Types Of Research Groups
There are several types of research groups which are done to enhance knowledge. They do not have direct commercial benefits and are specifically carried out to increase knowledge and not to invent or create something. The following are the main types of research groups in different institutions and organizations.
Applied Research groups
These types of research groups are intended to provide solution to practical problems in the real world. It is not intended to acquire knowledge for knowledge acquiring sake but to solve some real world problems. The main goal of these groups of researchers is to improve the general living conditions of people as it is concerned with the analysis of situations and proffering solutions that can help tackle the problems. These types of research groups always conduct their research on a large scale and spend a lot of money on the research.
They are often carried out with the help of some financing agencies like the UNICEF, World Bank, public corporation, the government, and non-governmental organizations. Examples of research carried out by this group include the improvement of communication among employees in an organization, improving energy efficiency in offices and homes, providing cure or treatment to certain infection, or finding ways of improving crop production.
An applied research can be divided into problem solving research and problem oriented research. A problem solving research is carried out by an organization in order to tackle certain issues they face in their organization. Some of these types of research groups work under the marketing unit of an organization and are involved in conducting research for product development or market analysis.
Problem oriented research is carried out by the main head of an industry to decipher the issues faced by other companies within the industry. It is not a research done alone by a single company but by a major player or sensitizer in the industry. Researches done by UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, and other world institutions are examples of applied research. They are the most important types of research groups the world over.
Quantitative Research Groups
These types of research groups try to measure the extent or amount of impact on something and compare it with previous records for future projection. This type of research is mostly common in social sciences as it investigates the relationship between variables in order to draw conclusions for future use. A research group involved in quantitative research will normally employ hypothesis and develop theories and mathematical models related to the subject under study. These tools are then used to measure the relationship between the mathematical expression and the empirical observation of the phenomenon.
Qualitative research groups
These types of research groups use non-quantitative techniques to analyze data and draw conclusions from the gathered resources. They collect, analyze, and interpret data by observing their subjects. These subjects can either be a single individual, a group of people, or an organization. The research is usually open-ended and exploratory, and it focuses on interviews and the collection of information from the various subjects used under study.