Research

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Function: noun, verb transitive

Etymology: Middle French recerche, from recerchier to investigate thoroughly, from Old French, from re- + cerchier to search

Date: 1577

Research is a process of investigation. An examination of a subject from different points of view. It's not just a trip to the library to pick up a stack of materials, or picking the first five hits from a computer search. Research is a hunt for the truth. It is getting to know a subject by reading up on it, reflecting, playing with the ideas, choosing the areas that interest you and following up on them. Research is the way you educate yourself.

Research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase our understanding of the phenomenon under study. It is the function of the researcher to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others.

Research is a process through which we attempt to achieve systematically and with the support of data the answer to a question, the resolution of a problem, or a greater understanding of a phenomenon.

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary aim for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe.

DIAGRAMATIC REPRESENTATION OF RESESARCH PROCESS:

WHAT IS REPORT?

An account presented usually in detail.

A formal account of the proceedings or transactions of a group.

In writing, a report is a document characterized by information or other content reflective of inquiry or investigation, which is tailored to the context of a given situation and audience. The purpose of reports is usually to inform.

Reports may include persuasive elements, such as recommendations, suggestions, or other motivating conclusions that indicate possible future actions the report reader might take.

Reports can be public or private, and often address questions posed by individuals in government, business, education, and science.

KINDS OF RESEARCH REPORT:

пÑ"? DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH:

This research is the most commonly used and the basic reason for carrying out descriptive research is to identify the cause of something that is happening. For instance, this research could be used in order to find out what age group is buying a particular brand of cola, whether a company’s market share differs between geographical regions or to discover how many competitors a company has in their marketplace. However, if the research is to return useful results, whoever is conducting the research must comply with strict research requirements in order to obtain the most accurate figures/results possible.

Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The methods involved range from the survey which describes the status quo, the correlation study which investigates the relationship between variables, to developmental studies which seek to determine changes over time.

пÑ"ј Statement of the problem

пÑ"ј Identification of information needed to solve the problem

пÑ"ј Selection or development of instruments for gathering the information

пÑ"ј Identification of target population and determination of sampling procedure

пÑ"ј Design of procedure for information collection

пÑ"ј Collection of information

пÑ"ј Analysis of information

пÑ"ј Generalizations and/or predictions

пÑ"? ANALYTICAL RESEARCH:

The analytical research examines a problem or issue and recommends an action. Some analytical researches function as proposals that identify or define problems and argue for specific ways of resolving them. Other analytical researches are feasibility studies that examine proposed solutions and determine their practicality.

Analytical researches are written by experts, often working in teams. The reports generally require that these experts

пÑ"ј Use their professional skills to define an issue, making the study large enough in scope to identify all the factors that bear on the problem and using a standard professional methodology,

пÑ"ј Know or learn how such issues have been resolved in other cases, inside and outside their own company; and

пÑ"ј Accommodate constraints like cost, time, and company policy, and union contracts, local and federal law.

The completed research will have at least three groups of readers:

пÑ"ј Experts, who will be asked to validate the scope of the study, the data collected, the methodology used, and the practicality of the solution

пÑ"ј Managers who ordered the study, and will consider the significance of the problem identified in the study, the practicality of the solution in terms of cost, duration, and affect on other operations, and the judgment of the experts asked to validate the report

пÑ"ј Managers from other units of the company, who will be asked to validate the results from their own perspectives such as whether the solution conforms to environmental or tax law or whether the company has adequate personnel to staff it.

пÑ"? APPLIED RESEARCH:

Applied research: is research accessing and using some part of the research communities' (the academy's) accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific, often state, commercial, or client driven