What are the types of Research?

Following are the types of research:

Basic Research: Basic research is mostly conducted to enhance knowledge. It covers
fundamental aspects of research. The main motivation of this research is knowledge
expansion. It is a non-commercial research and doesn’t facilitate in creating or inventing
anything. For example, an experiment is a good example of basic research.
Applied Research: Applied research focuses on analyzing and solving real-life
problems. This type of research refers to the study that helps solve practical problems using
scientific methods. This research plays an important role in solving issues that impact the
overall well-being of humans. For example, finding a specific cure for a disease.
Problem Oriented Research: As the name suggests, problem-oriented research is
conducted to understand the exact nature of the problem to find out relevant solutions. The
term “problem” refers to having issues or two thoughts while making any decisions.
For e.g Revenue of a car company has decreased by 12% in the last year. The following could
be the probable causes: There is no optimum production, poor quality of a product, no
advertising, economic conditions etc.
Problem Solving Research: This type of research is conducted by companies to
understand and resolve their own problems. The problem-solving research uses applied
research to find solutions to the existing problems.
Qualitative Research: Qualitative research is a process that is about inquiry, that
helps in-depth understanding of the problems or issues in their natural settings. This is a
non- statistical research method.
Qualitative research is heavily dependent on the experience of the researchers and the
questions used to probe the sample. The sample size is usually restricted to 6-10 people in a
sample. Open-ended questions are asked in a manner that one question leads to another.
The purpose of asking open-ended questions is to gather as much information as possible
from the sample.
Following are the methods used for qualitative research:
1. One-to-one interview
2. Focus groups
3. Ethnographic Research
4. Content/ Text Analysis
5. Case study research

Quantitative Research: Qualitative research is a structured way of collecting data and

analyzing it to draw conclusions. Unlike qualitative research, this research method uses a
computational, statistical and similar method to collect and analyze data. Quantitative data
is all about numbers.
Quantitative research involves a larger population as more number of people means more
data. In this manner, more data can be analyzed to obtain accurate results. This type of
research method uses close-ended questions because, in quantitative research, the
researchers are typically looking at measuring the extent and gathering foolproof statistical
data.
Online surveys, questionnaires, and polls are preferable data collection tools used in
quantitative research. There are various methods of deploying surveys or questionnaires. In
recent times online surveys and questionnaires have gained popularity. Survey respondents
can receive these surveys on mobile phones, emails or can simply use the internet to access
surveys or questionnaires.
Exploratory Research: As the name suggests, exploratory research is conducted to
explore the research questions and may or may not offer a final conclusion to the research
conducted. It is conducted to handle new problem areas which haven’t been explored
before. Exploratory research lays the foundation for more conclusive research and data
collection. For example, a research conducted to know the level of customer
satisfaction among the patrons of a restaurant.
Descriptive Research: Descriptive research focuses on throwing more light on current
issues through a process of data collection. Descriptive studies are used to describe the
behavior of a sample population. In descriptive research, only one variable (anything that
has quantity or quality that varies) is required to conduct a study. The three main purposes
of descriptive research are describing, explaining and validating the findings. For example, a
research conducted to know if top-level management leaders in the 21st century posses the
moral right to receive a huge sum of money from the company profit?
Explanatory Research: Explanatory research or causal research, is conducted to
understand the impact of certain changes in existing standard procedures. Conducting
experiments is the most popular form of casual research. For example, research conducted
to understand the effect of rebranding on customer loyalty.

METHODOLOGY
Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of
study. It comprises the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated
with a branch of knowledge. Typically, it encompasses concepts such as paradigm,
theoretical model, phases and quantitative or qualitative techniques.
A methodology does not set out to provide solutions—it is therefore, not the same as a
method. Instead, a methodology offers the theoretical underpinning for understanding
which method, set of methods, or best practices can be applied to a specific case, for
example, to calculate a specific result.
It has been defined also as follows:

1. "the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a

discipline";
 2. "the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a
discipline";
3. "the study or description of methods"

METHODOLOGY, THEORY, PARADIGM, ALGORITHM,

AND METHOD
The methodology is the general research strategy that outlines the way in which research is
to be undertaken and, among other things, identifies the methods to be used in it.
These methods, described in the methodology, define the means or modes of data
collection or, sometimes, how a specific result is to be calculated. Methodology does not
define specific methods, even though much attention is given to the nature and kinds of
processes to be followed in a particular procedure or to attain an objective.
When proper to a study of methodology, such processes constitute a constructive generic
framework, and may therefore be broken down into sub-processes, combined, or their
sequence changed.
A paradigm is similar to a methodology in that it is also a constructive framework. In
theoretical work, the development of paradigms satisfies most or all of the criteria for
methodology. An algorithm, like a paradigm, is also a type of constructive framework,
meaning that the construction is a logical, rather than a physical, array of connected
elements.
Any description of a means of calculation of a specific result is always a description of a
method and never a description of a methodology. It is thus important to avoid
using methodology as a synonym for method or body of methods. Doing this shifts it away
from its true epistemological meaning and reduces it to being the procedure itself, or the
set of tools, or the instruments that should have been its outcome. A methodology is the
design process for carrying out research or the development of a procedure and is not in
itself an instrument, or method, or procedure for doing things.
Methodology and method are not interchangeable. In recent years, however, there has
been a tendency to use methodology as a "pretentious substitute for the
word method".Using methodology as a synonym for method or set of methods leads to
confusion and misinterpretation and undermines the proper analysis that should go into
designing research.