lens; tests a specific hypotheses. Study behavior under controlled conditions; isolate causal effects. Single reality; objective. Statistical report with correlations, comparisons of means, & statistical significance of findings.

Purposes of literature review

Literature reviews should be reasonably complete, and not restricted to a few journals, a few years, or a specific methodology. The purpose of a literature review is three-fold: (1) to survey the current state of knowledge in the area of inquiry (2) to identify key authors, articles, theories, and findings in that area, and (3) to identify gaps in knowledge in that research area.