What are the three main purposes of research?

Answer 1

Types of research are:

1. Exploratory

This type of research investigates an area or issue on which little previous work has been carried out. In an organisational setting it may be used to discover whether or not a problem exists.

2. Speculative

Sometimes research is implemented strategically, where researchers take account of current situations and speculate as to their future implications. For example, the introduction of a specific government policy might raise implications for practitioners involved in its implementation. Research of this nature might speculate as to what these implications might be and develop a programme of inquiry that can inform future responses to these issues.

3. Descriptive

Descriptive work aims to gather information that illuminates relationships, patterns and links between variables. An example would be an investigation of the link between students' study skills and course drop-out rates.

4. Explanatory

Explanatory research aims to show why relationships, patterns and links occur. Using the example from 3, how could study skills support improve student retention? And does this depend on other factors such as different types of support available?

5. Predictive

The purpose of this type of research is to develop a model that predicts the likely course of events given particular intervening variables or circumstances.

6. Evaluative

To evaluate the impact of something, for example a new policy, event, law, treatment regime or the introduction of a new system.

Answer 2

Any identification of a natural phenomenon and/or development of a technology is considered research. The benefit of which varies from project to project. Particularly the academic and industrial research conducted today is more mechanized than in previous epochs. Reasons for conducting research also vary from project to project. Possibly, the researcher wants to know what happens when two chemicals are mixed together in specific concentrations. Or, the person could have wanted to overtake some limitation of the day, like flight or light or electical energy. Or, the person could see a problem with current technology and wants to improve it for efficiency or cost or yield.

Specific examples include:

Aerospace Engineering:

Previously, the Wright Brothers conducted research by building new forms wings and carriage structures to push humans into the air and fly.

Currently, NASA, Lockheed Martin, JPL, etc., are conducting research by developing new and/or more efficient rocket propulsion systems that can carry heavy payloads or go farther distances or be safer for humans/equipment.

Electrical Engineering:

Previously, Thomas Edison built "10,000" different forms of the light bulb and finally resulted in the currently understood filament based, vacuum/argon sealed incandescant bulb. [10,000 is in quotes because that is an exaggeration that comes from a famous quote]

Currently, electrical engineers find new uses for semiconductors, diodes, transisters. Computer technology is based strongly in electrical engineering, like CPU styles and speeds. Optical engineers are still electrical engineers that use fundamentals of electrodynamics to control the propagation of light, etc...

Astronomy:

Previously, Galileo built the first telescope to directly view the planets in the solar system. His discoveries lead to the understanding that the sun has sunspots, Jupiter has moons and Saturn has rings, which solidified that the earth is NOT the center of the solar system, galaxy or universe.

Currently, Astronomers (like myself) use visible, radio, infrared, UV, X-ray and gamma telescopes to understand the fundamental behaviour, origins and destination of the Earth, Solar System, Stellar bodes, galaxies and universe as a whole. The results of current scientific pursuits in Astronomy have developed many other technological research topics as well. Particularly, computer technology would not be where it is today if NASA did not commission its development for the entirety of its exploration endevours. This is a side effect of discovering the behaviour of the universe as a whole which itself serves society and benefits civilization.

Medical:

Ancient Babylon in 2800 through 2200 had something which is similar to the utility of modern day soap. The exploration of cleaning methods which inadvertantly decreased the rate of infection was a form of research that enabled the human species to continue existing to create all of human existence. Without fire and soap our species' life expectancy would still be in the 30s or less.

Currently, large institutions for medical research tackle endevours as grand as Heart disease, genetic disorders and cancer. Without the constant development of vaccinations, our society would be overcome by increasingly resilient bacterial and viral infection.

Every facet of research has its pros and cons. Nuclear weapons destroyed two cities and cursed an entire generation or more of Japanese citizens with radiation poisoning and its genetic effects. But also supplies the world with nuclear reactors that generate billions of megawatts of energy in a cleaner way than coal which pollutes the atmosphere and is warming the planet.

But coal production, in its day, was still the best of the best for energy production and resulted in the technology to develop nuclear reactors, bombs, computers, etc...

Answer 3

The "Primary Purpose" of basic research is to gain a general understanding of the topic being explored. For instance, the difference between focused research, as opposed to basic research, would be the amount of specific, rather than general, information gathered.

In terms of a research paper done on the African Society, for example, basic research would be researching a general overview of the country's history, while a focused research would be analysing the events that happened within the history of the country and how they ultimately effected the country as it stands now, including the various movements and lifestyles that arose.

Essentially, basic research allows you to take hold of the basic facts or points of a topic, and allows you to formulate a hypothesis, or possible course of action, before you dive into more focused, specific research.

Answer 4

descriptive research refers to the description of object, events and phenomenon. where a goal of research is clarify say it is a descriptive research

Answer 5

There are three main purposes of research

1: Exploration

2: Description

3: Explanation

Answer 6

Researching answers questions. Sometimes research is done with books, and sometimes it is done in a laboratory.