GP COM

• Criteria of a Good Research

  • Purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used
  • Research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement
  • Procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible
  • Researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings
  • Analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate
  • The validity and reliability of the data should be checked carefully
  • Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research
• Qualities of a Good Research

  • It is systematic
  • It is logical
  • It is empirical
  • It is replicable
• Pure/Basic Research


  The solution to the research problem has no apparent applications to any existing practical problem but only of the scholarly interests of a community of a researcher. It attempts to generate and expand the fundamental knowledge about social world. It has no practical value or has little direct impact on action, performance or policy decision.
• Applied/Action/Development Research


  Is inspired by the needs of social action and aims at finding a practical solution for an immediate problem of the sociality making optimal use of the available resources. The problem-solving nature of the applied research means it is conducted to reveal answers to specific questions related to action, performance or policy needs.
• Differences between Basic and Applied Research

  • Basic Research: Research problems and subjects are selected with a great deal of freedom, research is judged by absolute norms and scientific rigor, the primary concern is with the internal logic and rigor of research design, the driving goal is to contribute to basic, theoretical knowledge, success comes when results appear in a scholarly journal and have an impact in the scientific community
  • Applied Research: Research problems are narrowly constrained to the demands of client or the sponsor, the rigor and standard of scholarship depend on the uses of results, the primary concern is with the ability to generalize findings to areas of interest to sponsor/client, the driving goal is to have practical payoffs or use of results, success comes when results are used by sponsor/client in decision making
• Descriptive Research


  Deals with collecting data and testing hypotheses or answering questions concerning the current status of the subject of study. It deals with the question 'what is' of a situation. It concerns with determining the current practices, status or features of situations.
• Exploratory Research


  The process of investigating a problem that has not been studied or thoroughly investigated in the past. Exploratory studies are conducted when trying to gain familiarity with an existing phenomenon and acquire new insight into it to form a more precise problem.
• Correlational Research


  It aims at determining the degree of relationship between two or more quantifiable variables. The relationship determined could be used for making predictions. A correlational study describes in quantitative terms the degree to which the variables are related.
• Explanatory Research


  Used to explain why phenomena occur and to predict future occurrences. Explanatory studies are characterized by research hypotheses that specify the nature and direction of the relationships between or among variables being studied.
• Types of Research According to Mode of Inquiry


  • Quantitative research - based on the measurement of quantity or amount, applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity
  • Qualitative research - especially important in the behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives of human behaviour
  • Mixed Method - Quali-Quanti
• Methods of Data Collection in Qualitative Research

  • Observations
  • Interviews
  • Focus Group Discussions
  • Record Keeping
  • Textual and/or Visual analysis
• A. S. Gyorgi: 'Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.'
• Types of Research according to Application

  • Pure/Basic Research
  • Applied/Action/Development Research
• Types of Research according to Objectives

  • Descriptive Research
  • Exploratory Research
  • Correlational Research
  • Explanatory Research