Types of Research

Concept

Fundamental research aims to expand knowledge and develop or test theory for its own sake, without immediate concern for practical use. It asks why and how things are, and its findings are meant to be general. Typical examples are studies on the nature of learning, the structure of matter or how language develops. Its value is judged by its contribution to theory, and although it may look useless at first, it often becomes the base of later applied work.

Concept

Applied research uses existing knowledge to solve a practical problem of a particular group, organisation or society. It tests whether a theory or technique works in real conditions, so it is concerned with usefulness. Evaluating a new teaching method, testing a drug, and market research are standard examples. Its conclusions are valid for the context studied and may be generalised only with care.

Concept

Action research is carried out by practitioners (for example a teacher) in their own working situation to solve an immediate local problem and improve practice. The term was coined by Kurt Lewin in the mid-1940s, who described a spiral of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action. In education it was popularised by Stephen Corey, and Kemmis and McTaggart gave the widely used cycle of plan, act, observe and reflect. The researcher is a participant, the sample is usually the researcher’s own class or group, and findings are used at once to revise the next cycle. Generalisation to other settings is limited. Participatory action research (PAR) goes further and treats the community as co-researchers for empowerment and change.

Concept

The three types sit on a spectrum from theory to practice. Fundamental research targets knowledge and theory, applied research targets the solution of a problem for a wider group, and action research targets improvement within one specific setting and is done by those who work there. Understanding the contrasts lets you answer match-type and “which is correct” questions without memorising each example.

Concept

These types are classified by purpose. Exploratory research is used when little is known; it uses a flexible design, literature survey, expert interviews or case studies to gain insight and to generate hypotheses. Descriptive research describes characteristics of a population or phenomenon as they are, answering what, who, where and how many; surveys, fact-finding enquiries and correlational studies fall here, and no variable is manipulated. Explanatory research (causal or analytical) asks why, tests hypotheses about cause and effect, and often uses experiments or advanced statistics.

Concept

A cross-sectional study collects data from different groups at one point in time, for example children of ages 6, 9 and 12 measured this month; it is quick and inexpensive but cannot follow individual change. A longitudinal study collects data repeatedly over a long period. Within it, a trend study samples different people from the same population at different times, a cohort study follows a group sharing a common experience such as birth year, and a panel study follows exactly the same individuals at each wave. Longitudinal designs show true change but suffer from attrition and high cost.

Concept

Quantitative research measures variables numerically, usually follows a deductive logic, uses large samples and statistics, and aims at generalisation. Qualitative research explores meanings, experiences and context in words, uses inductive logic, small purposive samples and interpretive analysis. Mixed-methods research integrates both, either by running them together (convergent), by following quantitative with qualitative to explain results (explanatory sequential), or by exploring qualitatively first and then testing quantitatively (exploratory sequential), a framework associated with John Creswell. Among qualitative approaches, grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) builds theory from data, ethnography studies a culture through long field immersion, and phenomenology (rooted in Husserl) studies lived experience.

Concept

Conceptual research is based on abstract ideas and reasoning, with no direct data collection; philosophers and theorists develop or reinterpret concepts, and thought experiments such as Einstein’s belong here. Empirical research is data-based, resting on observation or experiment and capable of verification by experience; it is sometimes called experimental type research. In law, the matching pair is doctrinal (study of statutes and cases) and non-doctrinal or empirical research.

Concept

A case study is an intensive investigation of a single unit such as a person, school or community, giving depth rather than breadth. Experimental research manipulates the independent variable, uses a control group and random assignment, and so can establish cause and effect. Historical research studies past events using primary and secondary sources and criticism of those sources. Ex post facto (causal-comparative) research studies a presumed cause after it has already occurred; the researcher cannot manipulate the independent variable, so conclusions about cause are weaker than in experiments.

Concept

Evaluation research judges the worth or effectiveness of a programme, policy or product. Formative evaluation is done during the programme to improve it, and summative evaluation at the end to judge outcomes (the distinction is credited to Michael Scriven). Other forms include process and impact evaluation. Interdisciplinary research integrates concepts and methods from two or more disciplines to address a problem that no single discipline can handle; it differs from multidisciplinary work, where disciplines work side by side without real integration, and transdisciplinary work, which also involves non-academic stakeholders.

Concept

Content analysis systematically codes and quantifies the content of communication such as texts, speeches or media (Berelson is the classic source). A census is complete enumeration of every unit of the population, whereas a sample survey studies a part. Field research is done in the natural setting and has high realism but less control; laboratory research is done in an artificial controlled setting and has high control but lower realism. Meta-analysis statistically combines the results of many independent studies to estimate an overall effect (the term was coined by Gene Glass in 1976). The Delphi technique collects expert opinion through several anonymous rounds with feedback until consensus emerges.