Page 10 - SREENARAYANAGURU OPEN UNIVERSITY

determine whether they agree with the formulated hypothesis or
not”. This implies that the procedures adopted to undertake an
investigation follow a certain logic sequence.
On the basis of the above discussion, we can summarise that
◆ Organised enquiry the research is an organised inquiry designed and carried out to
provide information for solving a problem. Research also provides
new information to expand the existing knowledge.

1.1.2 Types and Methods of Research

Research typically encompasses different approaches, methods,
or designs employed to conduct scientific investigations. Research
can be classified based on its main intent or methods.
1.1.2.1 Types of Research Based on Intent

The overall purpose or goals for conducting the research forms
the base for this classification. Some of the types of research based
on the intent are:
a. Basic research

Scenario: Franklin’s discovery of electricity and Einstein’s
theory of relativity.
Basic research is undertaken for the sake of knowledge without
any intention to apply it in practice.It is concerned with the
formulation of theories. For insrtance,research studies, concerning
human behaviour carried on with a view to make generalisations
◆ Formulation of about human behaviour are the examples of fundamental research.
theories Basic research is also known as pure research or fundamental

research.
b. Descriptive research

Scenario: An investor considering an investment in the ever-
changing real estate market needs to understand what the current
state of the market is, how it changes (increasing or decreasing),
and when it changes (time of the year) before asking for the why.
The major purpose of descriptive research is description of
the state of affairs as it exists at present. The characteristics of
a particular individual, situation or a group are depicted using
descriptive research. For example, a study conducted to investigate
the purchasing behaviour of people towards a specific commodity,
frequency of shopping, perception of people towards a particular,
organisation study etc. comes under the purview of descriptive
◆ Ex post facto research. Since it is a fact-finding enquiry, descriptive research
research
is otherwise known as Ex post facto (After the Fact) research .
Descriptive research may be cross sectional survey or longitudinal
survey

In cross sectional survey, information is gathered from cross

4 SGOU - SLM -MCom Research Methodology