Reseach

Lay knowledge would define research as some process which is done to find out something new or verify some facts or thesis by gathering some information by asking questions. According to Merrill Education’s Companion websites, Research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase our understanding of the phenomenon under study. This definition seems to define research very clearly but when we tend to be specific it seems not fulfilled as definition of research depends of types of research. Basically, research is types in two qualitative and quantitative. There are significant differences between those types:
quantitative
Objective
Research asks question like, How many? Strength of association
Literature review must be done early in study
test theory
One reality: focus is concise and narrow
Facts are value free and unbiased
Measureable
Mechanistic: parts equal to whole
Researcher is separate
Hypothesis
Establishes relationships, and causations
Use instruments
Generalizations leading to prediction, explanations, and understanding
Sample size is larg
Counts the people’s opinion

Qualitative
Subjective
Research asks question, why? What?
Literature review may be done as study progresses or afterwards
Develops theory
Multiple reality: focus is complex and broad
Facts are value-laden and biased
Interpretive
Organismic: whole is greater than the parts
Researcher is part of process
Research questions
Describes meaning, discovery
Uses communications and observations
Patterns and theories developed for understanding
Sample size is not concerned and usually small, seeks informal rich samples
Counts whose opinion is more important

In conclusion, research is a very complex procedure and it would be done to verify theory and to generate the theory as well. Quantitative research generates reliable population based and generalizable data and is well suited for establishing cause-and-effect relationships while as qualitative generates rich, detailed and valid data that contributes to in-depth understanding of the context.
Quantitative and qualitative research both can be combined in one research as well to get the benefit of increased validity (confirmation of results by means of different data sources), complementarities (adding information, i.e. words to number and vice versa), and creating new lines of thinking by the emergence of fresh perspectives and contradictions.