Types of Educational Research

'Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.' - Dr. Carl Sagan

Research is a task that is essential in all areas of life. It can be used for serious inventions, or simply for educational purposes. In order to carry out a successful educational research, a person has to follow a certain set of methods. He may employ just one or a couple of methods for his research to be fruitful. Each of these methods have their own advantages, disadvantages, and result potential.

All research design types come under two categories namely, qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research is based primarily on concepts that include facts and solid information rather than figures and statistical data. On the other hand, quantitative research is right opposite. It mainly centers on measurements, figures, stats, and mathematical models. Remember that both these methods are believed to be important at their respective places. A blend of both qualitative and quantitative research is referred to as a mixed research.

This is simplest method of educational research. It primarily concentrates on the need to add to the existing pool of knowledge. It can also be used to understand a concept or phenomenon that seems complicated. A good example can be understanding how feedback has an impact on motivation in teenagers. It generally does not involve exhaustive qualitative and quantitative tasks.

An applied research is one which relates to more practicalities than theories. It is based on practical aspects and findings of the community or entity administering the research. It deals with practical issues and solutions, which can be associated with people and the economy. In this research, it is necessary to use a specific subject than just a random sample.

This kind of research is also called participatory action research, since it includes findings by performing actions. Action research concentrates on a person carrying out findings with other people to reach a conclusion. In this type, researchers coordinate with others to devise a new approach to a concept to be explored. It is mainly used for solving social issues.

This type of educational research is used to provide suitable feedback to particular entities. The results obtained then contribute to decision making of further theories. It requires much of the same skills from a traditional research. An example for this can be to find out and decide whether to continue with a program or end it permanently.

As the name suggests, experimental research consists of drawing conclusions with observations. It includes selecting and comparing two or more aspects which have a certain impact on the subject. For instance, an experimental research would be to compare and check two teaching methods and determine which of them would be most preferred by students.

This research does not include direct comparison of two subjects or their aspects. It instead focuses on how the subject is and gets conclusions. For example, a non-experimental research concentrates on if the subject's good or bad, instead of till what extent it is good or bad. Owing to the rough and generic conclusions, this method is not included in extensive research modules.

These are the known types of educational research. The data, facts, and results obtained by using a combination of these types can truly be dependable. You simply need to realize which method to use for primary and secondary findings.