Definition and Essence of Research

Definition of Research

• Research involves finding answers to questions using organized and systematic methods
• It is systematic, because researchers must follow scientific procedures and principles for reliable results
• Research is organized, because it follows a structured methodology with steps to guide the researcher
• Research seeks to answer questions, even if the answer is negative
• Questions are central; without them, research lacks focus and purpose

The Essence of Research

• Research defines and redefines problems
• Research formulates hypotheses or suggests solutions
• Research collects, organizes, and evaluates data
• Research makes deductions, reaches conclusions, and tests these conclusions against the initial hypothesis
• Research seeks to create new knowledge or use existing knowledge in innovative ways, leading to new concepts, methodologies, and understandings
• Earl Robert Babbie defines research as a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control observed phenomena, using inductive and deductive methods

Characteristics of Good Research

• Follows a systematic approach for accurate data capture
• Requires ethics and a code of conduct during observations and conclusions
• Analysis uses logical reasoning with inductive and deductive methods
• Derives real-time data and knowledge from actual observations
• Involves in-depth data analysis to eliminate anomalies
• Generates new questions and opportunities from existing data
• Uses comprehensive data analysis to eliminate ambiguity in inference
• Accuracy is critical, especially in controlled environments like laboratories
• Accuracy is measured through instruments, calibrations, and experimental results

Sources of Knowledge in the Absence of Research

• Authority
• Tradition
• Common sense
• Media distortion
• Personal experience

Research process steps

• Selecting a topic
• Determining the problem via reviewing the literature
• Identifying a research problem
• Determining research gaps
• Determining the hypotheses
• Setting the research objectives
• Setting the research questions
• Reviewing the literature in detail
• Determining a research framework
• Designing the research
• Collecting data
• Analyzing and interpreting data
• Informing others through writing up & publishing

Research Process vs. Research Design

• These are not the same thing
• A researcher's plan for the practical implementation of a study is, research design
• Research design specifies how, when, and where data are collected, and how they will be analyzed

Basic/Pure Research

• Focuses on improving the understanding of a phenomenon, study, or law
• Examines data to uncover the unknown and satisfy curiosity
• Typically involves "how," "what," and "why" questions to explain occurrences

Applied Research

• Focuses on finding practical solutions for existing problems
• Includes workplace, education, and societal challenges
• Employs empirical methodologies like experiments
• Findings can be implemented upon study completion
• Answers a specific question for a client or sponsor
• Applies natural sciences to improve human conditions

Basic vs. Applied Research: Key Differences

• Basic research driven by curiosity versus applied research being solution-driven
• Basic research aims to advance knowledge; applied research seeks to solve a specific problem
• Applied researchers often work for clients and are driven by their desires
• Basic research is self-initiated and motivated by individual learning
• Basic research expands existing knowledge, while applied research discovers new knowledge
• They often overlap, with basic research providing a foundation for applied research
• Basic research develops theories; applied research solves problems
• Basic research is more theoretical; applied research is more practical
• Basic research helps society learn; applied research tends to have commercial gain
• Applied research has the potential for monetary gains and new products, so governments and industries favor it
• Basic research is more common in fields such as sociology, biology, astronomy, philosophy, and theology

Scope Comparison

• Basic research aims to be a more universal method since it applies to a variety of concepts
• Applied research focuses on solving on one particular problem so it has a more specific utility

Purposes of Research

• Exploratory research investigates new areas, laying the groundwork for conclusive analysis
• Descriptive research expands knowledge through data collection, describing the behavior of a sample population with one study variable
• The primary goals are explaining, describing, and validating findings
• Explanatory research aims to assess the effects of change by running experiments and understanding an effect of rebranding on customer loyalty

Research Philosophy

• Research philosophy: the assumptions about knowledge development and how data on phenomena should be used
• A researcher's worldview shapes their data interpretation and philosophical standpoint
• Researchers have differing assumptions about truth and knowledge and philosophy helps us to see them

Epistemology vs. Ontology

• Ontology & epistemology are main branches of philosophy & products of thought
• Ontology studies the nature of reality (all that exists)
• It addresses subjects like the universe's fundamental nature and structure of our experiences

Epistemology

• Epistemology is the study of knowledge, it how knowledge is gathered and from what sources
• Ontological state concerns "being conscious"
• Epistemological state concerns "knowing that one is conscious"

Ontology vs Epistemology

Four Main Research Philosophies

• Positivism
• Interpretivism (Interpretivist)
• Pragmatism
• Realism

Positivism

• Positivism believes legitimate, "factual" knowledge comes from observation and measurement
• Positivists say phenomena repeatable observations.
• Positivism seeks reality can be manipulated by varying one independent variable to identify relationship within social systems
• Positivism limits the researcher's role to objective data collection and interpretation
• Researchers should stay objective without values or human interest influencing conclusions
• Positivism aims to generalize & predict cause/effect via a process called deductive

Interpretivism (Interpretivist)

• This is an epistemology that gains world knowledge. It does so by interpreting how human actions are interpreted.
• Interpretivism focuses on individuals' values of social & cultural phenomena
• Interpretivism aims to understand human actions rather that predict, using inductive

Pragmatism

• Pragmatism thinks knowledge is socially built, but some match experiences
• Pragmatic research encompasses designs using decisions based on what works for questions
• Thus researchers utilize innovative & dynamic methods in problem solving

Realism

• Realism does not encompass ideas or spiritual, only that which actually exists
• Real knowledge is only that which we observe from our 5 senses
• The actual world is factual while opinions are secondary
• Realism makes practices form from experience, and needs methodologies accountable.
• Realist studies makes objective opinions rather than claims

Components of Scientific Method

• Observing the world
• Posing a question
• Formulating a hypothesis
• Testing that hypothesis with an experiment
• Revising that hypothesis
• Testing revised hypotheses over repeated revisions until experience confirms the most revised hypothesis