2 Types of Research Applied to Home Science – I

G. P. Jeyanthi

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Original research is a research which is not based on the summary, review or synthesis of earlier publications on the subject of research. It will be a primary source of data. The purpose of the original research is to produce new knowledge, rather than to present the existing knowledge in a new form.

 

An original research work can take a number of forms, depending on the field of specialisation. While performing the experiment,, the research involves direct or indirect observation of the research problem, in the laboratory or in the field, documents the methodology, findings and conclusions of an experiment, or gives a new interpretation of the previous results. In an analytical research, some new mathematical results are produced, or a new way of approach is presented for an existing problem.

 

The degree of originality of the research is one of the major criteria for articles to be published in academic journals and usually established by means of peer review. Graduate students are required to perform original research as part of a dissertation.

 

Scientific research is a systematic way of gathering data and extracting curiosity. This research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the subject of interest of the researcher. It makes practical applications possible. Scientific research is funded by public agencies, by charitable trusts and by private groups, including many industries and companies. Scientific research can be subdivided into different types according to their academic and application disciplines. Scientific research is a widely used criterion for judging the excellence of an academic institution.

 

Research in the humanities involves different methods such as for example hermeneutics and semiotics. Humanities scholars usually do not search for the ultimate correct solution to a problem, but instead, explore the issues and details that surround it. Context is always important which can be social, historical, political, cultural, or ethnic. An example of research in the humanities is historical research, which is embodied in historical method. Historians use primary sources and other evidences to systematically explore a topic and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the early period.

 

Examples of other studies especially in Home Science disciplines aim to merely examine the occurrence of topics in the field of renewable energy, nutraceuticals , clinical nutrition ,fashion and apparel designing, overall development of humans and upliftment of downtrodden through dissemination of knowledge to transform the life style of the societies and communities, without particularly looking for reasons or motivations to explain these. These studies may be qualitative or quantitative, and can use a variety of approaches.

 

Artistic research is also referred as ‘practice-based research’. It involves creative works considering both the research and the object on which research is done.

 

Home Science is both a Science and an Art that establishes the fundamental unit of Society ,namely the Home. .Home is synonymous with Family which is vital for the development of an individual. The study of Home Science covers all walks of life through its branches ,Resource Management ,Food Science and Nutrition, Food Service Management and Dietetics ,Textiles and Clothing, Human Development and Extension Education. Home Scientists are taking up challenging research .

 

This module explains four types of research applied to Home Science namely Descriptive Research ,Analytical Research, Applied Research and Fundamental Research

 

2.1 Descriptive Research

 

Descriptive research is used to describe or explain the characteristics and features of a study population or a phenomenon of interest. This will not answer questions-how, when, why but to the question what .Descriptive research usually precedes explanatory research. This is also referred as Statistical research. The main objective of this type of research is to describe the data and its characteristics. This may be highly accurate but it will not give the causes of a situation. If a researcher prefers to have a better understanding of a problem, he has to go for descriptive research. That is, analysis of the past as opposed to the future.

 

Descriptive research is completely about the description of the study group. There are three approaches-observational, case study and survey. Observational studies are of two types-naturalistic where the researcher observes the subject in its environment and laboratory observation where the researcher observes the subject in the laboratory setting. Survey involves interviewing people face to face or using questionnaire .In survey, there is no direct watching of the people. But we ask them about themselves. Survey is time consuming. Also the data collected may not be completely correct. In survey method research, questions have to be constructed properly. They have to be clear and easy to comprehend. Questions may be open-ended, closed ended ,partially open ended or rate scale questions. Survey research has three approaches=Exploratory ,causal and descriptive research..

 

Descriptive research is also classified as a type of survey in general , the other two being Exploratory research and Causal research.. In survey involving Exploratory research, survey involves marketing or business strategy including discovery of ideas and insights unlike descriptive research that includes collection of statistically accurate data. The bulk of online survey is involved in descriptive research which has preplanned and structured design. By this, we get a clear opinion ,and attitude about the respondents .In causal research it is possible to identify the variable that is the cause and the variable that is the effect. Also it gives an idea of the relationship between the two variables.

 

In online surveying, it is mostly descriptive research to get target group’s opinion, attitude or behaviour, Descriptive research is widely used in nutrition, epidemiology and behavioural sciences. Case study is in-depth study of an individual or a group. Case study leads to testable hypothesis and allows us to study rare phenomena. Case studies cannot be used to determine cause and effect relationship. They have limited use for making accurate predictions.

 

Descriptive research is just an attempt to determine , describe or identify what is, while analytical research attempts to establish why it is that way or how it came to be .Descriptive research aims at focussing on current issues and problems through a process ‘data collection’.

 

Three main purposes of descriptive studies are – describing, explaining and validating research findings.

 

Advantages of descriptive research

  1. Nonquantifiable topics and issues can be effectively analysed.
  2. There is the possibility to observe a process in a completely natural environment.
  3. Qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection can be integrated.

Disadvantages of descriptive research

  1. The research problem cannot be tested or verified statistically.
  2. There may be bias in the results.
  3. Most of the descriptive studies are not repeatable due to their observational nature Though descriptive research does not include either quantitative or qualitative methodologies, it uses the elements of both. Overall descriptive research involves collection of data that describes the problem or the study and then organize ,tabulate, depict and describe the data that has been collected .It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to help in understanding the data distribution. A large mass of raw data is reduced to a manageable form. Therefore, descriptive research includes measures of central tendency-mean, median, mode, deviation from mean, variation, percentage and correlation between variables.

The methods of data collection for descriptive research can be employed singly or in various combinations, depending on the research problem.

 

2.2 Analytical Research

 

Analytical research helps in answering the question how or why. .A researcher has to use facts or information already available and analyse them to make a critical evaluation of the material. It involves in depth study and evaluation of available information to explain complex phenomenon. It is concerned with hypothesis testing and interpreting relationships between variables. This mostly is associated with secondary data .This involves analysis on a problem.

 

Some researchers conduct analytical research to find supporting evidence to current research being done in order to make the work more reliable. Other researchers conduct analytical research to form new ideas about the topic being studied. Analytical research is conducted in a variety of ways including literary research, public opinion, scientific trials and Meta-analysis.

 

Analytical research can be applied to any problem from economics to literature. When writing an analytical research paper, writers must never put in their personal opinions about the topic being discussed. An analytical research paper will contain entirely of fact-based evidence. For example, if writing about obesity analytically, the paper would begin with a question asked by the writer on the topic. The intent of the paper is not to make the reader of accept the writer’s beliefs or opinions; it is to provide an interpretation on the basis of primary and secondary sources that may ultimately support the conclusion.

 

Primary sources include original documents or research, like lectures, , interviews, official records, creative works and artifacts. If we are writing about an article, the article is considered a primary source. Secondary sources include interpretations or analysis of primary sources.. Therefore examples of secondary sources include textbooks, criticisms and newspaper or magazine articles.

 

Subdivisions of Analytical research are historical research , philosophical research, review and research synthesis or meta analysis.

 

Historical research is the study of past records and other information sources in order to search for the origin and development of a phenomenon to assess the trend in the past in order to understand the present and to anticipate the future.

 

Philosophical research is the research in the fundamental nature of knowledge , reality and existence It involves study of the theoretical basis of a branch of knowledge or experience. Review involves formal assessment of a research with the intention of making any change in it if needed.

 

In research synthesis, two or more research studies are assessed with the objective o f summarizing the evidence relating to a particular question.

 

Usually, students, doctors and psychologists use analytical research to get most relevant information.

 

There are three types of analytical research methods – Regression analysis approach, Grouping analysis approach and Multiple Equation methods.

 

In Regression Analysis the outcome, the results of the analysis, are affected by the individual elements of the experiment. Therefore, the Regression analysis method is further divided into four major subdivisions – Logistic, Linear hierarchal, Duration, Ordinary least squares (OLS) method.

 

Grouping methods of analytical approach involve classification and grouping of the variables of the problem based on their discriminate values and characteristics. Multiple method is just an extension of Regression method. This method explains about the path of individual elements in a problem. There are two main types of Multiple Equation methods– 1) Path analysis 2) SEM-structural equation models.

 

While descriptive research is a foundation for any research work and cannot explain the causes for the result, Analytical research focuses on the process of the result and is applicable in all stages of the research.

 

2.3 Applied Research

 

It is a form of systematic inquiry that is related to practical applications in the field of science. It consists of methodology to solve a specific practical problem of an individual or group mainly related to business, medicine and education. This may be to investigate for curing diseases or develop some latest technology to solve scientific problems. Some specific examples are:

 

Intervention for specific child behaviour Ways to manage a specific ailment Treatment strategies for tuberculosis Novel methods of marketing a product Impact of vaccination on autismCauses for increasing low income  population Types of additives acceptable and healthy to be used in food products Role of genetically modified foods on human health Harmful and helpful aspects of technology use to children Effect of violence in media and in video games on mental health of children Ways to prevent obesity Effect of fat foods on overall health Management of depression without medicine Methods to improve the literacy status among rural schools

 

This type of research always helps in finding answers or problems facing the society which is usually carried out by a company, agency or an individual to solve a specific problem. There are three important differences between applied research and fundamental research:

  1. Difference in purpose-Applied research is done to solve a specific problem whereas fundamental research is done to create or expand knowledge
  2. Difference in context-Applied research objectives are formulated by the clients or sponsors whereas fundamental research objectives are self initiated
  3. Difference in method-Applied research is more concerned with external validity whereas fundamental research is related to internal validity.

 

Action research is an extension of Applied research which is mainly concentrated on immediate application and not on the development of theory nor on general application.

 

Pure research, which is also known as Basic or Fundamental research, is performed without a specific goal in mind. But Applied research is conducted with the goal of solving a problem or answering a specific question. Pure research is more exploratory in nature.

 

Pure research is based on the interest in the relationships between two or more variables. If a person is interested in learning simply for learning’s sake, then she is conducting pure research. But this learning may provide insight to do Applied research for further breakthrough in the learning process..

 

Applied research is used to solve a specific, practical problem of an individual or group. This type of research is used in many fields, including education, agriculture medicine and technology.

 

Examples of applied research include analysing the behavior of children to find out the effectiveness of various interventions, to analyse the association between genetics and cancer, or testing the quality of river water in various stations to assess the pollution status of the region.

 

The training of qualified personnels for a dietician profession in hospitals may involve Applied research.The trainees may be interested in knowing about the efficiency of the training programme ,how well the recruitment practices work and how best to deal with patients of different ailments during critical situations.

 

2.4 Fundamental Research

 

This is otherwise referred as Basic research or Pure research or Theoretical research. This research deals with gaining knowledge on a natural phenomenon without any consideration on its applications. The researcher should have high intellectual approach and great interest in the research. They may need to formulate or reformulate theories .This type of research is carried out mainly in academic institutions

 

Fundamental research focuses on the basic principles of selected concepts and testing theories. Mistakenly, it is sometimes implied that basic research doesn’t have practical applications. The history of science proves that basic research has led to many real world applications

 

The main characteristics of Fundamental research are:

  1. Knowledge   gaining alone is the main motive
  2. Data collection and analysis are done to develop or enhance the theory behind
  3. Knowledge advancement  is achieved
  4. Occurs in sterile environment
  5. Theoretical relationship between variables is assessed
  6. It is explanatory in nature
  7. Fundamental research leads to Applied  research

Examples of Fundamental research:

  1. Study on the origin of the Univers
  2. In depth study on the structure of atom and nucleus
  3. The relationship between vitamins and minerals in human body

Once Fundamental research is done on a concept, it provides the theory that may provide the researchers in applied research with the data to support and may guide them in proper direction. The outcome of Fundamental research provides the ground work on which applied researchers can freely proceed with their research work. Fundamental research is usually restricted to the laboratory whereas applied research extends to the outside world setting. Fundamental research is analytical and Applied research is synthetic. There is no commercial value or importance attached to Fundamental research. Also it is not related to any hypothesis or theories. .Fundamental research is not dependent on Applied research but Applied research is dependent on the principles and theories of Fundamental research.

 

The  results  and  outcome  of  Fundamental  research  are  made  known  to  the  public  by publishing in technical journals But the results of Applied research are directly communicated to the users and decision and policy makers.

 

Fundamental research is completely the expression of the curiosity of the researcher that finally leads to expansion of knowledge .But there is no practical implementation of the same.

 

The purpose of Fundamental research is to give the findings which are highly significant and of great value to the society. Their findings have led to many practical implications. Discovery of X rays is a good example of Basic research which later helped in the detection of bone fracture. Discovery of Chlorpromazine drug was the result of Fundamental research used in the treatment of schizophrenia.

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