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Longitudinal research 

is a type of correlational research that involves


looking at variables over an extended period of time. This type
of study can take place over a period of weeks, months, or even years.

Types
In some cases, longitudinal studies can last several decades.

of research | Different types of research


Susan White / August 18, 2019

Hello friend how are you? Today with the help of this blog I am going to put some light on a
very interesting and mind-boggling part of academics writing. I am talking about Types of
research. You read it right. Today we are going to discuss more on this topic in a detailed
manner. Research is a familiar word for the students who are doing post-graduation or PhD. Also
to all my science-loving friends, you must be familiar with this word from a long time.

Research and science especially go hand in hand. When we talk about science, the other word
which comes in our mind is research. Research helps in scientific discoveries. Every new
medicine is a product of long research. But the word research is now not limited to the field of
science only. In almost every discipline different types of research are present currently.
Research is a vital part of the development and discoveries of new things in all academic
subjects. From science to psychology every subject now has some and some kind of research
work in it.

So today with the help of this blog I am going to talk about:


 What Research is?
 Two main types of research
 Difference types of research and a thin line of demarcation in them
 What research is not?
 Why is research helpful to students?

What Research is?


Research is a systematic inquiry on a specific topic. When you want to get the information on a
particular topic, you take a process to enhance your knowledge. There are different types of
research out there. But it depends on you what type you prefer.

A lot of casual researches these days begins with a Google query (“Who, what, how?”) and you
will end on a Wiki page. Getting informative data is comparatively easy. The knowledge already
exists. You just have to search a trustworthy source for it. Assessing credibility is the hard part.

Why is research helpful to students?


This question may come to your psyche while you are in your academic career. You often think
that what is a need of doing a research work? Why universities want us to carry out research.
Then read below to find your answer.

Answer of the question raised above

 It teaches them to inquire about things that are said and done, rather than
accepting or rejecting them at face value;
 It teaches them to gather evidence for things that are said and done, before
making decisions;
 Research teaches them how to gather that evidence, in ways that minimize bias;
 It teaches them to consider alternatives before making decisions;
 in the process, they learn to evaluate things that are said and done from the
weaknesses and strengths of those arguments or events;
 therefore it increases the chances that their decisions are going to be
helpful/realistic ones;
 It increases the chances that any advice that the student gives will be well-
judged;
 It demonstrates that the experience of doing real-world research is different from
the idea of how that research will go into the researcher’s imagination, and this
insight is valuable. Humans are very prone to constructing ideas from nothing
other than what is in their heads, and being able to compare that to reality is
important for living a coping life.

So I hope you got your answer to the question of why you need to carry out research. Lots
of students find research work difficult. They often get puzzled in this and end up in vain.
Some Types of research | Different types of research
Susan White / August 18, 2019

Hello friend how are you? Today with the help of this blog I am going to put some light on a
very interesting and mind-boggling part of academics writing. I am talking about Types of
research. You read it right. Today we are going to discuss more on this topic in a detailed
manner. Research is a familiar word for the students who are doing post-graduation or PhD. Also
to all my science-loving friends, you must be familiar with this word from a long time.

Research and science especially go hand in hand. When we talk about science, the other word
which comes in our mind is research. Research helps in scientific discoveries. Every new
medicine is a product of long research. But the word research is now not limited to the field of
science only. In almost every discipline different types of research are present currently.
Research is a vital part of the development and discoveries of new things in all academic
subjects. From science to psychology every subject now has some and some kind of research
work in it.

So today with the help of this blog I am going to talk about:

 What Research is?


 Two main types of research
 Difference types of research and a thin line of demarcation in them
 What research is not?
 Why is research helpful to students?

What Research is?

Research is a systematic inquiry on a specific topic. When you want to get the information on a
particular topic, you take a process to enhance your knowledge. There are different types of
research out there. But it depends on you what type you prefer.

A lot of casual researches these days begins with a Google query (“Who, what, how?”) and you
will end on a Wiki page. Getting informative data is comparatively easy. The knowledge already
exists. You just have to search a trustworthy source for it. Assessing credibility is the hard part.

Why is research helpful to students?

This question may come to your psyche while you are in your academic career. You often think
that what is a need of doing a research work? Why universities want us to carry out research.
Then read below to find your answer.

Answer of the question raised above

 It teaches them to inquire about things that are said and done, rather than accepting or
rejecting them at face value;
 It teaches them to gather evidence for things that are said and done, before making
decisions;
 Research teaches them how to gather that evidence, in ways that minimize bias;
 It teaches them to consider alternatives before making decisions;
 in the process, they learn to evaluate things that are said and done from the weaknesses
and strengths of those arguments or events;
 therefore it increases the chances that their decisions are going to be helpful/realistic
ones;
 It increases the chances that any advice that the student gives will be well-judged;
 It demonstrates that the experience of doing real-world research is different from the
idea of how that research will go into the researcher’s imagination, and this insight is
valuable. Humans are very prone to constructing ideas from nothing other than what is in
their heads, and being able to compare that to reality is important for living a coping life.

So I hope you got your answer to the question of why you need to carry out research. Lots of
students find research work difficult. They often get puzzled in this and end up in vain. Some
students face selecting research approach from different types of research. To all those students I
would suggest to look out for online assignment help websites. These websites are beneficial for
students in several ways. They will provide you a well-researched research work in quick time.
Moreover, your research paper is from the hands of the expert writer, so you do not need to
think twice for it before submission.

Two main types of Research

Pure research is carried out to generate new human knowledge. To uncover new facts or
fundamental principles you need pure research. The researcher wants to advance in a specific
field, for example, neuroscience, by answering a specific question, such as “Why do humans
sleep?” Pure research is based on experimentation and observation. The results of your research
are published in peer-reviewed journals. This is science. Rigorous standards and methodologies
exist to preserve objectivity and ensure the credibility of conclusions. (Things get squishy when
corporations fund ostensibly pure research, as they frequently do.)

Applied research borrows ideas and techniques from pure research to serve a specific real-world
goal. Goals are like creating a super soldier or improving the quality of hospital care or finding
new ways to market any product. While ethics are as important,  and methods can be more
relaxed. By this, I meant changing the questions you ask while doing a study, or making the most
of an imperfect sample group because you’re tight on time. Your research is successful only to
the extent that it adds to the stated goal. As with pure research, sometimes you accidentally
discover something valuable you weren’t even looking for, and that’s a fantastic bonus.

Different types of research and a thin line of demarcation in them

So now you have understood about two main types of research in the above paragraph. But that
is not enough. There are further types of research presentations. You may say these are the
subdivision of above-mentioned types. Now you will learn about different types of research and
basic difference in them.
Generative vs. exploratory research
This is the research you do before you know what you’re doing. This research leads to ideas and
helps in defining the problem. Don’t think of this as just the earliest research. Even if you’re
working on a current product or service, you might be looking for ideas. You need ideas for
additional features. Generative research includes interviews, reviewing existing literature, and
field observation,

Exploratory research, as the name says, intends to explore the research questions. It does not
make to give conclusive or final solutions for the existing problems. Exploratory research is
conducted with an aim to study a problem that does not have any solution yet.

The research is done in order to understand the nature of the problem. It is not done to provide
conclusive evidence. But it helps in the better understanding of the problem.  When a researcher
conducts exploratory research, he/she should be willing to change his/her direction when new
data reveals.

Exploratory research never gives you the final or conclusive answers to your research questions.
But it explores the research topic on different levels. It has been seen that exploratory research is
an initial stage of research. Exploratory research provides a basis of conclusive research. It will
help in making of research design, sampling methodology and data collection method.
Exploratory research tackles new problems on which no research has been done.

Descriptive vs. Analytical


Descriptive research consists of surveys and fact-finding inquiries of various kinds. The major
reason to carry out descriptive research is describing the state of affairs as it exists at present.
When we do descriptive result in social science and business research, we use the term Ex post
facto research for descriptive research work. The main feature of this method is that the
researcher doesn’t have control over the variables; he can only report things like what has
happened or what is happening.

Most of the ex post facto research projects are made for descriptive studies. In these studies, the
researcher seeks to measure items. Examples are; frequency of shopping, preferences of people,
or similar data. Ex post facto studies also count attempts by researchers to discover causes, even
when controlling variables is out of their hands. The methods of research use for descriptive
research are survey methods of every kind. It includes comparative and co-relational methods.
Whereas, in analytical research, Research use facts or already available information. He critically
evaluates and analyzes the material.

Applied vs. Fundamental


Research can be of two types. One is applied (or action) research. Second is fundamental (to
basic or pure) research. Applied research works by finding a solution for an immediate problem.
These problems are faced by society or by industry whereas fundamental research is primarily
concerned with the formulation of a theory. “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is
termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.” Research which is more concerned with a natural
phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics is fundamental research. Those research studies
which are based on human behavior are also examples of fundamental research.

But applied research is based at conclusions. These conclusions are facing a concrete social or
business problem. Applied research is to identify social, economic or political trends. These
trends may affect a particular institution or copy research or marketing research. Thus, the basic
aim of applied research is to find a solution to practical problems. Fundamental research is for
finding information that has a broad base of applications. It is an add-on to the already existing
scientific knowledge.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative


Quantitative research is recognized by its name. It is the measurement of quantity or amount. It is
applicable to all things which we can measure in terms of quantity. Qualitative research is simply
means quality. Something related to or involving quality or kind is qualitative research. For
example, when we investigate the reason behind human behavior. This type of research is to
discover underlying motives and desires, using in-depth interviews for the purpose. Other
techniques of such research are sentence completion tests, word association tests, story
completion tests.

Attitude or opinion research is also an example of kinds of qualitative research. Other examples
are how people feel about a particular institution. Behavioral science has an important place for
qualitative research. The aim of this research type is to discover the motives of human behavior.
Through these researches, we can analyze the factors affecting behavior. This will further help in
to motivate people to behave in a proper manner.
Conceptual research vs. Empirical research
Conceptual research is related to some abstract ideas or theory. It is mostly used by thinkers and
philosophers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones. On the other hand,
empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often without due regard for system
and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being
verified by observation or experiment.

We can also call it as an experimental type of research; in such research, it is necessary to get the
facts first, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the
production of desired information. In such 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. He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks
will manipulate the persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired
information.

Such research is thus characterized by the experimenter’s control over the variables under study
and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its effects. Empirical research is
appropriate when the proof is sought that certain variables affect other variables in some way.
Evidence that is gathered through empirical studies or experiments, is today considered to be the
most powerful support possible for a given hypothesis.

When a student begins his research work, he often does not pay attention to different types of
research. In my opinion, selecting a particular research type from types mentioned above of
research is of vital importance. You cannot neglect your research work and get away with it. If
you find difficulty in doing research, you can get in touch with our Australian assignment
experts for academic writing.

students face selecting research approach from different types of research. To all those students I
would suggest to look out for online assignment help websites. These websites are beneficial for
students in several ways. They will provide you a well-researched research work in quick time.
Moreover, your research paper is from the hands of the expert writer, so you do not need to
think twice for it before submission.

Two main types of Research


Pure research is carried out to generate new human knowledge. To uncover new facts or
fundamental principles you need pure research. The researcher wants to advance in a specific
field, for example, neuroscience, by answering a specific question, such as “Why do humans
sleep?” Pure research is based on experimentation and observation. The results of your research
are published in peer-reviewed journals. This is science. Rigorous standards and methodologies
exist to preserve objectivity and ensure the credibility of conclusions. (Things get squishy when
corporations fund ostensibly pure research, as they frequently do.)

Applied research borrows ideas and techniques from pure research to serve a specific real-world
goal. Goals are like creating a super soldier or improving the quality of hospital care or finding
new ways to market any product. While ethics are as important,  and methods can be more
relaxed. By this, I meant changing the questions you ask while doing a study, or making the most
of an imperfect sample group because you’re tight on time. Your research is successful only to
the extent that it adds to the stated goal. As with pure research, sometimes you accidentally
discover something valuable you weren’t even looking for, and that’s a fantastic bonus.

Different types of research and a thin line of demarcation in


them
So now you have understood about two main types of research in the above paragraph. But that
is not enough. There are further types of research presentations. You may say these are the
subdivision of above-mentioned types. Now you will learn about different types of research and
basic difference in them.
Generative vs. exploratory research
This is the research you do before you know what you’re doing. This research leads to ideas and
helps in defining the problem. Don’t think of this as just the earliest research. Even if you’re
working on a current product or service, you might be looking for ideas. You need ideas for
additional features. Generative research includes interviews, reviewing existing literature, and
field observation,

Exploratory research, as the name says, intends to explore the research questions. It does not
make to give conclusive or final solutions for the existing problems. Exploratory research is
conducted with an aim to study a problem that does not have any solution yet.

The research is done in order to understand the nature of the problem. It is not done to provide
conclusive evidence. But it helps in the better understanding of the problem.  When a researcher
conducts exploratory research, he/she should be willing to change his/her direction when new
data reveals.

Exploratory research never gives you the final or conclusive answers to your research questions.
But it explores the research topic on different levels. It has been seen that exploratory research is
an initial stage of research. Exploratory research provides a basis of conclusive research. It will
help in making of research design, sampling methodology and data collection method.
Exploratory research tackles new problems on which no research has been done.

Descriptive vs. Analytical


Descriptive research consists of surveys and fact-finding inquiries of various kinds. The major
reason to carry out descriptive research is describing the state of affairs as it exists at present.
When we do descriptive result in social science and business research, we use the term Ex post
facto research for descriptive research work. The main feature of this method is that the
researcher doesn’t have control over the variables; he can only report things like what has
happened or what is happening.

Most of the ex post facto research projects are made for descriptive studies. In these studies, the
researcher seeks to measure items. Examples are; frequency of shopping, preferences of people,
or similar data. Ex post facto studies also count attempts by researchers to discover causes, even
when controlling variables is out of their hands. The methods of research use for descriptive
research are survey methods of every kind. It includes comparative and co-relational methods.
Whereas, in analytical research, Research use facts or already available information. He critically
evaluates and analyzes the material.

Applied vs. Fundamental


Research can be of two types. One is applied (or action) research. Second is fundamental (to
basic or pure) research. Applied research works by finding a solution for an immediate problem.
These problems are faced by society or by industry whereas fundamental research is primarily
concerned with the formulation of a theory. “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is
termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.” Research which is more concerned with a natural
phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics is fundamental research. Those research studies
which are based on human behavior are also examples of fundamental research.

But applied research is based at conclusions. These conclusions are facing a concrete social or
business problem. Applied research is to identify social, economic or political trends. These
trends may affect a particular institution or copy research or marketing research. Thus, the basic
aim of applied research is to find a solution to practical problems. Fundamental research is for
finding information that has a broad base of applications. It is an add-on to the already existing
scientific knowledge.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative


Quantitative research is recognized by its name. It is the measurement of quantity or amount. It is
applicable to all things which we can measure in terms of quantity. Qualitative research is simply
means quality. Something related to or involving quality or kind is qualitative research. For
example, when we investigate the reason behind human behavior. This type of research is to
discover underlying motives and desires, using in-depth interviews for the purpose. Other
techniques of such research are sentence completion tests, word association tests, story
completion tests.

Attitude or opinion research is also an example of kinds of qualitative research. Other examples
are how people feel about a particular institution. Behavioral science has an important place for
qualitative research. The aim of this research type is to discover the motives of human behavior.
Through these researches, we can analyze the factors affecting behavior. This will further help in
to motivate people to behave in a proper manner.

Conceptual research vs. Empirical research


Conceptual research is related to some abstract ideas or theory. It is mostly used by thinkers and
philosophers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones. On the other hand,
empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often without due regard for system
and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being
verified by observation or experiment.

We can also call it as an experimental type of research; in such research, it is necessary to get the
facts first, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the
production of desired information. In such 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. He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks
will manipulate the persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired
information.

Such research is thus characterized by the experimenter’s control over the variables under study
and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its effects. Empirical research is
appropriate when the proof is sought that certain variables affect other variables in some way.
Evidence that is gathered through empirical studies or experiments, is today considered to be the
most powerful support possible for a given hypothesis.

When a student begins his research work, he often does not pay attention to different types of
research. In my opinion, selecting a particular research type from types mentioned above of
research is of vital importance. You cannot neglect your research work and get away with it. If
you find difficulty in doing research, you can get in touch with our Australian assignment
experts for academic writing.

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