lecture iii - types of research

7/29/2019 Lecture III - Types of Research

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Types of Research


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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH generally classified as:BASIC (or PURE) & APPLIED (or ACTION) BASIC RESEARCH

Often referred to as PURE or ACADEMIC research Meant to advance scientific knowledge through theverification of hypotheses used to test theories In this regard, the objective of basic research is to describeand explain the world (physical or social) as it is, but not tochange it


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APPLIED RESEARCH

This is referred to as ACTION, EVALUATION,APPRAISAL,ASSESSMENT, SOCIALACCOUNTING, or POLICY research

Its focus is mainly to find solutions to specificbehavioral or organizational problems To this end, its purpose is to change and/orameliorate the status quo (physical or social) Action research cycle the steps of Plan, Act,Observe and Reflect


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Basicmethodically more rigorous (For some) both are equally rigorous

methodically Appliedaccording to Leedy (1989),

combines theory, research findings and

action in same research activities For most scholars, distinction b/w the two

is purely academic:

Depends on what the researcher intends todo with the findingsIs it for advancing knowledge for its ownsake (theory) or,Is it to facilitate decision and allow control

of action


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Emancipatory action research aparticipatory, democratic process concernedwith developing practical knowledge inpursuit of worthwhile human purposes

grounded in a participatory worldview. Seeksto bring together action and reflection, theoryand practise, in participation with others, inpursuit of practical soln to issues of pressingconcern to pple

Participatory action research -


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Type of action research - involves the participation of those who

may be affected by the outcomes of

research in decision -making in all stages of the research

process. It is often used for developmentresearch with disadvantaged communities.


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Applied Research is directed much more to makingimmediate managerial decisions. Both Pure and Applied can be combined in same researchplan/design Both can use QUANTITATIVE and/or QUALITATIVEtechniques of data collection and analysis

Hence, Research cannot be restricted to basic orpure research only that will be too narrow adefinition

This leads us to the Qualitative and Quantitativetypologies:


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This is the traditional model of scientific research in whichactivities move from:THEORY - OPERATIONALISATION - OBSERVATION

(Operationalisation = measurement of variables) It involves statistical manipulation andanalysis of data, collected through

experiments and survey techniquesThe essence is the verification oflogically deduced theories

Note that in quantitative research, data collection andtheory verification (hypothesis testing) are two separateresearch acts


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At the operationalisation stage, the Researchertranslates the key concepts of theory into keyvariables to which a number is attached Then the Researcher focuses on observationactivities ie. looking for the identified andmeasured variables in the real world The 2 research tasks: Operationalisation(measurement of variables) and Observation in the

real world, enable the researcher to meet thescientific criteria: REPLICATION and VERIFICATION

That means that another researcher can

reproduce the same experiment and resultsby following the same procedures ofOperationalisation and Observation.


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Here activities move from careful

observations of the phenomenon beingstudied in its natural setting to generationof theories

Inductive Methodology is the main researchtool

Note that it starts without any theories(unlike in Quantitative Research)


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Essentially, in Qualitativeresearch: Data collection and theory generation form one

research act

Data are obtained through field survey (participant anddirect observations, case studies, etc.) and may not bereadily quantifiable for statistical analysis The data generates the theory by induction The hypotheses are Intuitive, Tentative

They guide the Inductive process in the discovery of asocial theory


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(On the other hand), Ex Post Facto R/Designis useful where the researcher has nocontrol over the variables and cannotmanipulate them Here the researcher can only report whathas happened or is happening Note: In the Ex Post Facto R/Design, the

researcher must not influence the variablesto avoid introducing bias.


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lecture iii - types of research

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