Text 1.2 Basic Facts & Characteristics of Research

Categories of Research

Broadly speaking, there are three categories of research:

EXPLORATORY

Attempts to answer the question "What?"

Offers a background or familiarizes the researcher about a general subject.

This can include literature surveys, focus groups, and case analyses.

In these cases, researchers are looking for ideas, historical information, or data sources.

For example, if a motorcycle company wants to create a new line of motorcycles, they will research (exploratory) past data to find out what their previous buyers really liked and what did not sell as well.

books on brown wooden shelf

DESCRIPTIVE

Attempts to answer the questions "Who?," "What?," and/or "How?"

Aims to describe a group of people or entities. This can help identify a specific behavior or pattern.

Let's say the same motorcycle company from before sees its sales declining. From the market research (descriptive) they might find that young males aged 18-32 are buying fewer new motorcycles.

From here they can decide if they need to do more research, or what marketing events they need to conduct.

man sitting on the motorcycle

EXPERIMENTAL

Attempts to establish causality

Seeks to determine whether there is a causal relationship between two variables, i.e., whether a change in one variable causes a change in the other.

This is probably what most people have in mind when they think of "research." This type of research includes stating a hypothesis and conducting an experiment to see if the hypothesis is correct.

You most likely did this type of research if you entered a science fair in elementary or secondary school.

Continuing with the motorcycle company, if they now want to know why there might be fewer young males aged 18-32 buying motorcycles, the company is no longer just describing the situation and is instead seeking to understand what's causing it.

Methods of Research

Research methods are broadly placed into two categories:

Qualitative

This method helps researchers understand what participants think and why they think that way. This often involves asking people open-ended questions that ask them to say what they think or how they feel about something.

A very famous and current researcher that uses this method is Brené Brown.💗 She has become well known for her books on leadership, empathy, and relationships. She asks thousands of participants how they feel or think about specific topics and uses their answers along with other data to address some distinctly human-related psychological questions.

An extremely basic way of looking at it is that qualitative research usually involves analyzing what people say or write.

Quantitative

Researches use this method to investigate relationships with measurable variables to either explain, predict or control a phenomenon. It uses a systematic approach to investigating events or data. This usually deals with numbers and measurable forms.

🃏A famous researcher who used this method is Ed Thorp. In 1962, he wrote Beat the Dealer, the first book to mathematically prove that the house advantage in blackjack could be overcome by card counting (how awesome is that for research?).🃏

An extremely basic way of looking at it is that quantitative research usually involves analyzing numbers.

Basic Operations of Research

Scientific research, regardless of the field of inquiry, involves three basic operations: data collection, data analysis, and report writing.

Data Collection: The process of gathering and measuring information on variables of interest, in an established systematic fashion that enables one to answer stated research questions, test hypotheses, and evaluate outcomes (ORI).

Data Analysis: The process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical techniques to describe, illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data (ORI).

Report Writing: This method will vary depending on the type of research you are conducting.

Deeper Dive: Characteristics of Research (optional)

🎥 MOVIE TIME!

If you would like to learn more about certain characteristics of research, then watch the movie below! There are more than 11 such characteristics, but they are pretty universal regardless of the type of research you may conduct.

Transcript: Research Characteristics

References

iEduNote. (2021, February 2). Research: Definition, characteristics, goals, approaches. iEduNote. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.iedunote.com/research-definition-characteristics-goals-approaches

ORI. (n.d.). Data analysis. Responsible conduct in data management. The Office of Research Integrity. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/n_illinois_u/datamanagement/datopic.html

ORI. (n.d.). Data collection. Responsible conduct in data management. The Office of Research Integrity. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/n_illinois_u/datamanagement/dctopic.html

Universal Teacher. (2013). Three Types of Research Design. Three types of research design. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://universalteacher.com/1/three-types-of-research-design/