RESEARCH

Research



Research

Comparison between Basic (Pure) Research and Applied Research

Applied research is inquiry using the application of scientific methodology with the purpose of generating empirical observations to solve critical problems in society. It is used in varying contexts, ranging from applied behavior analysis to city planning and public policy, to program evaluation. Applied research can be executed through a diverse range of research strategies that can be solely quantitative, solely qualitative, or a mixed method research design that combines quantitative and qualitative data slices in the same project. The example of applied research would be a scientific research related to human or animals. The most usual way applied research is understood is by comparing it to basic research. Basic research—”pure” science—is grounded in the scientific method and its focus is on the production of new knowledge, and is not expected to have an immediate, practical application. Although the distinctions between the two contexts are artificial, researchers often identify four differences between applied research and basic research. Applied research differs from basic research in terms of purpose, context, validity, and methods (design). The orthodox example of basic research would be artificial intelligence (American Psychological Association, 2009).

Sources of Research Ideas

There are various sources through which one can come up with a research idea. It also depends on the nature of research conducted. The researcher might choose the research information from a wide range of available sources. The sources fall in two broad categories; primary source and secondary source. Primary source refers to the collection of research ideas and information from interviews, observations, surveys, questionnaires, focus group; the information collected from these sources help the researcher to test the hypothesis, whether the hypothesis is true or false. On the other hand, the information collected from internet, scholarly articles, previous researcher, personal observation, books, newspaper are referred to as a secondary source (Carver, 1984).

Format of a typical research article

A typical style manuscript that reports on an empirical study has five sections: Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion.

The abstract is a concise (150-250 word) summary of the contents of a manuscript. An abstract should include a description of the topic or problem under investigation and the most important findings or conclusions The introduction section introduces the reader to the question under investigation. The author should describe the topic or problem, discuss other research related to the topic, and state the purpose of this study. The introduction should conclude with a brief statement that states the author's hypotheses and the ways in which these hypotheses are supported by the previous research discussed in the introduction. The introduction section should demonstrate how the question at hand is grounded in theory. The method section describes how the study was conducted. The method section is often broken up into subsections with headings such as Participants, Materials and Measures, and Procedure. Descriptions of participants should include summaries of demographic characteristics such as participants' ages, genders, and races or ethnicity. Materials and measures should be described such that the ...