Research is the systematic rigorous investigation of a situation or problem in order to generate new knowledge or validate existing knowledge. Some of the research types are;
Applied research – scientific investigations conducted to answer specific questions or solve practice-related problems.
Basic research – scientific investigation that involves the generation of new knowledge or development of new theories; its results often cannot be applied directly to specific situations.
Correlation research – the systematic investigation of relationships among two or more variables, without necessarily determining cause and effect.
Descriptive research – research that provides an accurate portrayal of characteristics of a particular individual, situation, or group. These studies are a means of discovering new meaning, describing what exists, determining the frequency with which something occurs, and categorizing information.
Ethnographic research – the investigation of a culture through an in-depth study of the members of the culture; it involves the systematic collection, description, and analysis of data for development of theories of cultural behavior.
Experimental research – objective, systematic, controlled investigation for the purpose of predicting and controlling phenomena and examining probability and causality among selected variables.
Exploratory research – studies that are merely formative, for the purpose of gaining new insights, discovering new ideas, and increasing knowledge of phenomena.
Grounded theory – research a research approach designed to discover what problems exist in a given social environment and how the persons involved handle them; it involves formulation, testing, and reformulation of propositions until a theory is developed.
Historical research – research involving analysis of events that occurred in the remote or recent past.
Phenomenological research – an inductive, descriptive research approach developed from phenomenological philosophy; its aim is to describe an experience as it is actually lived by the person.
Qualitative research – research dealing with phenomena that are difficult or impossible to quantify mathematically, such as beliefs, meanings, attributes, and symbols; it may involve content analysis.
Quantitative research – research involving formal, objective information about the world, with mathematical quantification; it can be used to describe test relationships and to examine cause and effect relationships.
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