3. Pure
research
• Observation, whether it is
direct or indirect, is our
primary method of collecting
information and the validity
or credibility of our findings
depends entirely on our
methods of observation.
• Kumar (2011:10) states “The
knowledge produced
through pure research is
sought in order to add to the
existing body of knowledge
or research methods”.
5. Applied
research
• The purpose of applied research is
to investigate practical issues to
finding solutions for problems that
can be implemented in practice.
• It is undertaken to investigate
whether solutions to social
problems can be found; to describe
and assess social needs; assess and
evaluate existing policies and
practices; recommend and
implement change; and identify
new areas of research.
• Applied research is therefore
purpose-driven or pragmatic.
6. Exploratory
research
• Research that has the overall
purpose of exploration usually
refers to the study of an
unknown area.
• As our social, economic and
technological systems evolve,
new areas of research emerge
continuously.
• To obtain new insights as part of
a pre-test or pilot test;
• To identify key concepts;
• To identify key stakeholders;
• To prioritise social needs;
7. Exploratory
research
• To identify
consequences of
research problems;
• To develop hypotheses;
• To confirm assumptions;
or
• To become familiar with
unknown situations,
conditions policies and
behaviours
8. Descriptive
research
• The purpose of descriptive research
is to describe the characteristics of
phenomena, or relations between
variables as accurately as possible.
• There are many different ways of
describing phenomena and objects
and therefore it can be the purpose
of both qualitative and quantitative
studies.
• With descriptive research, the
overall purpose is typically to
establish what the relationship
between phenomena is, but more
specifically, to describe what is
common with respect to a certain
situation, or the degree to which
phenomena relate to each other.
9. Descriptive
research
• a descriptive study aims to
achieve the following:
– to describe a situation,
problem or phenomenon
systematically, or
– to provide information
about certain phenomena
such as the living conditions
of a community.
10. Correlational
research
• The primary aim of correlational
research is to establish whether a
relationship, association, or
interdependence between two or
more aspects of a situation exists
• If you look at the word
‘interdependence’, you will see that it
is a compound word that consist out
of the words inter, which means
‘between’, and ‘dependent’.
• Thus, correlational studies look at the
relationship between certain
variables or how one variable (usually
referred to as the dependent
variable) is affected by another
variable (usually referred to as the
independent variable).
• These correlations are usually
referred to as positive or negative
correlations
11. Explanatory
research
While correlational studies
usually aim to identify
relationships between variables,
explanatory studies typically
investigate the varying degrees to
which these relations exist.
In other words, if a correlational
study established that a
relationship between phenomena
exists, explanatory research may
attempt to clarify how and why
this relationship exists.
For example, you may aim to
establish why peer pressure
among adolescents in a particular
school has a higher than average
impact on their pass rates.
12. Explanatory
research
• Du Plooy (2006:50) explains that
the overall purpose for
explanatory research is:
– to clarify how and why there
is a relationship between
different phenomena, in
other words whether you
can find reasons why certain
things happen; and.
– to “indicate the direction of
a cause-and-effect
relationship between an
independent variable (X)
and a dependent variable
(Y)” (Du Plooy 2006:50).
14. Pragmatic
research
• If we look at the description of the above mentioned kinds of research, we
can identify the action words ‘explore’, ‘describe’, ‘compare’, ‘explain’, and
‘predict’.
• These kinds of research ultimately all aim to contribute to solutions of
some kind as they lead to further research or become integrated within
other research.
• Pragmatic research can be described as research which aims to find
solutions to specific problems by utilising both qualitative and quantitative
research methods.
• Feilzer (2010:7) states, “The approach commonly associated with mixed
methods research offers an alternative worldview to those of positivism
and constructivism [interpretivism] and focuses on the problem to be
researched and the consequences of the research”
15. Type of research Aims
Exploratory research
to obtain new insights
to identify key concepts
to identify key stakeholders
to prioritise social needs
to identify consequences of research problems
to develop hypotheses
to confirm assumptions
to become familiar with unknown situations, conditions,
policies and behaviours
Descriptive research
to describe a situation, problem, or phenomenon
systematically
to provide information about things, such as living
conditions of a community
to draw comparisons
Correlative research
to establish whether a relationship, association, or
interdependence between two or more aspects of a
situation exists.
Explanatory research
to clarify how and why there is a relationship between
different phenomena
to indicate the direction of cause-and-effect relationships
between variables
Predictive research
to prevent undesired outcomes
to promote desired outcomes
to anticipate probable outcomes
Pragmatic research
to employ mixed methods and different modes of
observation to obtain solutions for specific problems
identified
