Episode 1.5: Strengths, Limitations, and Applications of Research Types

Last updated on 2025-06-07 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

What are the strengths and limitations of the different types of research?
How can understanding these differences guide the design of better studies?
In what ways are these research types applied in real-world contexts?

Objectives

Identify at least two strengths and limitations for each of the types of research.
Match each type of research to a practical example or disciplinary use case.
Decide which research type(s) may be most appropriate for a given research question or real-world scenario.

Think Like a Researcher

Imagine your university is considering launching a mental health app for students. You’re part of the team evaluating its impact. What’s the best way to approach the task?

Would you: - Measure students’ stress levels before and after using the app? - Interview students to understand how they feel about using it? - Compare the app to others in use at different schools? - Or do a little bit of everything?

The way you choose to investigate the problem depends on the kind of research you conduct—and each type brings its own strengths and tradeoffs. In this lesson, we’ll explore those strengths, limitations, and the contexts where each approach thrives.

A Quick Recap

In the previous episode, we introduced four common types of research, often grouped by purpose:

Type	Goal
Exploratory	Investigate new or poorly understood issues
Descriptive	Offer detailed accounts of what exists
Explanatory	Uncover cause-and-effect relationships
Applied	Address real-world problems directly

These types often make use of qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, depending on the nature of the research question.

Let’s now take a deeper look at each research type and how it plays out in practice.

Exploratory Research

Used when: The problem or phenomenon is not well understood and needs preliminary investigation.

Strengths

Flexible and open-ended.
Useful for identifying patterns, generating hypotheses, and defining new problems.
Ideal for new or emerging topics.

Limitations

Often lacks structure, making it hard to replicate.
Findings may not be generalizable.
Results tend to be tentative and may not lead to actionable conclusions on their own.

Real-World Applications

A nonprofit exploring why adolescents in rural areas avoid health clinics.
A tech company conducting focus groups to understand public attitudes toward AI chatbots.

Common Methods: Interviews, focus groups, exploratory surveys.

Descriptive Research

Used when: You want to document or quantify what is currently happening.

Strengths

Helps build a foundational understanding of populations or phenomena.
Supports policy-making and planning with concrete data.
Often large-scale and generalizable.

Limitations

Does not explore causes or explanations.
Can be misleading if poorly designed or biased in data collection.

Real-World Applications

A national census on employment trends across industries.
A school district tracking student attendance and engagement.

Common Methods: Observational studies, cross-sectional surveys, routine data audits.

Explanatory (Causal) Research

Used when: You need to test hypotheses about why something is happening.

Strengths

Supports cause-and-effect conclusions.
Uses systematic, controlled methods to reduce bias.
Often highly rigorous.

Limitations

Can be complex and time-intensive.
May require ethical safeguards, especially in experiments.
Difficult to fully control variables in real-life settings.

Real-World Applications

A clinical trial testing whether a new vaccine reduces infection rates.
A randomized controlled study on whether gamified lessons improve student retention.

Common Methods: Experiments, longitudinal studies, regression modeling.

Applied Research

Used when: The goal is to solve a specific, practical problem.

Strengths

Results are actionable and directly relevant to practice or policy.
Often interdisciplinary, integrating knowledge from different fields.
Supports innovation and impact.

Limitations

May be constrained by political, commercial, or time pressures.
Can prioritize short-term fixes over long-term understanding.
Results may not always be published or widely disseminated.

Real-World Applications

A hospital testing a new nurse scheduling algorithm to reduce staff burnout.
A city evaluating traffic sensors to improve road safety.

Common Methods: Case studies, evaluations, needs assessments, feasibility studies.

When One Type Isn’t Enough

In the real world, many studies span multiple research types. Consider the case of the university’s mental health app:

Exploratory: To understand how students perceive mental health tools.
Descriptive: To map usage trends over time.
Explanatory: To determine whether the app improves wellbeing outcomes.
Applied: To support university decision-making about keeping or scaling the program.

This is where mixed methods come in—combining qualitative depth with quantitative breadth for a fuller picture.

Cross-Disciplinary Lens

Different academic and professional fields tend to favor different types of research based on their goals:

Discipline	Typical Research Type	Sample Topic
Public Health	Explanatory	Does access to clean water reduce child mortality?
Education	Descriptive	What teaching strategies are used in rural classrooms?
Engineering	Applied	How can solar energy be optimized for off-grid homes?
Sociology	Exploratory	How do young people define identity in online spaces?

Understanding the preferred types of research in a discipline can guide collaboration, funding, and dissemination strategies.

Test Your Knowledge!

Challenge: Match the Type

Scenario: A local government wants to understand whether its free school meal program improves student performance.

Which research types could apply?

Show me the solution

All of them! - Descriptive: Collect data on how many students are receiving meals. - Exploratory: Conduct interviews or focus groups with students, teachers, and parents to gather insights about how the meal program might be influencing student well-being and engagement. - Explanatory: Analyze test scores before and after the program to see if there’s an academic impact. - Applied: Evaluate whether the program should be expanded based on findings.

Key Points

Each research type—exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, applied—has distinct strengths and limitations.
The best research designs often combine multiple approaches to answer complex questions.
Being intentional about research type improves clarity, coherence, and usefulness of findings.
Different disciplines apply research types in different ways, tailored to their questions and practices.

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Callout

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