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Types of research
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Quantitative research aim to measure the quantity or amount and compares it with past records and tries to project for future period. In social sciences, “quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships”. The objective of qualitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories or hypothesis pertaining to phenomena. The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships. Statistics is the most widely used branch of mathematics in quantitative research. Statistical methods are used extensively with in fields such as economics and commerce. Quantitative research involving the use of structured questions, where the response options have been Pre-determined and large number of respondents is involved.eg:-total sales of soap industry interms of rupees cores and or quantity interms of lakhs tones for particular year, say 2008,could be researched, compared with past 5 years and then projection for 2009 could be made.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH.
Qualitative research presents non-qualitative type of analysis. Qualitative research is collecting, analyzing and interpreting data by observing what people do and say. Qualitative research research refers to the meanings, definitions, characteristics, symbols, metaphors, and description of things. Qualitative research is much more subjective and uses very different methods of collecting information,mainly individual, indepth interviews and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is exploratory and open ended. Small number of people are interviewed in depth and or a relatively small number of focus groups are conducted. Qualitative research can be further classified in the following type. I. Phenomenology:-a form of research in which the researcher attempts to understand how one or more individuals experience a phenomenon. Eg:-we might interview 20 victims of bhopal tragedy. II. Ethnography:- this type of research focuses on describing the culture of a group of people. A culture is the shared attributes, values, norms, practices, language, and material things of a group of people. Eg:-the researcher might decide to go and live with the tribal in Andaman island and study the culture and the educational practices. III. Case study:-is a form of qualitative research that is focused on providing a detailed account of one or more cases
Characteristics of Research:
Certain terms are very commonly used in research and the success of any research depends on these terms. These terms determine whether a research is free of biases, prejudices and subjective errors or not. 1. Reliability is a subjective term which can not be measured precisely but today there are instruments which can estimate the reliability of any research. Reliability is the repeatability of any research, research instrument, tool or procedure. If any research yields similar results each time it is undertaken with similar population and with similar procedures, it is called to be a reliable research. Suppose a research is conducted on the effects of separation between parents on class performance of the children. If the results conclude that separation causes low grades in class, these results should have to be reliable for another sample taken from similar population. More the results are similar; more reliability is present in the research. 2. Validity is the strength with which we can call a research conclusions, assumptions or propositions true or false. Validity determines the applicability of research . Validity of the research instrument can be defined as the suitability of the research instrument to the research problem or how accurately the instrument measures the problem. Some researchers say that validity and reliability are co-related but validity is much more important than reliability. Without validity research goes in the wrong direction. To keep the research on-track define your concepts in the best possible manner so that no error occur during measurement. 3. Accuracy is also the degree to which each research process, instrument and tool is related to each other. Accuracy also measures whether research tools have been selected in best possible manner and research procedures suits the research problem or not. For example if a research has to be conducted on the trans-gender people, several data collection tools can be used depending on the research problems but if you find that population less cooperative the best way is to observe them rather than submitting questionnaire because in questionnaire either they will give biased responses or they will not return the questionnaires at all. So choosing the best data collection tool improves the accuracy of research. 4. Credibility comes with the use of best source of information and best procedures in research. If you are using second-hand information in your research due to any reason your research might complete in less time but its credibility will be at stake because secondary data has been manipulated by human beings and is therefore not very valid to use in research. A certain percentage of secondary data can be used if primary source is not available but basing a research completely on secondary data when primary data can be gathered is least credible. When researcher give accurate references in research the credibility of research increases but fake references also decrease the credibility of research. 5. Generalizability is the extent to which a research findings can be applied to larger population. When a researcher conducts a study he/she chooses a target population and from this population he takes a small sample to conduct the research. This sample is representative of the whole population so the findings should also be. If research findings can be applied to any sample from the population, the results of the research are said to be generalizable. 6. Empirical nature of research means that the research has been conducted following rigorous scientific methods and procedures. Each step in the research has been tested for accuracy and is based on real life experiences. Quantitative research is more easy to prove scientifically than qualitative research. In qualitative research biases and prejudice are easy to occur. 7. Systematic approach is the only approach for research. No research can be conducted haphazardly. Each step must follow other. There are set of procedures that have been tested over a period of time and are thus suitable to use in research. Each research therefore should follow a procedure. 8. Controlled-in real life experience there are many factors that effect an outcome. A single event is often result of several factors. When similar event is tested in research, due to the broader nature of factors that effect that event, some factors are taken as controlled factors while others are tested for possible effect. The controlled factors or variables should have to be controlled rigorously. In pure sciences it is very easy to control such elements because experiments are conducted in laboratory but in social sciences it becomes difficult to control these factors because of the nature of research.

The Nature of Research
The research process is, for many of us, just the way we do things. We research the best buys in cars and appliances; we research book reviews before book shopping; we research the best schools for our children and ourselves; and we probably perform some kind of research in our jobs. Our search for information may lead us to interview friends or other knowledgeable people; read articles in magazines, journals, or newspapers; listen to the radio; search an encyclopedia on CD-ROM, and even explore the Internet and World Wide Web for information. We use our local public libraries and our school libraries.
Research can be a way of life; it is the basis for many of the important decisions in our lives. Without it, we are deluged with information, subjected to the claims of advertisers, or influenced by hearsay in making sense of the world around us. This informal, experiential research helps us decipher the information flood we encounter daily.
Formal academic research differs from experiential research and may be more investigative in nature. For example, it may require us to learn about an area where we have little knowledge or inclination to learn. It may be library-oriented or field-oriented, depending on the nature of the research.