Types of Research

1.      Pure / Fundamental research

2.      Applied Research

3.      Action Research

4.      Developmental Research

5.      Evaluative research

6.      Interdisciplinary research

7.      Participatory research

                                  

1. Pure / Fundamental research

Pure research is concerned with generalizations and with the formulation of a theory or developing theory. It also redefines the existing theory

n      Gathering knowledge

n   No clear practical uses/policy relevance

n   Driven by thoughts/ideas

n   Guided by intellectual curiosity

n   Open-ended

n   Aimed at peer group

                                

2. APPLIED RESEARCH

APPLIED RESEARCH is a research done for an explicit purpose to solve an identified problem.

#  Application of  theories to  study the   phenomena

#  To find out possible solutions to the current  problems.

n   Using theory or atheoretical

n   Clear practical use/policy relevance

n   Driven by data

n   Guided by research commissioners

n   Has time and money constraints

n   Aimed at decision-makers

3. ACTION RESEARCH

n    undertaken with the goal of immediate application

n    refers to study of ‘on-the-job’ problems

n    adapts itself to the changes that have taken place in the particular community.

n    For example a teacher conducts action research to improve his/her own teaching.

DEFINITION

·        ACTION RESEARCH is systematic enquiry designed to yield practical results capable of improving a specific aspect of practice and made public to enable scrutiny and testing.

·        Action Research is a small scale intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close examination of the effects of such intervention.

·        Action Research in education is study conducted by colleagues in a school setting of the results of their activities to improve instruction. 

·        Action Research is a fancy way of saying let’s study what’s happening at our school and decide how to make it a better place.

HOW DO I BEGIN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT?

Ø  BEFORE beginning the step-by-step process, the researcher should spend few minutes to review the pre-project activities that are to be taken up to help frame .

Ø  ACTION RESEARCH process asks the researcher to look at the current practice, identify something that might require change or a new strategy to implement, setting up a system for implementing the plan and analysing the results.  

TYPES OF ACTION RESEARCH 

1.      Teacher Researcher

              Focus is on classroom and an individual teacher.

2.      Collaborative Research

     Focus is on changes in one or more class rooms, grades or departments

3.      School wide Action Research

              Focus on school improvement, learning of students

MERITS

n            Helps in decision-making and action.

n            Broadens and deepens the fund of knowledge.

n            Helps to acquaint with research sight.

n            The problem-solving activity of action research helps in implementing one’s own findings into practice.

n            The experience of action research strengthens the profession as a whole.

n            Brings experimental outlook among the workers.

4. DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH

n   DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH is a variant of applied research in that the research has a problem solving function and leads to further research on the basis of its own findings

Implications for Development Research

• multi-sited research on the big issues (360 degree perspective)

• connecting global and local knowledge

• learning across development stories

• greater symmetry in partnerships

• understand our impact

Challenges

• New funding sources

– Matching international development & domestic funding sources

• New partnerships

– with organisations more geared to domestic issues

• New relationships

– less hierarchical, more symmetric

• New standards

– of accountability, ethics

5. EVALUATION RESEARCH

·       Evaluation is a methodological area that is closely related to, but distinguishable from, more traditional social research.

·       Evaluation utilizes many of the same methodologies used in traditional social research.

·       But because evaluation takes place within a political and organizational context, it requires group skills, management ability, political dexterity, sensitivity to multiple stakeholders, and other skills that social research in general does not rely on as much.

DEFINITION

n      Evaluation research is intended to evaluate the impact of social interventions, as an instance of applied research, it intends to have a real-world effect.

n      The most frequently given definition of evaluation is  “the systematic assessments if the worth or merit of some object.

n      Evaluation research is the systematic acquisition and assessment of information to provide useful feedback about some object.

n      Both definitions agree that evaluation is a systematic endeavor and both use the deliberately ambiguous term , which could refer to a program, policy, technology, person, need, activity and so on.

Goals of Evaluation Research

n      The generic goal of most evaluation is to provide useful feedback to a variety of audiences including  sponsors, client groups, donors, administrators, staff, and other relevant constituencies.

n      Feed back is useful in decision making process

Evaluation strategies

    Four major groups of evaluation strategies are discussed here:

1.   Scientific-Experimental Models

2.   Management-Oriented Systems Models

3.   Qualitative/anthropological Models

4.   Participant-Oriented Models

n    SCIENTIFIC-EXPERIMENTAL MODELS

    These are probably the most historically dominant evaluation strategies. Taking their values and methods from the sciences-especially the social sciences-they prioritize on the desirability of impartiality, accuracy, objectivity, and the validity of the generated information.

n    MANGEMENT–ORIENTED SYSTEMS MODELS

    Two of the most common of these are the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM).  Both have been widely used in business and government in this country.

n    QUALITATIVE/ANTHROPOLOGICAL MODELS

    These models emphasize the importance of observation, the need to retain the phenomenological quality of the evaluation context, and the value of subjective human interpretation in the evaluation process

n    PARTICIPANT-ORIENTED MODELS

    These models emphasize the central importance of the evaluation participants, especially clients and users of the program technology.  Client-centered and stakeholder approaches are examples of participant oriented models, as are consumer-oriented evaluation Systems.

Types of Evaluation Research

    The most important basic distinction in evaluation type is that between formative and summative evaluations.

n    FORMATIVE EVALUATION

    Strengthen or improve the object being evaluated; they help form it by examining the delivery of the program or technology the quality of its implementation, and the assessment of the organizational context, personnel, procedures, inputs, and so on.

n    SUMMATIVE EVALUATION

    In contrast, examine the effects or outcomes of some object.  They summarize it by  describing what happens subsequent to delivery of the program or technology; assessing whether the object can be said to have caused the outcome; determining the overall impact of the causal factor beyond only the Immediate target outcomes; and estimate the relative costs associated with the object.

Types of summative evaluation

n      Outcome evaluation investigate whether the program or technology caused demonstrable effects on specifically defined target outcomes.

n      Impact evaluation is broader and assesses the overall or net effects-intended or unintended of the program or technology as a whole.

n      Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit analysis address questions of efficiency by standardizing outcomes in terms of their dollar costs and values.

n      Secondary analysis re-examines existing data to address new questions or use methods not previously employed.

n      Meta-analysis integrates the outcome estimates from multiple studies to arrive at an overall or summary judgment on an evaluation question.

6. Interdisciplinary research

       P.V. Young points out “IR is a Co-operative work which presupposes disciplined, united effort of persons who are dedicated for development and welfare, and not distracted by self interests, arguments and jealousies”.

            Social research as well as applied research calls for inter-disciplinary research. As sciences are clearly demarcated human life cannot be demarcated. A disciplined-specific study of social problems gives only one perspective of the problem. It does not give us the total view of the problem. In fact during the 19th and 20th century research concentrated on specific disciplines and specilised areas within those disciplines. But today problems are to be looked at from different angels. A holistic approach has now become necessary in many areas. To achieve this one has to depend on contributions from many disciplines.

            Inter-disciplinary approach is a method of research in which the tools of different sciences are used to find an explanation to the issue under study. It is a cooperative and coordinated study. Here experts of different disciplines pool their knowledge together for the purpose of finding explanation to a problem. It is an approach in which resources from different disciplines should be blended to provide a more meaningful and valid approach to solve a problem.

Features of inter-disciplinary approach:

1.      Cooperative and coordinated research.

2.      No single discipline is all pervasive.

3.      Necessary to avoid evils of over specilisation.

4.      Altruistic and creative.

5.      Holistic outlook.

6.      Branching off and diverging in thought and action.

7.      Integration with selective freedom, effective linkage and functional efficiency.

TYPES  OF INTER-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

1.      Inter-disciplinary approach coordinate various sciences.  A type of this method is such that in its social investigator himself conducts research and seeks help from other sciences wherever required.  This help is secured in the form of expert advice from the researchers of other sciences.

2. In a different type of inter-disciplinary approach, different experts of different sciences conduct researchers in their own field.  They study a problem independently and themselves prepare plan of study in their own field.
3. The third type is somewhat different from the two types.  In it, the investigators from the different sciences work in collaboration right from the beginning to the end. They work as members of a research group or team in which the functions are divided and every member is responsible to fulfill his own functions.

7. Participatory Research

Participatory Research seeks to de-elitise and de-mystify research thereby making it an intellectual tool which ordinary people can use to improve their lives.

Characteristics of Participatory Research

In sharp contrast to elitist research the key features of participatory research are:

• people are the subjects of research: the dichotomy between subject and object is broken
• people themselves collect the data, and then process and analyse the information using methods easily understood by them
• the knowledge generated is used to promote actions for change or to improve existing local actions
• the knowledge belongs to the people and they are the primary beneficiaries of the knowledge creation
• research and action are inseparable – they represent a unity
• research is a praxis rhythm of action-reflection where knowledge creation supports action
• people function as organic intellectuals
• there is an built-in mechanism to ensure authenticity and genuineness of the information that is generated because people themselves use the information for life improvement.

The key processes of Participatory Research

The promotion of participatory research is basically an exercise in stimulating the people to:

• collect information
• reflect and analyse it
• use the results as a knowledge base for life improvement, and
• whenever possible, to document the results for wider dissemination ie for the creation of a people’s literature.

The role of the researcher 

The role of the researcher is to promote the above processes. This can be done by:

• assisting people to collect data and then to process and analyse the information using simple methods which enables them to systematise their knowledge
• linking the local situation (which the people know best) to the larger external situation (about which the outside may know more)
• improving people’s access to new information and formal knowledge (eg technology)
• introducing local people to experiences from outside their environment
• throwing up relevant issues or problems for local people to reflect on and analyse and then assisting them in coming to their own conclusions.

The important thing is that the interaction between local people and the outside professional must primarliy benefit the people concerned by enabling them to articulate and systematise their own thought processes and thereby enhancing their knowledge base so that the can pursue independent actions.