Chapter 5: The types of research
You can classify research in a number of different ways.
The first way research can be classified is according to its methodology used.
Under this classification, you get:
Quantitative research, which uses facts, numbers, measures and
statistics. Answers are often given as scores, and analysed in a more
mathematical way. However, this is not adequate for describing
experiences, feelings and other more grey-area things.
Qualitative research, which uses words and descriptions. This
acknowledges personal experiences, people's own perceptions, emotions
and biases.
Mixed-method research, which uses both the types mentioned above.
Sometimes, researchers can avoid the disadvantages of either methods
by combining the two methods.
The second way we can classify research is according to the purpose of the
research. This gives us the following types:
Basic social research: This aims to increase our understanding of a
certain phenomenon or aspect of society.
Applied social research: This aims to solve a particular problem faced by
a specific group of people. This is often more useful, as it includes an
action to combat a social problem, rather than just shed light on it.
Other types of research include participatory research, action research,
community needs assessments and monitoring and evaluation studies.
These are not focused on too much.
The third way distinguishes between primary and secondary research. Primary
research is when the researcher collects data to answer their research
question. Secondary research is when they use their data to answer new
research questions. For example, investigating the rate of the migration of
farmers to urban areas would be secondary research as it is answering more
than just “At what rate are farmers moving to urban areas?”. It also answers
why, what factors are involved, what are the consequences of this urbanisation,
etc.
The fourth way of classifying research is based on the demands of the research
question (in other words, what does the research question require of the
participant?). Here, you get four main types:
Exploratory research: This is when little is known about the topic of
interest, and the researcher is simply trying to learn more about the topic
and generate questions and hypotheses. More information must be
obtained before more specific research can even be done. An example of
this would be the topic, “How do Aborigine women experience the
demands of their cultural gender roles?”
Descriptive research: This is when the researcher is simply trying to
describe a certain phenomenon. There is enough existing information on
the topic to start formulating research questions which will focus on
describing and understanding the topic. Patterns and trends in social
behaviour are often hot topics for descriptive research.
Correlational research: This investigates the relationship between two
You can classify research in a number of different ways.
The first way research can be classified is according to its methodology used.
Under this classification, you get:
Quantitative research, which uses facts, numbers, measures and
statistics. Answers are often given as scores, and analysed in a more
mathematical way. However, this is not adequate for describing
experiences, feelings and other more grey-area things.
Qualitative research, which uses words and descriptions. This
acknowledges personal experiences, people's own perceptions, emotions
and biases.
Mixed-method research, which uses both the types mentioned above.
Sometimes, researchers can avoid the disadvantages of either methods
by combining the two methods.
The second way we can classify research is according to the purpose of the
research. This gives us the following types:
Basic social research: This aims to increase our understanding of a
certain phenomenon or aspect of society.
Applied social research: This aims to solve a particular problem faced by
a specific group of people. This is often more useful, as it includes an
action to combat a social problem, rather than just shed light on it.
Other types of research include participatory research, action research,
community needs assessments and monitoring and evaluation studies.
These are not focused on too much.
The third way distinguishes between primary and secondary research. Primary
research is when the researcher collects data to answer their research
question. Secondary research is when they use their data to answer new
research questions. For example, investigating the rate of the migration of
farmers to urban areas would be secondary research as it is answering more
than just “At what rate are farmers moving to urban areas?”. It also answers
why, what factors are involved, what are the consequences of this urbanisation,
etc.
The fourth way of classifying research is based on the demands of the research
question (in other words, what does the research question require of the
participant?). Here, you get four main types:
Exploratory research: This is when little is known about the topic of
interest, and the researcher is simply trying to learn more about the topic
and generate questions and hypotheses. More information must be
obtained before more specific research can even be done. An example of
this would be the topic, “How do Aborigine women experience the
demands of their cultural gender roles?”
Descriptive research: This is when the researcher is simply trying to
describe a certain phenomenon. There is enough existing information on
the topic to start formulating research questions which will focus on
describing and understanding the topic. Patterns and trends in social
behaviour are often hot topics for descriptive research.
Correlational research: This investigates the relationship between two
