Research is the systematic application of investigative tools to an issue, problem, or phenomenon the purpose of which is to develop valid and reliable information that will lead toot a better understanding of the research target. Questions concerning the definition of research persist because interactions among the varied objectives of research studies, on the one hand, and on the other hand, bias, ignorance, or both on the part of the users of research findings as to what constitutes ôreal researchö. Some users of the findings of experimental research (as well as some experimental researchers, as an example) denigrate the value of descriptive research. Descriptive research, however, can be of great value to political campaigns and marketers even though its value may be low in relation to medical trial studies. Conversely, double-blind experimental research that is essential in most medical trial studies (a) are not feasible for many political and marketing purposes and (b) would be of limited value in such cases even if they were feasible.
Advising the plant manager of a shoe factory on a relevant research study to consult in a situation wherein a decision problem has not yet been specified requires the identification of a research study that the shoe plant manager can view as basic research or as exploratory. Basic research within the context of this situation is research that allows the shoe manufacturing plant to better understand the competing forces affecting shoe manufacture regardless of whether a specific problem has been identified at her or his plant. The study recommended is ôManufacturing Practices and Strategy Integration: Effects on Cost Efficiency, Flexibility, and Market-Based Performanceö (Swink, M., Narasimhan, R., & Kim, S. W., 2005, April, Decision Sciences, pp. 457-487). This study is primarily explanatory in character. The research results explain the relationships between (a) manufacturing practi...