By Dr. Anamika Ray

Assistant Professor in Mass CommunicationGauhati University, Assam, India

Research is a systematic, controlled , empirical and critical

investigation of hypothetical proposition about the occurrences.

It is one of the most practical subjects.

Getting answer of a question requires research.

Research always means Scientific Research.

Scientific Research means systematic , objective oriented data

collection and analysis of information to uncover facts , patterns

and relationships.

Science is empirical.

Science needs continuous research for its existence, on the

other hand research follows science.

Science and Research are the two sides of a coin.

As research is scientific way of investigation, it is considered

as an event based on experiment.

It must be pragmatic in nature.

It is based on observations.

Science is empirical.

Science is objective.

Science is systematic .

Science is public.

Science is replicable.

Science is cumulative.

Science is collective

Scientific research has also all the above characteristics

1. Descriptive Research : It is a process of collecting, analyzing and

interpreting data by observing what people say following a description.

2. Quantitative Research : It aims to measure the quantity or amount and

compare it with past records and tries to predict the future for the

project. In quantitative research , numbers are attached to observations

in such a way that statistics can be used to analyze results and present

findings.

3. Qualitative Research: For qualitative studies, data based on observations

are not expressed in numbers. The decision to conduct quantitative or

quantitative research depends on the researcher’s interests and skills.

Neither quantitative nor qualitative research is inherently better.

4. Basic research : Basic research is sometimes referred to as theoretical,

academic or scholarly research. It is most often conducted in College or

University by the academicians and research scholars.

5. Applied Research: The goal of this kind of research is to provide

solutions to real problem. The findings and the various applications

may pave theory in the particular field. Applied research is neither

totally a theoretical nor bereft of value to the basic researcher.

6. Co-relational Research : It is the statistical comparison between two

variables. Here, the researcher tries to find out the relations among

the variables.