types of research

Knowledge

2022

We explain what the types of research are according to their area, object of study, methodology, level of analysis or their sources.

Investigations can be carried out from multiple perspectives.

What are the types of research?

A research is a methodical, objective and verifiable procedure for acquiring new knowledge, or application of said knowledge to the solution of problems specific.

It is one of the fundamental human activities, which our species has been exercising in its own way since the dawn of civilization. It has allowed us not only to better understand the functioning of the world around us, but also to modify it at will to make life much simpler, more comfortable and durable.

Research is a very diverse activity, which can be understood and carried out from multiple perspectives, taking into account different aspects of it. It is present in all professional and knowledge fields, scientific or not.

Different types of investigation can involve both the senses and the experiences human beings, such as theoretical knowledge, logic, the idioms formal and the methodology (especially in the case of scientific method).

Therefore, there are as many types of research as there are specific approaches to the research process, that is, to classify research we must address different aspects of it, as we will see below.

According to the object of study

Research such as astrophysics may not have immediate application.

Depending on the purpose of the investigation, we will be able to distinguish between:

  • Basic investigation. Also known as pure or fundamental research, it is proposed to increase the theoretical knowledge available in a subject, without becoming too interested in the usefulness of said knowledge. Therefore, it is of a formal nature and seeks the formulation of laws and theories, if not interpretations. An example of this is philosophical research, or certain theoretical sciences that have no direct application to our lives for now, such as astrophysics.
  • Applied research. On the contrary, this type of research focuses on the use of knowledge and knowledge for the practical resolution of problems, that is, to apply them to the daily world of the humanity. For example, medical research for the purpose of curing diseases, or sociological research that seeks to understand and solve a political problem.

According to the methodology

This classification distinguishes investigations according to the mechanisms used to obtain and process the information.

  • Theoretical research. It would be the equivalent of an "explanatory" investigation, that is, that finds out the why of things and that tries to find reasons, interpretations, arguments and checks for the things you study. This is the case, for example, of the investigation of origins of life, Through the DNA mitochondrial cells of different species.
  • Descriptive research. Also called statistical research, it is one that tries to understand the reality applying a formal language to collect information, that is, registering the world through conceptual tools, without necessarily obtaining answers to the why of things, but rather studying the proportion in which they occur. This is what happens, for example, with studies of marketing, with the electoral polls or with the studies of public health.
  • Analytical research. It is an investigation that starts from certain hypothesis and seeks to verify or refute them, through the application of theoretical knowledge to standard cases or controlled experimental scenarios, in order to establish the relationship between a set of variables and a set of results. It is a deepening of descriptive research. This is the case of experimental investigations with test subjects, such as vaccine tests or pharmacological tests.
  • Exploratory investigation. One that only aspires to capture a very general image of the problem and serve as a basis for future and more complex explorations, or for the formulation of a scientific hypothesis that opens up new experimental fields. For example, research on new materials or the exploration of distant planets are of this type.

According to the level of analysis of the information

Quantitative research can evaluate the performance of new technologies.

In this case, the classification obeys the type of treatment that the research gives to the information handled, that is, the type of methodology used to obtain results.

  • Quantitative investigation. They are those in which it is necessary to measure, estimate, collate magnitudes, and collect data through technical procedures and a formal language, such as mathematics. This is the case, for example, of research in the area of technology, who seek to develop new devices based on their performance and efficiency.
  • Qualitative research. They are those, on the other hand, in which there are no magnitudes to measure, nor hypotheses to test, but rather the aspiration is to better interpret or understand the reality of a certain element, finding the hypotheses and the conclusions in the path. This is the case with most humanistic investigations, such as explorations of the relationship between two famous artists from two different eras, to see if there was any kind of influence.
  • Qualitative-quantitative research. Also known as mixed research, it aspires to be an intermediate procedure between qualitative and quantitative, combining the approaches of both. It is the case of Market studies, which statistically measure the public consumer and then they interpret their feeling around the product studied.

According to their sources of information

Now we will pay attention to the type of instruments or resources that an investigation uses, to differentiate between:

  • Documentary research. That which uses books, documents and other documentary sources (written, audiovisual, sound, etc.) as a source of knowledge. It is the case of monographs on historical issues, for example.
  • Experimental research. Those that are proposed to replicate in a environment controlled some kind of phenomenon that occurs in nature, in order to understand how it occurs and the factors that intervene in it, obtaining predictable or measurable results. This is the case of laboratory studies to develop new drugs with which to combat incurable diseases.
  • Field research. Those that "go out" to the real world and proceed there to carry out their investigations, involving the observer directly in the reality studied. They use surveys, polls, and those kinds of tools. This is what happens with anthropological, statistical studies or the exploration of voting intention.

According to your study area

Industrial research finds applications for knowledge.

Finally, we can distinguish the investigations depending on the area to which they are dedicated, obviously from a very general perspective. We will have like this:

  • Scientific investigations. Those that seek to expand the set of scientific knowledge, either from a theoretical, practical or theoretical-practical point of view. For example, chemical, physical and biological research.
  • Industrial investigations. Those that aspire to give new applications to human knowledge, or to solve specific problems that humanity faces, through the use of technology and inventiveness. For example, of this type are investigations in the area of telecommunications, space travel or new forms of Energy.
  • Humanistic investigations. Those who inquire into the society Y culture human beings, to try to learn about who human beings are and thus interpret in new ways the way we think, feel, act or remember. This is the case of artistic, psychological or historical research.
  • Scientific-social research. Those that try to understand why and how certain things happen in our societies, and that try to think about them from a systemic point of view, closer to that proposed by the pure sciences. This is the case of political, market or sociological research.
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