Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a

systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified

as quantitative or qualitative.[1]

 Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable

evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases (or across
intentionally designed treatments in an experiment) to
create valid and reliable general claims. Related to quantity.
 Qualitative designs emphasize understanding of social phenomena through
direct observation, communication with participants, or analysis of texts, and
may stress contextual subjective accuracy over generality. Related to quality.

While methods may be classified as quantitative or qualitative, most methods

contain elements of both. For example, qualitative data analysis often involves a
fairly structured approach to coding the raw data into systematic information,
and quantifying intercoder reliability.[2] Thus, there is often a more complex
relationship between "qualitative" and "quantitative" approaches than would be
suggested by drawing a simple distinction between them.

Social scientists employ a range of methods in order to analyse a vast breadth of

social phenomena: from census survey data derived from millions of
individuals, to the in-depth analysis of a single agent's social experiences; from
monitoring what is happening on contemporary streets, to the investigation of
ancient historical documents. Methods rooted in
classical sociology and statistics have formed the basis for research in other
disciplines, such as political science, media studies, program
evaluation and market research.
Scopes of Social Research are:
1. Demographic and Social Statistics, Methods and Computation

Demography is the study of changes and population trends using resources such
as birth data, death and disease and others.

Social Statistics, Methods and Computational involve the collection and

analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.

2. Developmental Study, Human Geography and Environmental Planning

Developmental study is a multidisciplinary branch of social sciences that

discusses about various social and economic issues related to the development
or study of poor countries.

Human geography studies people, society and culture, especially regarding the
impact on the environmental changes.

Environmental planning explores decision-making process in managing the

system of human and nature relationship.

3. Economics, Management and Business Study

Economics tries to understand how individuals interact in the social structure to

answer key questions about the production and exchange of goods and services.

Management and Business Study explore various aspects related to business

management such as strategic and operational, organizational psychology, work
relationship, marketing, accounting, finance and logistics.

4. Education, Social Anthropology and Linguistics

Education is one of the most important social sciences that explores how people
learn and develop.
Social anthropology is the study of how society and human social structures are
organized and understandable.

Linguistics focuses on language and how people communicate through the

spoken voice and words.

5. Legal, Economic and Social History

Legal focuses on the rule made by the government and people to make sure the
society becoming more orderly.

Economic and Social History see the past events to learn from history and to
more understand the process of contemporary society.

6. Politics and International Relations

Politics focuses on democracy and the relationship between humans and policy
at all levels from the individual to the national and international levels.

International Relation is the study of relationship among countries, including

the role of other organizations.

7. Psychology and Sociology

Psychology studies the human mind and tries to understand how people and
groups experience a variety of emotions, ideas, and awareness.

Sociology involves a group of people, not individuals, and tries to understand

how people relate to each other and function as a society or a social sub-group.

8. Technology Study

Technology Study relates to the role of technology in society, the policy and
debates that form modern technology.

9. Social Policy
Social policy is interdisciplinary and subject concerned on community
responses analysis to social needs with focus on the aspects of society, economy
and the implementation of policies to improve social justice.

IMPORTNACE

Source of Knowledge. Social research is an important source of knowledge. It

opens new ways of knowledge and wisdom. When something unknown brings
to a researcher, there is a sort of inner pleasure and happiness. It gives
knowledge to the researcher about the unknown facts. It paves out the way of
ignorance and gives new direction in a social life.

Research in Informative. It provides updated, proved, authentic and very

useful information to the end users. Researchers and common people can take
advantages from research. It is not only informative. Its findings are scientific
based therefore the results and information are reliable.

Social Cohesion and Unity. Social unity in a problematic area b/w two groups
or castes is only possible due to social research. Social research manifests the
causes of these events and gives a remedial solution to it. So, social researcher
is the main factor for bringing social coherence and unity in society.

Social Planning. If someone wants to develop and bring social growth and
development in a society, social planning will be developed which is the
outcome of social research. In this situation achieve the growth of society on
right line is highly necessary. Social growth can possible only when problems
are solved.

Solution of Social Problems. Social research also helps in the solution of social
problems it is the research through which we can find the causative factors of an
existing social problem and guide us about his solution.
Structural Changes. Social research is responsible for bringing structural
changes in a social life. We bring social and cultural change in a social situation
which is the outcome of social research.

Conceptualization
In information science a conceptualization is an abstract simplified view of
some selected part of the world, containing the objects, concepts, and other
entities that are presumed of interest for some particular purpose and the
relationships between them.[2][3] An explicit specification of a conceptualization
is an ontology, and it may occur that a conceptualization can be realized by
several distinct ontologies.[2] An ontological commitment in describing
ontological comparisons is taken to refer to that subset of elements of an
ontology shared with all the others.[4][5] "An ontology is language-dependent",
its objects and interrelations described within the language it uses, while a
conceptualization is always the same, more general, its concepts existing
"independently of the language used to describe it".[6] The relation between
these terms is shown in the figure to the right.

Not all workers in knowledge engineering use the term ‘conceptualization’, but
instead refer to the conceptualization itself, or to the ontological commitment of
all its realizations, as an overarching ontology.[7]

So far the word concept has come up quite a bit, and it would behoove us to
make sure we have a shared understanding of that term. A concept is the notion
or image that we conjure up when we think of some cluster of related
observations or ideas. For example, masculinity is a concept. What do you think
of when you hear that word? Presumably you imagine some set of behaviors
and perhaps even a particular style of self presentation. Of course, we can’t
necessarily assume that everyone conjures up the same set of ideas or images
when they hear the word masculinity. In fact, there are many possible ways to
define the term. And while some definitions may be more common or have
more support than others, there isn’t one true, always-correct-in-all-settings
definition. What counts as masculine may shift over time, from culture to
culture, and even from individual to individual (Kimmel, 2008).Kimmel, M.
(2008). Masculinity. In W. A. Darity Jr. (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the
social sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 1–5). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference
USA.This is why defining our concepts is so important.

Forming a Hypothesis
Forming a Hypothesis If you want to use the scientific method to deal with a
problem, you must learn how to form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an educated
guess that can be tested. It attempts to account for the data at hand. How Do
You Form a Hypothesis? The first step is to collect as many observations as
possible about the problem you are trying to examine. Then consider your
observations and think about how they might relate to the problem. Try to
imagine possible solutions to explain your observations. Once you come up
with a possible explanation, ask yourself if it could be proven wrong by an
experiment. If it could be proven wrong, then you have formed a hypothesis. If
there is no way to prove it wrong, go back to your data and try to come up with
another hypothesis. Read the paragraphs below. Then, as you read each
numbered section, follow the instructions on the right to form a hypothesis.
Every day for the past week you have come home from school to find that your
favorite plant has been knocked onto the floor from its place on the windowsill.
The plant is an aloe plant. In the past year, it has grown to almost twice its
previous size. You always leave the aloe plant sitting securely on the
windowsill with the window open. The last time you were cleaning up the plant,
you noticed paw prints in the dirt that had spilled from the pot. You have only
one pet, a cat. You look around to see what other observations you can gather.
Outside the window, you see the stump of the tree that your neighbor cut down
about a week ago. Before he cut it, the tree grew directly in front of your
window. Looking for more clues, you ask your cousin if she has seen anything.
She is in town for a visit and has been staying in the guest room downstairs for
the past week. She always plays really loud music with a lot of bass. When you
ask her, she assures you that she hasn’t noticed anything unusual.

Null Hypothesis

This is the conventional approach to making a prediction. It involves a

statement that says there is no relationship between two groups that the
researcher compares on a certain variable. The hypothesis also may state that
there is no significant difference when different groups are compared with
respect to a particular variable. For example, “There is no difference in the
academic performance of high school students who participate in extracurricular
activities and those who do not participate in such activities” is a null
hypothesis. In many cases, the purpose of a null hypothesis is to allow the
experimental results to contradict the hypothesis and prove the point that there
is a definite relationship.

Nondirectional Hypothesis

Certain hypothesis statements convey a relationship between the variables that

the researcher compares, but do not specify the exact nature of this relationship.
This form of hypothesis is used in studies where there is no sufficient past
research on which to base a prediction. Continuing with the same example, a
nondirectional hypothesis would read, “The academic performance of high
school students is related to their participation in extracurricular activities.”

Directional Hypothesis

This type of hypothesis suggests the outcome the investigator expects at the end
of the study. Scientific journal articles generally use this form of hypothesis.
The investigator bases this hypothesis on the trends apparent from previous
research on this topic. Considering the previous example, a researcher may state
the hypothesis as, “High school students who participate in extracurricular
activities have a lower GPA than those who do not participate in such
activities.” Such hypotheses provide a definite direction to the prediction.

Causal Hypothesis

Some studies involve a measurement of the degree of influence of one variable

on another. In such cases, the researcher states the hypothesis in terms of the
effect of variations in a particular factor on another factor. This causal
hypothesis is said to be bivariate because it specifies two aspects -- the cause
and the effect. For the example mentioned, the causal hypothesis will state,
“High school students who participate in extracurricular activities spend less
time studying which leads to a lower GPA.” When verifying such hypotheses,
the researcher needs to use statistical techniques to demonstrate the presence of
a relationship between the cause and effect. Such hypotheses also need the
researcher to rule out the possibility that the effect is a result of a cause other
than what the study has examined.

Scientific Study of Social Phenomena

Elements of Scientific Methods

Perspective.....
Knowledge based on sensory observation has a paradoxical character. The
following statement seeks to convey this paradox in a simple way. In order to
gain knowledge about anything we should know something about it. If we know
nothing at all about the object of our enquiry we shall never be able to know
anything about it.
In case we are totally ignorant about something and yet want to acquire
knowledge about it through sensory observation, we make certain assumptions
about it, and start our enquiry with the belief that these assumptions are true. Of
course if these assumptions are not supported by facts gathered through sensory
observations, we should be ready to abandon them. The significance of these
assumptions is that they tell us what to look for or where to direct our sensory
observation.
If a Doctor trained in modern medicine wants to find out the reasons for the
symptoms like headache, giddiness, and general weakness, he might examine
the digestive systems, the food taken by his patient or he might monitor the
heart beats and blood pressure or enquire about his sleeping patterns and also
take in to account the weather conditions. He may find his answer from these
conditions. A shaman in a tribal village also tries to cure a patient with similar
symptoms. He may explore the possibility of a spell caused by a witch or
disenchantment of the super natural power with the person concerned due to
some act of omission or commission on his part.
In the case of the doctor trained in modern medicine his search for the cause is
governed by a set of assumptions namely: human body is unified whole though
it has specialized parts. These parts tend to be interdependent and
malfunctioning of one lead to malfunctioning of the other. Basing himself on
such assumption he is likely to see interrelationship between headache and
digestion failure etc.
On the other hand the shaman by means of assumption that world is governed
by super natural forces that need to be propitiated. Failure to do so might invite
divine retribution. Thus from the above illustrations one can see how underlying
assumptions shape one's enquiry. A set of mutually consistent assumptions
which underlie our approach to things we want to explore is called a
perspective. All systematized enquiries need perspective. So it is required for
sociology as well.
Concepts.....Language is a system of symbols that forms the medium through
which we comprehend the world around and inside us and it is the basis of our
thought processes. It also acts as a means of communication with others without
which social life would be impossible. Language has been termed as a system of
symbols because linguistic terms are abstractions i.e they are mentally created
and to them certain meanings are imputed by which they come to stand for the
real phenomena. All languages are made up of concepts. Only difference being
that concept in scientific language is more precisely and unambiguously
defined. Concepts help in comprehending the reality that a science is engaged in
studying. They act as mediums of short cut communication among those
associated with the enquiry. In sociology most of the concepts are terms taken
from day to day language which is given precise meaning.

Theory and Facts

There is an intricate relation between theory and fact. The popular

understanding of this relationship obscures more than it illuminates. They are
generally conceived as direct opposites. Theory is confused with speculation
and theory remains speculation until it is proved. When this proof is made,
theory becomes fact. Facts are thought to be definite, certain, without question
and their meaning to be self-evident.

Science is thought to be concerned with facts alone. Theory is supposed to be

realm of philosophers. Scientific theory is therefore thought to be merely
summation of facts that have been accumulated upon a given subject. However
if we observe the way scientists actually do research, it becomes clear .

Steps of the Scientific Method

What is the Scientific Method?

The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore

observations and answer questions. Does this mean all scientists
follow exactly this process? No. Some areas of science can be more easily tested
than others. For example, scientists studying how stars change as they age or
how dinosaurs digested their food cannot fast-forward a star's life by a million
years or run medical exams on feeding dinosaurs to test their hypotheses. When
direct experimentation is not possible, scientists modify the scientific method.
In fact, there are probably as many versions of the scientific method as there are
scientists! But even when modified, the goal remains the same: to discover
cause and effect relationships by asking questions, carefully gathering and
examining the evidence, and seeing if all the available information can be
combined in to a logical answer.

Even though we show the scientific method as a series of steps, keep in mind
that new information or thinking might cause a scientist to back up and repeat
steps at any point during the process. A process like the scientific method that
involves such backing up and repeating is called an iterative process.

Whether you are doing a science fair project, a classroom science activity,
independent research, or any other hands-on science inquiry understanding the
steps of the scientific method will help you focus your scientific question and
work through your observations and data to answer the question as well as
possible.
2. Objective and subjective judgments
One common use of the notions of objectivity and subjectivity is to demarcate kinds
of judgement (or thought or belief). On such a usage, prototypically objective
judgements concern matters of empirical and mathematical fact such as the moon
has no atmosphere and two and two are four. In contrast, prototypically subjective
judgements concern matters of value and preference such as Mozart is better than
Bach and vanilla ice cream with ketchup is disgusting. I offer these examples not to
take sides on whether such judgements actually are objective or subjective, but only
to call attention to a typical way of using "objective" and "subjective". The question
arises as to what it means in this context to call these respective judgements
"objective" and "subjective". Some have proposed that the difference hinges on truth.
Objective judgements are absolutely true, whereas the truth of subjective
judgements is relative to the person making the judgement: my judgements are true
for me, your judgments are true for you. You and I can each utter "vanilla tastes
great" but in your mouth this may constitute a truth and in my mouth it may constitute
a falsehood. Subjective judgments are subject relative. Some philosophers have
noted an analogy between this kind of subject relativity and a kind that obtains for
indexical expressions. You and I can both utter "I am here" and thereby express
different propositions. Some philosophers have construed indexicality as an instance
of subjectivity and some others have even gone so far as to argue that subjectivity
just is indexicality.

I will postpone taking sides on these issues, but let me spell out further what I take
the importance of the above remarks to be. I call attention to the precedent of
labeling judgements (and beliefs etc.) objective and subjective. In this discussion, it
is representations that have propositional or sentential structure that are the first and
foremost instances of objective (and subjective) things. The question arises, then, of
what it is about these representations that makes them subjective. One suggestion is
that the subjective/objective distinction marks a distinction in ways of assigning truth
values to these representations, ways that are relativist and absolutist, respectively.
Another suggestion is that the subjective/objective distinction marks a distinction in
ways of assigning representational content to these representations, ways that are
indexical and non-indexical, respectively. Yet another approach seeks to classify
representational schemes in terms of the degree to which they reflect a particular
perspective or point of view in the literal sense that pictorial representations
represent the visual appearance of objects from a point of view. On this suggestion,
pictures are the prototypically subjective representations and objective
representations are to be defined in contrast. Among the issues to be sorted out in
considering the "truth", "indexical", and "picture" suggestions are those concerning
whether they constitute distinct viable alternatives, and if so, whether they are
compatible. Such sorting will have to wait for another occasion, however. I turn now
to consider a different way of construing the distinction between the objective and
the subjective.

3. Objective and subjective existence

I again call attention to the precedent of calling judgements (and beliefs etc.)
objective and subjective. Such a usage contrasts against a usage whereby it is not
judgements but things themselves that are either objective or subjective. An example
of this alternate usage would not call the judgement that the earth has an
atmosphere objective, but instead it is the property of having an atmosphere that is
objective. Such prototypical examples of objective properties are those that do not
depend on the existence of minds for their instantiation. The idea of this kind of
objectivity can be extended to include the existence of objects as well as the
instantiations of properties. Objects exist objectively if they do not depend on minds
to do so. In contrast, subjective properties and objects are mind-dependent. The
central issues to be examined concerning this sense of the objective/subjective
distinction concern the most theoretically useful and tractable way to construe mind-
dependence. Does subjectivity as mind-dependence require only the existence of
minds or does it instead require being represented by a mind? I return to such
questions later. I close this section with some terminological remarks. I adopt the
convention of calling the sense of the objectivity/subjectivity distinction that hinges on
mind-dependence "metaphysical objectivity/subjectivity" and the sense of the
distinction that hinges on kinds of representations discussed in the section above
"epistemic objectivity/subjectivity". One set of questions that I am especially
interested in concern the relation between epistemic and metaphysical objectivity.
For example, as I will discuss further below, one way that theories of epistemic
objectivity differ is over the issue of whether epistemically objective representations
must be about metaphysically objective things.

4. The subjectivity of conscious experience

Thomas Nagel (1986) argues that conscious experience is subjective, and thus,
permanently recalcitrant to objective scientific understanding. Nagel invites us to ask
the question of "what it is like to be a bat" and urges the intuition that no amount of
scientific knowledge can supply an answer. Nagel sees the subjectivity of
consciousness as posing a special challenge to physicalism.

Before saying more about physicalistic responses to that challenge, I turn to examine
Nagel’s characterizations of objectivity and subjectivity. According to Nagel, objective
facts are the concern of science: the observer independent features of things, the
way things are in and of themselves. For Nagel, scientific and objective
characterizations are arrived at by abstracting away from any subject’s perceptions
or viewpoints. In contrast, subjective facts differ from objective facts by being
essentially tied to a point of view. Thus, for Nagel, conscious experience is the
paradigm of subjectivity. Facts about phenomenology, conscious experience, what it
is like for a certain entity to be that entity do not exist independently of a particular
subject’s point of view. Another way Nagel characterizes the objective/subjective
distinction is by saying that only the former admits of a distinction between
appearance and reality. Objective phenomena have a reality independent of
appearances but su bjective phenomena just are appearances. Consider the
phenomenon of lightning, which can be characterized by the way it seems as well as
the way it really is. It has the objective feature of being an electrical discharge, and
this feature can be apprehended by multiple points of view. The same phenomenon
has a particular subjective nature as well, perhaps its appearance to some subject
as a bright flash of light.. In contrast, subjective phenomena and conscious
experience have no existence independent of their appearance to some subject.
Nagel wonders what would be left of what it was like to be a bat if one removed the
point of view of the bat (1979a, p. 173). Nagel claims that science stands little
chance of providing an adequate third person account of consciousness because
there is no objective nature to phenomenal experience. Phenomenal experience
cannot be observed from multiple points of view.

Positivism and Phenomenology

Positivism believes in static social fact. According to positivists, the world and
the universe are operated by laws of cause and effect, the relation between
which can be identified through means of unique approach of the scientific
method. Such a philosophy stresses more on the objectivity of the world. On
the contrary, phenomenology is based on the premise that reality consists of
objects and events, which will lead to 100 realities in 100 hundred’s people
eyes. Phenomenology emphasizes on the subjectivity of the researchers and
participants. It is the conflict between objectivity and subjectivity and conflict
between static world and mobile world that separate phenomenology and
POSITIVISM.

METHODS OF RESEARCH UNIT 3

Introducing Research Methods

Your research method depends on the question that you wish
to answer, and the philosophy that underpins your view of
research.

The best place to start is our page An Introduction to Research Methods.

This sets out the basic principles of research design, and the role of the
researcher.

Our page on Designing Research explains how to approach research, and

what to think about in designing your research. It sets out some possible
research approaches, including experimental and quasi-experimental designs,
survey research, and ethnography.

Finally, you need to make a decision about whether your research will
be Qualitative or Quantitative, or even mixed.

Qualitative Research Designs

Qualitative research is concerned with human behaviour, and
why people act the way that they do.

Common methods used for qualitative research include Interviews and Focus
Groups and Group Interviews. Both these methods allow researchers to
explore a topic in depth with one or two people at a time, or within a small
group. You can also collect Qualitative Data from Interactions, in research
that recognises that the researcher is a key part of the situation, rather than an
outside observer.

Quantitative Research Designs

Quantitative research always collects numerical data.

If you are not collecting numbers, then your research is qualitative, not
quantitative. Quantitative research is usually used to get views from large
numbers of people.

The first step in quantitative research is to determine your Sampling and

Sample Design. You then need to gather data. Suitable methods include
surveys (and our page on Surveys and Survey Design explains more about
this surprisingly complex subject).

Other sources of data include Observational and Secondary Data.

Read more at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/research-methods.html

CAE STUDY OF METHODS OF RESEARCH

Introduction

Case study research excels at bringing us to an understanding of a complex

issue or object and can extend experience or add strength to what is already
known through previous research. Case studies emphasize detailed contextual
analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships.
Researchers have used the case study research method for many years across a
variety of disciplines. Social scientists, in particular, have made wide use of this
qualitative research method to examine contemporary real-life situations and
provide the basis for the application of ideas and extension of methods.
Researcher Robert K. Yin defines the case study research method as an
empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-
life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not
clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1984,
p. 23).

Critics of the case study method believe that the study of a small number of
cases can offer no grounds for establishing reliability or generality of findings.
Others feel that the intense exposure to study of the case biases the findings.
Some dismiss case study research as useful only as an exploratory tool. Yet
researchers continue to use the case study research method with success in
carefully planned and crafted studies of real-life situations, issues, and
problems. Reports on case studies from many disciplines are widely available in
the literature.

This paper explains how to use the case study method and then applies the
method to an example case study project designed to examine how one set of
users, non-profit organizations, make use of an electronic community network.
The study examines the issue of whether or not the electronic community
network is beneficial in some way to non-profit organizations and what those
benefits might be.

What are the types of Observation?

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1. Casual and Scientific observation – An observation can be sometimes

casual in nature or sometimes it may act scientifically. An observation with a
casual approach involves observing the right thing at the right place and also at
the right time by a matter of chance or by luck whereas a scientific observation
involves the use of the tools of the measurement, but a very important point to
be kept in mind here is that all the observations are not scientific in nature.

2. Natural Observation – Natural observation involves observing the

behaviour in a normal setting and in this type of observation, no efforts are
made to bring any type of change in the behavior of the observed. Improvement
in the collection of the information and improvement in the environment of
making an observation can be done with the help of natural observations.

3. Subjective and Objective observation – All the observations consist of the

two main components, the subject and the object. The subject refers to the
observer whereas the object refers to the activity or any type of operation that is
being observed. Subjective observation involves the observation of the one’s
own immediate experience whereas the observations involving observer as an
entity apart from the thing being observed, are referred to as the objective
observation. Objective observation is also called as the retrospection.

4. Direct and Indirect observation – With the help of the direct method of
observation, one comes to know how the observer is physically present in which
type of situation is he present and then this type of observation monitors what
takes place. Indirect method of observation involves studies of mechanical
recording or the recording by some of the other means like photographic or
electronic. Direct observation is relatively more straight forward as compared to
the indirect observation.

5. Participant and Non Participant observation – Participation by the

observers with the various types of operations of the group under study refers to
the participant type of observation. In participant observation, the degree of the
participation is largely affected by the nature of the study and it also depends on
the type of the situation and also on its demands.But in the non participant type
of observation, no participation of the observer in the activities of the group
takes place and also there occurs no relationship between the researcher and the
group.

6. Structured and Unstructured observation – Structured observation works

according to a plan and involves specific information of the units that are to be
observed and also about the information that is to be recorded. The operations
that are to be observed and the various features that are to be noted or recorded
are decided well in advance. Such observations involve the use of especial
instruments for the purpose of data collection that are also structured in nature.
But in the case of the unstructured observation, its basics are diametrically
against the structured observation. In such observation, observer has the
freedom to note down what he or she feels is correct and relevant to the point of
study and also this approach of observation is very suitable in the case of
exploratory research.

7. Controlled and Non Controlled observation: Controlled observations are

the observations made under the influence of some of the external forces and
such observations rarely lead to improvement in the precision of the research
results. But these observations can be very effective in the working if these are
made to work in the coordination with mechanical synchronizing devices, film
recording etc. Non controlled observations are made in the natural environment
and reverse to the controlled observation these observations involve no
influence or guidance of any type of external force.

UNIT 4

Types of Research[edit]
Research can be classified in many different ways on the basis of the
methodology of research, the knowledge it creates, the user group, the research
problem it investigates etc.

Basic Research[edit]

This research is conducted largely for the enhancement of knowledge, and is

research which does not have immediate commercial potential. The research
which is done for human welfare, animal welfare and plant kingdom welfare. It
is called basic, pure, fundamental research. The main motivation here is to
expand man's knowledge, not to create or invent something. According to
Travers, “Basic Research is designed to add to an organized body of scientific
knowledge and does not necessarily produce results of immediate practical
value.” Such a research is time and cost intensive. (Example: A experimental
research that may not be or will be helpful in the human progress.)

Applied Research[edit]

Applied research is designed to solve practical problems of the modern world,

rather than to acquire knowledge for knowledge's sake. The goal of applied
research is to improve the human condition. It focuses on analysis and solving
social and real life problems. This research is generally conducted on a large
scale basis and is expensive. As such, it is often conducted with the support of
some financing agency like the national government, public corporation, world
bank, UNICEF, UGC, Etc. According to Hunt, “applied research is an
investigation for ways of using scientific knowledge to solve practical
problems” for example:- improve agriculture crop production, treat or cure a
specific disease, improve the energy efficiency of homes, offices, how can
communication among workers in large companies be improved

Historical Research

When we think of research, we often think of a laboratory or classroom where

two or more groups receive different treatments or alternative training methods.
We would then determine if the treatment or training had an impact on some
outcome measure. This type of research is the best at predicting cause and
effect relationships and is often cited as the most rigorous and standardized
form.

Empirical research is research using empirical evidence. It is a way of gaining

knowledge by means of direct and
indirect observation or experience. Empiricismvalues such research more than
other kinds. Empirical evidence (the record of one's direct observations or
experiences) can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively. Quantifying the
evidence or making sense of it in qualitative form, a researcher can answer
empirical questions, which should be clearly defined and answerable with the
evidence collected (usually called data). Research design varies by field and by
the question being investigated. Many researchers combine qualitative and
quantitative forms of analysis to better answer questions which cannot be
studied in laboratory settings, particularly in the social sciences and in
education.

Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or

phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why
the characteristics occurred. Rather it addresses the "what" question (what are
the characteristics of Minnesota state population or situation being
studied?) [1] The characteristics used to describe the situation or population are
usually some kind of categorical scheme also known as descriptive categories.
For example, the periodic table categorizes the elements. Scientists use
knowledge about the nature of electrons, protons and neutrons to devise this
categorical scheme. We now take for granted the periodic table, yet it took
descriptive research to devise it. Descriptive research generally precedes
explanatory research. For example, over time the periodic table’s description of
the elements allowed scientists to explain chemical reaction and make sound
prediction when elements were combined. Hence, descriptive research cannot
describe what caused a situation. Thus, descriptive research cannot be used as
the basis of a causal relationship, where one variable affects another. In other
words, descriptive research can be said to have a low requirement for internal
validity.

Exploratory research is research conducted for a problem that has not been
studied more clearly, establishes priorities, develops operational definitions and
improve the final research design.[1] Exploratory research helps determine the
best research design, data-collection method and selection of subjects. It should
draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Given its fundamental
nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not
actually exist.

Explanatory, analytical and experimental studies…

1. Explain Why a phenomenon is going on

2. Can be used for hypothesis testing

3. Allow for inferences to be drawn about associations and causality

4. Examples: Case-control study, Cohort study (follow-up), Intervention

trial

A common form of an Explanatory/Analytical study is a case control study. The

diagram below displays a classic case control study during which a researcher
who wants to test the effect of a particular medicine on an illness will design a
study in which a group of patients is divided into two groups – one group will
receive the treatment while another group receives a placebo (control). The
patients will be followed and their health outcomes will be compared to see if
the treatment course resulted in a lessening or elimination of the illness in the
treated group as compared to the untreated group.

It is a collection of research designs which use manipulation and controlled

testing to understand causal processes. Generally, one or more variables are
manipulated to determine their effect on a dependent variable.

The experimental method

is a systematic and scientific approach to research in which the researcher

manipulates one or more variables, and controls and measures any change in
other variables.

UNIT 5
Data (/ˈdeɪtə/ DAY-tə, /ˈdætə/ DA-tə, or /ˈdɑːtə/ DAH-tə)[1] is a set of values
of qualitative or quantitative variables. Pieces of data are individual pieces
of information. While the concept of data is commonly associated
with scientific research, data is collected by a huge range of organizations and
institutions, including businesses (e.g., sales data, revenue, profits, stock price),
governments (e.g., crime rates, unemployment rates, literacy rates) and non-
governmental organizations (e.g., censuses of the number of homeless
people by non-profit organizations).