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Career Guide

Career development 19 Types of Research (With De몭nitions and Examples)

19 Types of Research (With De몭nitions

and Examples)
Indeed Editorial Team
Updated December 12, 2022
Published January 13, 2021
The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts
equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
Research is how individuals and businesses collect and analyze data. Accurate and relevant
research guides key business decisions, including marketing plans, sta몭ng decisions and
expansions, and critical data, like environmental impacts, health care, and social characteristics.
Determining what data is most useful for your goals and 몭nding the most e몭ective ways to
obtain it can help your company make successful long-term decisions.

In this article, we discuss 19 types of research and we provide you with examples so you can
choose the methodology that works best for your goals.

Related: How To Put Research on Your Resume (With Examples)

Key takeaways:

Research begins by asking the right questions and choosing an appropriate method to
investigate the problem. 

Research is important both in scienti몭c and nonscienti몭c 몭elds. 

Research methods are classi몭ed based on di몭erent criteria, such as general category, nature
of the study, the purpose of the study and research design.

Why is research important in business?

Research plays di몭erent roles in business, depending on why it's conducted and what will be
the action taken. Research can help you to:

Identify potential and new customers

Understand current customers

Establish pragmatic goals

Develop productive market strategies

Address business challenges

Build a business expansion plan

Identify business opportunities

What are types of research?
Types of research refer to the di몭erent methodologies used to conduct research. Di몭erent
types may be better suited for certain studies based on your goals, timelines and purposes. The
몭rst task is to determine what you want to study and your goals. For example, you may want to
learn more about a general topic or determine how a new policy will a몭ect employees.

Di몭erent types of research studies are useful across industries and 몭elds, including:

Biology, chemistry and other science-related 몭elds

Government o몭ces and agencies

Education

Business

Related: Primary Research vs. Secondary Research: What's The Di몭erence?

Types of research
Fundamental and applied research are the two main research categories. Most research types
can be traced back to being fundamental or applied, depending on the study's goals.

Fundamental research
Fundamental, also known as basic or theoretical, research is designed to help researchers
better understand certain phenomena in the world. It looks at how things work but does not
seek to 몭nd how to make them work better. This research attempts to broaden your
understanding and expand scienti몭c theories and explanations.

Example: A company studies how di몭erent product placements a몭ect product sales. This study
provides information and is knowledge-based.

Related: 20 Types of Research Design You Can Use For Your Research

Applied research
Applied research is designed to identify solutions to speci몭c problems or 몭nd answers to
particular questions. It o몭ers knowledge that is applicable and implementable.

Types of applied research include:

 Technological: This research looks for ways to improve e몭ciency in products, processes and
production.

Scienti몭c: This research measures certain variables to predict behaviors, outcomes and
impact.

Example: A student working on a doctorate in education studies ways to increase student

involvement in the classroom. This research focuses on a de몭ned problem and is solution-
based.

Related: Basic Research vs. Applied Research: De몭nition and Examples

17 additional types of research

Here are 17 additional types of research you may consider as you design your research project:

1. Action research
Action research refers to examining actions, assessing their e몭ectiveness in bringing about
the desired outcome and choosing a course of action based on those results. It is typically used
in educational settings for teachers and principals to perform a type of self-assessment and
course correction.

Example: A teacher collects data about their methods of teaching 몭fth-grade math. At the end
of the 몭rst school quarter, they discovered only 33% of students demonstrated pro몭ciency in
the concepts. As a result, the teacher implements new methods for the second quarter.

Related: How To Write a Research Plan (With De몭nitions and Examples)

2. Causal research
Causal research, also called explanatory research, seeks to determine cause and e몭ect
relationships between variables. It identi몭es how much one variable may cause a change in the
other. Causal research is important for evaluating current processes and procedures and
determining if and how changes should take place.

Example: A business studies employee retention rates before and after instituting a work-from-
home policy after six months of employment to see if the approach increases employee
retention.

Read more: What Is Causal Research? (With Examples, Bene몭ts and Tips)

3. Classi몭cation research
Classi몭cation research seeks to identify and classify individual elements of a group into larger
groups or subgroups.

Example: Researchers study an animal species, placing them in de몭ned categories based on
shared characteristics, such as:

Body segmentation

Type of habitat

Reproductive methods

Diet

Related: What Is Environmental Research? 15 Topics To Consider

4. Comparative research
Comparative research identi몭es similarities and di몭erences between two individuals, subjects
or groups.

Example: A business owner reviews new hire training documentation and discovers that new
employees receive much of the same information at orientation and in their initial
departmental training. The owner incorporates materials into one session to allow more time
for department-speci몭c training.

5. Cross-sectional research
Cross-sectional, or synchronous, research studies a group or subgroup at one point in time.
Participants are generally chosen based on speci몭c shared characteristics, such as age, gender
or income, and researchers examine the similarities and di몭erences within and between
groups. The group is often used as a representation of a larger population.

Example: A company researches the sales techniques of its top 10% of salespeople and
compares them to those of its bottom 10%. This gives the company insights into the most
successful and least successful sales methods.

6. Deductive research
Deductive, or theory-testing, research is the opposite of inductive research and moves from the
broad to the speci몭c. Researchers choose a hypothesis and test its accuracy through
experimentation or observation.

Example: Researchers observed that 12 international corporations enacted in-house carbon

emissions standards in the same year. They use deductive research to compare global
emissions levels before and after the measures were enacted.

Read more: Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning

7. Exploratory research
Exploratory research examines what is already known about a topic and what additional
information may be relevant. It rarely answers a speci몭c question but instead presents the
foundational knowledge of a subject as a precursor to further research. Often, exploratory
research is applied to lesser-known issues and phenomena.

Example: You may consider what is currently known about the success of yearlong maternity
and paternity leave programs. Your research includes gathering all relevant information and
compiling it in an accessible format that wasn't available previously. Your 몭ndings may reveal
gaps in knowledge, leading to additional studies in the future.

Related: De몭nitive Guide To Secondary Research

8. Field research
Field research occurs wherever the participants or subjects are or "on location." This type of
research requires onsite observation and data collection.

Example: A manufacturing plant hires an environmental engineering 몭rm to test the air quality
at the plant to ensure it complies with federal health and safety requirements. The researchers
travel to the plant to collect samples.

Related: Types of Observational Studies

9. Fixed research
Fixed research involves procedures determined ahead of time, such as how often testing will
take place, where it will take place, the number of subjects and their types. The research
depends on precise conditions and compliance with predetermined protocols to reduce
variables. Experimentation is often 몭xed research.

Example: A researcher wants to test how di몭erent labels a몭ect consumers' ratings of a sports
drink. Participants are given the same drink with various labels at the same time and take a
survey about taste and overall impressions. The timing of providing each drink and the
subsequent surveys are critical to the study's validity.

Related: 7 Interview Methods in Research (Plus Interviewing Tips)

10. Flexible research

Flexible research allows procedures to change throughout the course of the experiment. The
di몭erent types of 몭exible research include:

Case studies: Case studies are in-depth analyses and observations about a speci몭c individual
or subject.

Ethnographic studies: Ethnographic studies are in-depth analyses and observations of a

group of people.

Grounded theory studies: Grounded theory studies are designed to develop theories based
on carefully collected and analyzed data.

Example: A physician uses a case study methodology to follow a patient through symptoms,
treatment and recovery.

Related: How To Become a Social Researcher

11. Inductive research

Inductive research, also known as theory-building research, collects data that may help develop
a new theory about a process or phenomenon. It examines observations and patterns and
o몭ers several hypotheses to explain these patterns. Inductive research is often the 몭rst step in
theory generation and may lead to additional research, such as deductive research, to further
test possible hypotheses.

Example: Researchers observed that worldwide emissions declined when 12 international

corporations enacted in-house carbon emissions standards in the same year. The researchers
theorize that worldwide emissions can be reduced signi몭cantly if international corporations
impose in-house emissions standards.

12. Laboratory research

Laboratory research occurs in a controlled laboratory rather than in the 몭eld. Often, the study
demands strict adherence to certain conditions, such as eliminating variables or timing
conditions. Laboratory research includes chemical experimentation and pharmacological
research.

Example: A pharmaceutical company researches a new drug formula to determine if it would

bene몭t diabetes patients. Researchers closely monitor chemical interactions in laboratory
settings before moving to the next step.

Related: What Is a Medical Researcher?

13. Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research focuses on how certain measurements change over time without
manipulating any determining variables. Types of longitudinal research include:

Trend study: Research examines population characteristics over time.

Cohort study: Research traces a subpopulation over time.

Panel study: Research traces the same sample over time.

Example: A researcher examines if and how employee satisfaction changes in the same
employees after one year, three years and 몭ve years with the same company.

14. Mixed research

Mixed research includes both qualitative and quantitative data. The results are often presented
as a mix of graphs, words and images.
Example: A car manufacturer asks car buyers to complete a survey after buying a red or white
sedan. Questions focus on how much the color impacted their decision and other opinion-
based questions.

Related: Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Uses for Each

15. Policy research

Policy research examines the e몭ects of current government or social policies or predicts the
potential e몭ects of proposed policies related to the distribution of resources.

Policy researchers often work within government agencies and conduct the following types of
studies:

Cost analysis

Cost-bene몭t analysis

Program evaluation

Needs analysis

Example: An agency may research how a policy for vaccine distribution will a몭ect residents in
rural areas. The outcome may change where the government sets up free shot clinics.

16. Qualitative research

Qualitative research involves non-numerical data, such as opinions and literature. It uses
descriptions to obtain the meanings and feelings involved in a situation. Businesses often use
qualitative research to determine consumer opinions and reactions.

Examples of qualitative research may include:

Focus groups

Surveys

Participant comments

Observations

Interviews

Example: A marketing organization presents a new commercial to a focus group before airing it
publicly to receive feedback. The company collects non-numerical data—the opinions of the
focus group participants—to make decisions.

Read more: Types of Qualitative Research: De몭nition and Examples

17. Quantitative research

Quantitative research depends on numerical data, such as statistics and measurements, to
investigate speci몭c questions, like who, what, where or when. The results are usually presented
in tables or graphs.

Types of quantitative methods include:

Survey research

Descriptive research

Correlational research

Example: A car manufacturer compares the number of sales of red sedans compared to white
sedans. The research uses objective data—the sales 몭gures for red and white sedans—to draw
conclusions.

Tips for choosing a research methodology

As you decide what you want to research, consider the following tips. They will help you
determine which type of research to use.

Clear objective: You need to know what information you're seeking. A good research
question will be precise, applicable and valuable. This indicates that you can fully address the
issue without bias or prejudgment.

Proper representation: Research 몭ndings depend on the reliability of the information. By

using inclusive surveys and questionnaires, you should ensure the appropriate variables will
be represented, such as the number, type and characteristics of subjects.

Time availability: Make sure you have the time to study the issue, collect data and analyze
your 몭ndings.

Related: What Are the Steps of the Research Process? (Plus Tips)
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