What you can do with Research

So what can we use research to do in order to gain this new knowledge? Some of the ways it can be used one to: x Categorise. This involves forming a typology of objects, events or concepts, i.e. a set of names or ‘boxes’ into which these can be sorted. This can be useful in explaining which ‘things’ belong together and how. x Describe. Descriptive research relies on observation as a means of collecting data. It attempts to examine situations in order to establish what is the norm, i.e. what can be predicted to happen again under the same circumstances. x Explain. This is a descriptive type of research specifically designed to deal with complex issues. It aims to move beyond ‘just getting the facts’ in order to make sense of the myriad other elements involved, such as human, political, social, cultural and contextual. x Evaluate. This involves making judgements about the quality of objects or events. Quality can be measured either in an absolute sense or on a comparative basis. To be useful, the methods of evaluation must be relevant to the context and intentions of the research. x Compare. Two or more contrasting cases can be examined to highlight differences and similarities between them, leading to a better understanding of phenomena. x Correlate. The relationships between two phenomena are investigated to see whether and how they influence each other. The relationship might be just a loose link at one extreme or a direct link when one phenomenon causes another. These are measured as levels of association. x Predict. This can sometimes be done in research areas where correlations are already known. Predictions of possible future behaviour or events are made on the basis that if there has been a strong relationship between two or more characteristics or events in the past, then these should exist in similar circumstances in the future, leading to predictable outcomes. x Control. Once you understand an event or situation, you may be able to find ways to control it. For this you need to know what the cause and effect relationships are and that you are capable of exerting control over the vital ingredients. All of technology relies on this ability to control. You can combine two or more of these objectives in a research project, with sometimes one objective needing to be successfully achieved before starting the next, for example you usually need to be able to explain how something happens before you can work out how to control it. RESEARCH DESIGNS There are numerous types of research design that are appropriate for the different types of research projects. The choice of which design to apply depends on the nature of the problems posed by the research aims. Each type of research design has a range of research methods that are commonly used to collect and analyse the type of data that is generated by the investigations.