Types of Research Overview

Types of Research

• Research is defined as a systematic search for information on a specific topic.
• It's the art of scientific investigation.

Types of Research

• Descriptive vs. Analytical: Descriptive research describes a single variable or multiple variables. Analytical research involves breaking down the issue to understand cause and effect.
• Applied vs. Fundamental: Applied research aims to solve a practical problem. Fundamental research explores theories and expands knowledge.
• Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative research deals with measurable, numerical data. Qualitative research is focused on descriptions and understanding phenomena.
• Conceptual vs. Empirical: Conceptual research involves deriving conclusions from established theories. Empirical research gathers data and uses these to form theories.
• Longitudinal vs. Cross-sectional: Longitudinal research tracks a group over a long period. Cross-sectional research examines different groups at a single point in time.

Historical Research Method

• History is the record of changing processes.
• Social scientists study the past to better understand the present.
• It's a meaningful account of human achievement, not just a list of events.
• It focuses on the relationships between people, events, time, and place.
• Uses the scientific method for historical problems.

Purpose of Historical Research

• This research provides important information on past practices which can influence future actions and theories in school/colleges.
• Explains the 'how' and 'why' of developed theories and practices in schools.
• Creates a better understanding of the meaning and significance of events examined.
• Helps to gain a better historical account of the past.
• Improves current understanding of the present.

Sources of Historical Research

• Sources include autobiographies, diaries, confessions, memories, personal letters, accessible documents, newspapers, literature, books, magazines, cultural/analytical history material, artistic materials, historical paintings, portraits, charts etc.
• These can be divided into primary and secondary sources.

Primary Sources

• Primary sources are original documents.
• They are the solid basis of historical research and highly valued by historians.
• Examples include documents, or records, written by people involved in the event, photographs, minutes of events, personal documents, etc.
• Other types include remains or relics (fossils, tools, weapons, etc.) and oral testimony.

Secondary Sources

• Secondary sources are accounts or records removed from the original event.
• They are reports of a person who relates the testimony of an actual witness.
• They report what someone else said or wrote about the event.
• Examples include most history books and encyclopedias.

Characteristics of Historical Method

• Universal
• Involves intense investigation of material already available.
• Limited to material directly related to historical records.
• Application of scientific method to historical problems.
• Hypothesis are not always possible
• Interpretation depends on the topic of the study.

Approaches to Historical Research

• Perspective Approach: Studies events from the past toward the present, often focusing on political personalities.
• Retrospective Approach: Studies events in the present and moves toward the past, focusing more on social phenomena.

Types of Historical Research

• Approach: A specific methodology, like the pragmatic approach.
• Subject: Scope of the topic, encompassing individuals or civilizations.
• Technique: Research methods (using documents or relics).

Steps of Historical Research

• Identification and definition of a problem: Considers the significance and availability of data.
• Collection of data: Gathering data from various sources (diaries, records, remains, etc)
• Criticism of data: Evaluating the validity and authenticity of data sources.
• Interpretation of data: Synthesizing data and drawing generalizations/conclusions.

Limitations of Historical Research

• Difficulty in establishing cause-effect relationships.
• Challenges in maintaining objectivity.
• Requires a specific historical perspective from the researcher.
• A decreased importance with the rise of scientific methods in social sciences.

Guidelines of Historical Research

• Utilize primary sources extensively.
• Avoid personal bias, avoid letting personal views influence the research.
• Acknowledge relationships among educational practices, social institutions, and other forces.
• Interpret words and expressions in context of earlier time periods.
• Synthesize various facts into meaningful generalizations to understand the overall meaning.
• Differentiate significant versus trivial facts.

Descriptive Research

• Measures or describes variables as they exist naturally.
• Doesn't focus on relationships between variables but rather describes variables individually.
• Useful for preliminary research and understanding a new phenomenon.
• Can capture naturally occurring behavior.

Survey Method

• Systematic gathering of data from a population.
• Used when adequate information is not present in records or files.
• A tool for studying social problems (poverty, unemployment, etc.)
• May involve observation, interviews, attitude scales, projective techniques or small-scale experiments.
• Collected data is useful for further social and related research.

Case Study

• In-depth study of an individual or small group.
• May include interventions or treatments by the researcher.
• Can be used to study rare behaviors.
• Also called a case history sometimes.
• Data gathered through interviews, observations, surveys, archival records

Ex-Post Facto Design

• Used when the variable of interest cannot be ethically manipulated.
• Studies the effects of a variable after it has occurred to find the antecedents.
• Can be used to study laws, diseases, economic changes, etc. - This design looks backward, focusing on the outcome first.
• Retrospective by nature.

Ethnographic Study

• Combines Greek words, ethnos ("people") and graph ("writing") meaning describes particular social.
• A qualitative methodology used to immerse the researcher in real-world social groups or environments.
• Important for comparative analysis of cultural groups (ethnography).
• Analyzes a particular community to discover unique insights.
• Provides a multifaceted approach to gather in-depth observations and data about particular communities.

Elements of Ethnography

• Observation
• Social Interaction
• Interviews
• Gathering of Documents and Artifacts
• Photographs, video, and other visual material

Types of Ethnographic Design

• Life History: Describes the life experiences of participants.
• Memoir: Researcher's notes during ethnographic research.
• Narrative ethnography: Participants describe their experiences and cultural reality.
• Auto-ethnography: Researcher writes and describes their own experiences while being immersed in the culture.
• Fiction: Ethnographic approach using short stories, poems, novels, and performances.
• Applied ethnography: Related to social change or community empowerment programs.
• Ethnography decision model: Relates to a group decision-making process.
• Institutional ethnography: Focuses on the daily lives of people in relation to rules.
• Organizational ethnography: Aims to understand the daily operation of the organization.

Diagnostic Research

• Identifies the underlying causes of a condition, behavior, or phenomenon.
• Answers "why" questions to understand the causes of problems, such as declining product sales.
• Often involves evaluating the frequency of events and their interaction with other factors.
• Similar to clinical research, studies health and illnesses for preventing, diagnosing, and treating.

Steps of Diagnostic Research

• Step 1: Inception of the problem – identify when the issue arose and in which situations.
• Step 2: Diagnosis of the problem – identify the underlying causes and factors.
• Step 3: Solution of the problem – identify approaches to resolve issues.

This quiz explores various types of research, including descriptive, analytical, applied, and fundamental methods. It provides insights into quantitative and qualitative research techniques as well as conceptual and empirical approaches. Test your understanding of these essential research concepts.