Question: Explain what research strategy is. Discuss the different research strategies that can be used in research work.

Concerning developing and planning research, the importance of the work lies in its quality. It is perceived that in research work, quality overpowers quantity, and the former relies on the strengths of the research strategy used in work.Hence, the most vital part of the research strategy is to pay heed to the design and the right strategy for enhancing the quality of the work. Therefore, the significance of any paper always lies in its quality despite its quantity.

What is a research strategy?
All research studies are distinctive in their way.Learners cannot apply the same approach and course of action for every other research work. Each time a distinct strategy or a perspective is adopted pursuant to the time available to finish the research, the primary objective behind the research, the environment surrounding the research, or following some identical dimensions. While carrying out research, the learner’s primary goal is to embrace a method through which the goals of the research can be addressed. While settling upon that method, the learner should initially recognize the type and accessibility of the details needed to address the research goals of the work.

Kinds of research strategy
A well-suited research strategy provides an angle to the study and selects the correct methodology for gathering and analyzing the material for the research work.So, it is crucial to select a strategy that is the most appropriate for the study the learner has selected for writing the research work.

Now, when we refer to adopting a research strategy for research work, we mean choosing from the two common research strategies, which are qualitative and quantitative.But going deep into the strategies to research, several strategies can be applied appropriately in different types of research work. These research strategies include descriptive, applied, exploratory, analytical, fundamental, predictive, critical and interpretive.

In this blog, we will first learn about different research strategies and then understand how to select an appropriate research strategy to incorporate into the research work.

Qualitative research strategy: Research rarely considers numerical calculations that a learner can analyze.The learner must often understand the fundamental opinion and reasons for wider knowledge about the problem.The qualitative research strategy gives an insight into the problem. It helps to meet the research objectives by employing several methods, which include interviews, open-ended surveys, observations, oral history, focus groups and textual material. Researchers use this strategy when they cannot get hold of the information or the data presented in numbers. It helps to form a better conclusion of theories in the data. With the help of this research strategy, the researcher can understand the variables influencing people to act in a definite way or which makes them inclined towards a particular thing.

Descriptive research strategy: Going by the title, the research strategy is applied when the learner wants to describe a specific circumstance. It pays attention to and describes the behavior of a person, group, community, or thing without changing it in any way. It tries to observe things, and the significant part of this strategy is that it does not affect the subject in any way. The observation of the subject is done in an unchanged and totally natural environment. It does not exploit any situation; it just discusses what presently dwells in the surroundings and can assist in discovering the invisible facts and figures about the subject. According to this strategy, the learner cannot control the variables; they can only speak about what is occurring and what has happened with the chosen subject. After understanding the descriptive research strategy, the question arises of when it should be chosen. The learner can select the strategy when they want to study the connection between two different things; for instance, an educational institution wants to note the performance of its students in two subjects, namely English and mathematics, during regular classes and exams. So it can classify the students into two groups and make a correlational study. Or, if the learner wants to know how altering the quantity of water and sunlight can impact the growth of a plant, they can do so by creating an experimental study. If the learner only wants to observe and describe things related to a subject like ‘Life of a Russian student in the British college,’ they can design a case study. Three methods are involved in the descriptive research strategy: surveys, case studies and observations. These methods help to understand a particular set of variables and gather data that describes people, communities, groups or circumstances.

Quantitative research strategy: The other method can be used by glancing at the sequenceof numeric data that can only be evaluated using statistics.The mathematical, statistical and numerical analysis of the gathered data falls under the purview of the quantitative research strategy. The foremost type of research strategy used by a researcher in academics is normally quantitative research.The learner can look at the easiest samples of this kind of research strategy in the real world, like the USA census, employment rate, population rate, death rate and every other research considering studying numerical data. Quantitative research strategy is always concerned with numbers; the data is collected through polls, questionnaires, and surveys.

Analytical research strategy: The analytical research strategy employs existing facts and information. To explain the complicated problems, the researcher uses the available data to study and analyze.The research helps to address questions like ‘why is it this way’ and ‘how it came to be’. It is generally used for studies involving cause-and-effect relationships.To illustrate, the research is based on the Role of enslavement in the USA after the Thirteenth Amendment. Analyzing the variation of the USA’s position in the Global Enslavement index from 1865 to 2017 is an instance of this kind of research. However, discussing why and how the USA enslavement rates moved in a specific way in the stated time is this type of research.By adopting the analytical research strategy, the learner can search for critical details and updated information to augment ideas in the research being produced.

Fundamental research strategy: Are you aware of the factors influencing different stages of a tertiary food chain? We believe you must be aware of this information.But as a researcher, the learner may be interested to know their influence rate, so they look for critically analyzing all the factors. Through this research, the learner is trying to collect more knowledge in furtherance to the knowledge they already have; it is a fundamental research strategy.The research strategy is primarily an investigation and evaluation of a situation without bringing any conclusion. It is done to better understand the subject selected for research work. Researchers who desire to expand knowledge and add more content to a particular research area utilize this type of research strategy.The findings from this research do not apply to actual scenarios, but they can be used to gain more information about things around us. Though the research strategy may have limited direct application, the learner has complete control over the conditions.

Applied research strategy: What is the Ebola virus? Do you have any information about it? Well, the virus can damage organs and cause death. It was first diagnosed in 1976, affecting around 11000 West African people from 2013 to 2015. The situation’s aftermath led many researchers to discover a cure for the disease.

Nevertheless, in 2016, the research found the first vaccine for fighting the disease that was 70 to 80 per cent effective against the virus. But what is the use of telling this information here? The information is being shared here to show how applied research looks or can be conducted. So, the applied research strategy aims at discovering the solution to an instant problem. A government, company or agency research to investigate a specific problem. The example above explains that the researcher investigated the virus to discover the most effective treatment for the disease, hence the ultimate purpose behind conducting this type of research. The strategy is useful in different fields, like finding out which strategy will work best to encourage mentally challenged students, examining different car designs to understand which one would be efficient for people with short heights, adding new strategies to bring changes within the global supply chain management at Mac Donald’s, or investigating the alternatives to enhance employee motivation in Apple Inc.

Critical research strategy: Going by the title, the foundation of the study is critical analysis.This research strategy is used to divulge faulty claims made by society or about society.Using the critical research strategy, the researcher selects to be part of any conclusion or theory about a specific culture or society.Then, theresearchers study the previous findings and questions to form a critical analysis. For instance, a person conducts research and finds out that Nigerians will probably face more racism than Indians in the USA. The learner applies a critical research strategy to examine and critique the claim by scrutinizing different factors apart from racism reported in the past. So, the learner is not limiting themselves to one segment of society; instead, they will look back at the history and find out the reason behind the issue and how it became a worldwide concern. With the application of a critical research strategy, the researcher examines the data and recommends changes that influence or encourage the issue. It addresses the question of ‘why’ and ‘how’.

Interpretive research strategy: There are quite a few similarities between interpretive and qualitative research strategies. The interpretive research strategy interprets the social reality through a sense-making process instead of hypothesis-testing.To make it more clear, the research strategy describes and understands society and life by way of human experiences. It concentrates on meaning and human significance. The research strategy can be explained using one of the previous examples;Nigerians will probably face more racism than Indians in the USA. At this moment, by utilizing interpretive strategy, the researcher may first decipher the gathered data and identify the several viewpoints of the result generated.To be aware of every aspect of the finding, the researcher will find out the individual perspectives of a few USA residents, Nigerian residents, and Indians living in the country. Each of the people has a distinct opinion from one another.Each of them will describe the situation differently, and each situation will be different from the others. By utilizing these opinions, the researcher will have to explain the data.The highest priority is always considered as the subject when using this strategy.

Exploratory research strategy: Are you looking to inaugurate a new product?You will requirean idea, money, a team and a suitable strategy to find out the challenges and opportunities of the market. To explore the market, the best strategy is to use exploratory research.The research strategy is used when there is no previous study or a handful of studies about the problem under consideration.The research strategy concentrates on obtaining insights about the problem or a condition but does not give out the ultimate solution for the research problem. In this research strategy, the researcher can use several methods, like trial studies, group discussions, or interviews to get more information about the problem under consideration.

Predictive research strategy: Going by the title, it is clear that the strategy predicts.The predictive research strategy is concerned with understanding the subsequent development of the problem under consideration, and it is established based on probabilities.The strategy is the best alternative for laying down an estimation concerning the possibility of a future outcome. It is one of the most popular strategies companies and organizations adopt to predict what will occur in the future.For instance, the researcher can use a predictive research strategy to predict how much sales will be made at Walmart at the time of New Year’s Eve, the type of items the customers will buy during a recession or what will be the market value of a product launched recently by the end of the year.

Tips to consider before choosing a research methodology
• Clear objective, the researcher must have clarity about the type of research to be used in work before proceeding with the data collection.
• The research question must be specific.
• There must be a proper presentation of the relevant population utilizing surveys, questionnaires, etc.
• There must be sufficient data which could address the research questions.
• There must be enough time to select an appropriate method. In case there is a time restriction, then choose methods which are convenient.

Conclusion
The researcher attempts to make advancements through their research work in different fields, and their work is helpful to society in general.Therefore, appropriate knowledge about the research strategy is vital to verify and validate the research in distinct fields. In this article, we have delved into different kinds of research strategy that the researchers can apply to explain their ideas.

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