types of research writing

types of research writing

Exploring the Various Types of Research Writing

1. Introduction to Research Writing

Graduate students may focus on different aspects of the five steps. For example, some graduate students use research to learn more about a particular group of people or to answer questions about how a group of people thinks or acts. Other graduate students may study the effects of a specific activity or event in an organization. Such students may do research that helps them understand whether the activity or event is successful or not. They may also try to figure out why the activity or event is successful or to compare it with similar activities or events. Finally, graduate students may do research that tries to measure the importance of some topic. For example, graduate students sometimes collect information about a real-world question to make claims that others can use to feel more confident about that information. Whether graduate students are developing new knowledge or using past knowledge, the goal of much graduate research is to help people make better decisions about how academic fields can be improved, how organizations can be better run, and how public policies can be perfected.

Research is the foundation of most graduate study. Graduate students need to be wide readers and skillful researchers. Research is the process of collecting and analyzing information about the real world. In general, research has five steps. The first step is asking a question. The second is gathering information or evidence about that question. The third step is analyzing the information or evidence to answer the question. The fourth step is making decisions about or solving problems based on the real-world question. The final step is collecting information that allows researchers to reflect on the entire process of research.

2. Qualitative Research Writing

Analysis of data is possible in many ways, using methods from narrative analysis and grounded theory to thematic awareness and qualitative content analysis. In qualitative research work, researchers tend to do analysis by examining words, themes, and patterns of meaning throughout the stories, interviews, or observations and not by considering numerical data. However, this form of research is slow and unstandardized, working through teams or with supervisors is recommended. Findings from this type of research work, other than statistical data, are difficult to generalize but they provide different types of interesting and rich knowledge instead.

This type of research is involved with subjective measures where the research is exploratory in nature and not number based. Literal evidence from several sources concerning an attitude or belief is obtained. It is subjective studies that are non-empirical and interpretive in nature. This research involves inquiring, understanding, and interpreting life situations and actual descriptions of experiences, stories from participants themselves, and people called the informant are spoken to in very qualitative terms. Qualitative research is obvious through its use of subjective measures such as interviews.

3. Quantitative Research Writing

The 10 main steps of statistical hypothesis testing are: (1) identify the test to be used, (2) state each of the hypotheses to be tested, (3) formulate analysis, (4) discover or create a dataset, (5) summarize data, (6) check assumptions, (7) carry out analyses, (8) interpret, (9) communicate meta-interpretation, and (10) repeat the analysis. When determining the appropriate statistical operations for use in a study, it is important to consider such decision factors as general questions versus specific questions; utilization of research versus testing of a theory; and a priori structure of analysis techniques. The appropriate statistical analyses include factor analysis of the data, including interpreting and explaining individual data distributions, and analysis of mean differences between variables. Ad hoc analyses may be required to budget for multiple statistical inferences. Acceptable risks of error with statistical testing procedures are an alpha level of 0.05 or 0.01. When inputting data into the statistical tools, the results should only be a byproduct of the research; not the purpose of research. Body values and intervals (confidence ranges) should also be provided.

Quantitative research utilizes statistical analysis to test a hypothesis that is written as a predictive statement. There are 10 basic steps to effective statistical hypothesis testing in a research experiment. Analyze generalization of the experience. Especially important, identify the assumptions and population of the test. Provide a manuscript summary with each printout.

4. Mixed-Methods Research Writing

Researchers use multiple methods to better understand an issue, problem, or question using a mixed-methods research approach. During a mixed-methods research investigation, both qualitative and quantitative methods are integrated in one or more research studies. The mixed-methods researcher relies on the strength of the quantitative research universe and the generalizability of scientific sampling procedures, as well as the narrative approach and insider research knowledge of the qualitative researcher. When qualitative hunches seem to come into play, scientists often want to classify or rank order the variables collected in the numbers. When quantitative studies appear too mechanistic, scientists find they want more information about invisible variables or the feedback nature of participation. The neural drums of ‘how and why’ start beating so loudly that researchers know concentrations of high-pitch quantitative data or deep, soulful qualitative data are just too limiting.

This section describes a separate type of research called mixed-methods research, before offering tips for finding and telling a research story. Because mixed-methods research incorporates elements of both qualitative and quantitative research, members of either community may be involved in mixed-methods research teams or may need to read and evaluate mixed-methods research reports. This discussion plants the seeds for each community to gain the skills to read, evaluate, conduct, and publish mixed-research studies.

5. Comparative Analysis of Different Types

This chapter tries to unearth major differences in the structure of mentioned types of research writings. These differences are largely attributed to the varying expectations of a given research community solicited by considering a certain type of research writing, which helps the researcher in understanding the constraints, challenges, and opportunities posed by the given target research community. Upon a more general note, being well aware of these different variations can also assuage the publishers of researchers so that they may stress the sections or chapters that are expected by the writer. Such information can be used by a publisher to solicit more suitable research outputs from the researchers.

Different research writing focuses on different aspects of exploration and comprehension of a subject matter, so it is only natural for major differences in structure, contents, and delivery. While some focus on giving the full glorious picture of obtained results, some other types of research writing focus on a more structured format for presenting it. Generally, a research presentation will consist of four elements, namely preliminary section, main body, chapters, and the concluding section. However, this basic structure of the research presentation remains the same throughout most of the research writings. It shows remarkable variations when we attend to the different issues associated with the corresponding type of writing under consideration. In particular, clear variances between these types of research writing become evident when we attend to the different expectations and intentions that are associated with each of the writing, not only from a reader but also from a writer or the publisher.