Different Types of Research Methodologies

The first thing that comes to your mind while planning your research is what type of research you should conduct. Many questions come to your mind when you want to do research. You can find some on the internet and many in this blog.

There are different types of research used in scientific and non-scientific research areas. Every type of research has its functionalities and characteristics.

In this blog, you’ll get to learn about different types of research in detail. And, different research methodologies that are used to conduct the research are also discussed below.

Let’s start reading!

What is Research?

Research is a logical and systematic way of discovering new information about a particular topic. It is essential for both scientific and nonscientific fields. Research is conducted to acquire updated information on a specific area.

Research is a systematic way to describe, explain, predict, and control the existing phenomenon. It is the way of data collection, analysis, compilation, and implication about any problem

Purpose Of Research

Every specific research has a vital purpose behind it. When you plan for your research, you have a clear purpose in mind. There are different purposes of research, and they are as follow:

• Descriptive

  It focuses on expanding knowledge on a current issue through the data collection process. The main purpose is to describe, explain, and validate the findings.

• Exploratory

  It focuses on exploring new things about a particular subject. The main purpose is to handle new issues that haven't been explored before. The aim is not to give a conclusion but to explore more and more information about a particular thing.

• Explanatory

  As the name suggests - explain something in a way that it becomes clear to understand. The primary purpose here is to understand the impacts of specific changes in existing standard procedures.

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Types Of Research

The research is broadly categorized into the following types:

Below, all these types of research are discussed in detail.

1. Basic Research

   It is a type of research that aims to develop theories, knowledge, and prediction about a particular problem. It is also known as theoretical research because it attempts to investigate or find the reasons why a specific thing occurred.

   Basic research does not lead to immediate use as they are not concerned with solving any immediate interest problem. Instead, it provides a depth insight into a problem, facilitates a logical explanation, and draws conclusions.

2. Applied Research

   Applied research is the opposite of basic research as it shows clear and immediate effects. It focuses on analyzing problems and solving problems with the help of scientific methods. As the name suggests, applied research results are used to find a solution for any immediate interest.

   Applied research plays a vital role in finding a solution that impacts overall human beings. It specifically aims to develop techniques, procedures, products, and applications. Applied research is further divided into three categories:

   • Qualitative Research

     Qualitative research - as the name suggests - analyzes the quality of a specific thing. It focuses on words and meanings and determines the relationship between data and observation based on mathematical calculations.

     These researches are non-numerical and descriptive. It explains the why and how of decision-making. And it is based on words, feelings, emotions, sounds, and other unquantifiable elements.

   • Quantitative Research

     Quantitative research - as the name suggests - quantifies things. They are based on numbers, statistics, and non-descriptive data. The collected data and results are presented in numerical form, tables, or graphs.

     It investigates what, where, and when of decision making and tries to solve a problem with numbers. It is conclusive, and its results could be measured and replicated to some extent.

   • Mixed Research

     Mixed research combines the characteristics and methods of qualitative and quantitative research. It involves a mixture of data, variables, and images.

3. Exploratory Research

   Explanatory research is a type of research that aims to explore a particular problem under investigation. It seeks to analyze or examine specific research questions. It is conducted when there are few or no earlier studies to refer to.

   These researches are conducted to understand better, determine the best methods to use, and test the feasibility of extensive research. It involves conducting focus group interviews and literature searches. In addition, this research aims to identify key issues and key variables of a particular research problem.

4. Explanatory Research

   Explanatory researches aim to understand and explain the causal relationship between variable and observation. It uses correlation to study the relationship between groups, events, situations, and characteristics of individuals.

   The main purpose of this research is to know the impacts of specific changes in existing standard procedures. It explains the cause and consequence of a particular well-defined problem.

5. Descriptive Research

   Descriptive research is similar to explanatory research. It is designed to define, describe, and explain a specific problem under study. They aim to identify the facts and describe the behavior of the sample population.

   There are three primary purposes of descriptive research, and they explain, describe, and validate the data findings. First, it collects data without controlling any variable. Second, it is directed towards answering the ‘what’ question of the research problem.

6. Experimental Research

   Experimental research is the opposite of descriptive research as it controls and modifies the variables to conclude a new result. It manipulates the variable to determine the cause and effects of a particular result.

   These types of research are completed in a controlled environment, and they strictly adhere to the scientific research design. It includes a hypothesis and a variable that could be measured, calculated, and compared.

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Research Methodology

Once you decide the type of research, you need to identify the research methods you would use to conduct your research. Below are the different research methods:

• Interview

  The interviews are usually one-to-one communication at a given point in time between the researcher and the participant. It needs the researcher to prepare the questions in advance as interviews last only 15 to 20 minutes.

• Case Study

  It is an in-depth study of a particular research problem. It is used to generate a multifaceted in-depth understanding of a complicated issue in its real-life context. It involves a deep dive into existing research and collecting data.

• Focus Group

  It is a small group of carefully selected 8 to 10 people who are experts in their particular field. The participants contribute to an open discussion to provide their feedback regarding the research subject.

• Text Analysis

  It is a type of qualitative method that analyzes the content to decode it in simple human language. It is used to assemble unorganized and diverse data into structured form. The researcher studies and understands the document and tries to draw meaningful inferences from it.

• Survey

  A survey is the most popular type of research methodology. The researcher makes a survey form that contains several questions related to the subject of the research. The survey is then conducted to know the views of a large population.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How should the research design be shaped?

It is important to have the right kind of research design for your information. The type of data you collect and analyze will help you decide what form your research design should take.

For example, some people want to know about things that are happening now. In contrast, others want to know more about how people think or feel in the future.

What are the techniques of legal research?

Following are the techniques of legal research:

• Doctrinal Method.
• Non-Doctrinal Method.
• Comparative Research.
• Critical Research.