What is a study? Why is it conducted, what information is needed, and where can it be obtained? All these questions should be answered in order, starting with the definition of a given word.
Definitions
What is a study? Before analyzing this concept and its components in detail, one should turn to several dictionaries for clarification.
So, from the source of the "Great Encyclopedic Dictionary" it follows that this process, which includes the collection of new knowledge, is divided into two levels - empirical and theoretical.
Let's look at another source, the dictionary of D. N. Ushakov, to understand what research is. Here the term is presented in different directions. This is an analysis of the crisis in the economy, and the study of analyzes in medicine, as well as a scientific essay, where some issue or analysis of social development is on the agenda.
Research data
To obtain any information that will be further investigated, you need to have the necessary data. They are first collected, then processed and finally analyzed. All this is carried out in several stages:
- identifying a problem or situation;
- understanding where it came from, how it developed, what it consists of;
- establishing the location of the problem in the knowledge system;
- the search for the path, as well as the means and possibilities, which will allow to resolve the situation with the help of new knowledge.
To go through all the stages, you need an object of research, a methodology (includes goals, approach, benchmark and priorities) and resources. Ultimately, you need to get some kind of result, which is expressed in developing a program or launching a project, in creating a recommendation or model.
A vivid example can be laboratory research, where scientists are studying a disease that needs to be combated. Chemists are trying to create a medicine, laboratory technicians are experimenting on animals, etc., until an antiviral agent is obtained that can save many lives.
Classification
Any field of science conducts its studies, whether it is medicine, psychology, economics or marketing. But for each direction there is a classification of types of research.
They single out fundamental, where the main goal is to obtain new knowledge, as well as applied, which are needed in order to solve a scientific problem.
You can study it by the empirical method, that is, make an observation, either based on some experience, or on the basis of analysis and theoretical knowledge.
Next, types such as quantitative and qualitative are distinguished. It all depends on what needs to be studied. For example, if you need to study the behavior of people in a particular situation, and the result needs to be calculated, this is a quantitative method. Qualitative is needed when it is important to understand why a person acted in this way and not otherwise. Here you can add another category - point and repeated laboratory tests and others, based on the frequency of the conduct. Information about the state of the object is not always enough, therefore, after some period of time, the subject is again studied.
The next category is the use of different sources of information - secondary and primary. For example, a survey is conducted where the opinions of different people are recognized, that is, these are data from the original source. Desk studies are most often carried out when there is not enough information or some of them are outdated.
For example, a group of people acts as an object, which for some time eats the same product every day, and scientists find out how this product affects the body.
Main characteristics
Having settled on some category of research or its form, the next step is to determine the goal, which is divided into three groups: descriptive, analytical and intelligence.
Most often, a descriptive view is used when you need to study people, as well as determine the characteristics by which they differ from each other. The reconnaissance method is needed for a large-scale study, or rather, as a preliminary stage. The analytical view is the deepest, and, in addition to describing the object or phenomenon, establishes the reasons that underlie the phenomenon under study.
After all the information received, you can easily answer what research is and why it is needed. But it is worth remembering that a good study of any issue requires a lot of money to get reliable information, create a program, develop a method or write a review.