BASIC RESEARCH AND APPLIED RESEARCH

One reason for conducting research is to develop and evaluate
concepts and theories. Basic- or pure-research attempts to expand the
limits of knowledge. It does not directly involve the solution to a
particular, pragmatic problem, but it had been said, “There is nothing so
practical as a good theory.” Although this statement is true in the long
run, basic research findings generally cannot be immediately
implemented. Basic research is conducted to verify the acceptability of a
given theory or to know more about a certain concept.
For example, consider this basic research conducted by a
university. Academic researchers investigated whether or not an
individual’s perception that he or she was doing well on a task would
have any influence on future performance. Two nearly identical groups of
adults were given ten puzzles to solve. All of the individuals had identical
sets of puzzles to solve. After the subjects had given their solutions to the
researchers, they were told “how well” they did on the test. All of the
5 persons in the first group were told that they had done well (70 percent
correct regardless of the actual percent correct. The members of the other
group were told that they had done poorly (30 percent correct). Then both
groups were given another set of ten puzzles. The group that had been
told they had done well on the first set of puzzles performed better with
the second set of puzzles than did the group that had been told they had
been relatively unsuccessful with the first puzzle solving. The results of
this basic research expand scientific knowledge about theories of general
performance behaviour. This study was conducted because the
researchers thought the theory being tested was far-reaching and
applicable to a broad range of situations and circumstances.
Applied research is conducted when a decision must be made
about a specific real-life problem. Applied research encompasses those
studies undertaken to answer questions about specific problems or to
make decisions about a particular course of action or policy. For
example, an organization contemplating a paperless office and a
networking system for the company’s personal computers may conduct
research to learn the amount of time its employees spend at personal
computer in an average week.
The procedures and techniques utilized by basic and applied
researchers do not differ substantially. Both employ the scientific method
to answer the questions at hand. Broadly characterized, the scientific
method refers to techniques and procedures that help the researcher to
know and understand business phenomena. The scientific method
requires systematic analysis and logical interpretation of empirical
evidence (facts from observation or experimentation) to confirm or
disprove prior conceptions. In basic research, first testing these prior
conceptions or hypotheses and then making inferences and conclusions
about the phenomena leads to the establishment of general laws about
the phenomena.
6 Use of the scientific method in applied research assures objectivity
in gathering facts and testing creative ideas for alternative business
strategies. The essence of research, whether basic or applied, lies in the
scientific method, and much of this book deals with scientific
methodology. The difference in the techniques of basic and applied
research is largely a matter of degree rather than substance.