Research, as a concept, is multi-faceted and difficult to find a universal definition for. In any particular field, a person’s understanding of research can be different, making the notion harder to translate between occupations. In particular, the terms academic and business research differ in a number of key areas, making them essentially completely different practices. Academic research, as a practice, is aimed at furthering human knowledge and finding information and data on the problems brought upon by study. The information obtained through this type of study can either have a specific application or have nothing at all, it is not what determined the value and direction of research. The logic and hypothesis are applied in complex manners, in an effort to get to the root cause of any particular phenomena.
Business research, on the other hand, works to reach specific and particular goals, one that is aimed at specifically finding solutions and realizing things applicable in the business sphere. The practice is much more focused and organized in its purpose.
In my own academic research, I would have to gather a lot of data and opinions from others, as well as related research documents to the topic I am working on. I think that qualitative research would aid in my practice more, as it is focused on getting and analyzing the types of data that cannot be easily organized. People’s opinions, long-winded answers, information that requires further context or analysis, all these kinds of information are best processed by qualitative research. I think that I will have the ability to perform my research a bit better thanks to this approach.