Positivist Research Methods - Essay Example

It’s the research and analysis done by the economists in investments (FDI) yielded fruitful results in the development of different industrial sectors. The main purpose of these industries is to develop products that could be used in everyday life and produce more and more employment opportunities.

The research involves finding potential problems in the present products used and resolving them by upgrading them or using new products. The researchers found the flexibility of a product enables it to be used by more clients. Another important factor probably the most important one is the cost. If the final product is expensive there will be only a few takers for it. Therefore research has been done to use cost-effective applications.

Another important feature developed by the researchers was reverse engineering. In reverse engineering, the work is done from the final stage to the initial stage. The main purpose of reverse engineering is to extract the code from the final product and work on the final product from scratch. By using reverse engineering techniques one can extract their competitor's applications and introduce their own applications in the market accordingly.

Qualitative research methods are more often used as they involve observation of data that helps in finding solutions to the problems. Qualitative research has been categorized into three categories: positivist, interpretive, and critical.

Positivist research methods involve an attempt to test the theory to understand the predictive element of the phenomena. It involves formal propositions, hypothesis testing, measuring of quantifiable variables, etc. In this type of research, it is assumed that the objectives are given in reality and can be measured by their properties.

The interpretive research method involves the sharing of information and social constructions such as language. The interpretive method is used to understand the meaning of the given information that was assigned to the researchers. Critical research as the name implies concentrates more on the critical view of the subject. It highlights the critical viewpoint of the situation that has to be analyzed.  

Action research and Case study research methods are as important as the above-mentioned methods. The action research method describes what problems an organization is facing; and what appropriate steps should be taken to resolve these kinds of situations. It is more often an action-oriented method. The case study method involves studying the main object of the organization, how the situation is related to the real-life context, etc. Case studies can be positivist, interpretive, and critical.