Role of Research

The key purpose and role of research is to help plan and collect information on a particular subject. By means of proper research, a professional can easily get a synopsis of the existing situation which improves his information base for making sound judgements influencing future operations of the business. When managers use research, they are applying the methods of science to the art of management.

Purpose and Role of Research in Different Fields

Three most common and useful purposes are exploration, description, and explanation. Many reasons exist for carrying out research. For example, an analysis could be performed to prove scientifically the traditional experience on the safety and effectiveness of herbal supplements. It could also be conducted to confirm a new plant material or a new mix of herbal medicines, or perhaps a new indication, a new dosage form or a new administrative route for an existing herbal medicine. Following are the various fields in which research plays a key role in making effective decisions.

1. Marketing research has become extremely essential in making wise marketing decisions. It includes organized collection, compilation, analysis, and decryption of relevant data for marketing decisions. Research methods are utilized successfully for studies relating to demand prediction, consumer buying behaviour, computing advertising performance, media selection, test marketing, product positioning, and new product potential.
2. Production: It helps a business to make a decision on what to produce, how much to produce, when to produce, and for whom to produce in the field of production. Research techniques also  support quality control, and establishing ideal stock level.
3. Banking: It helps banking institutions in collecting and analyzing information both for their internal operations and for making advanced studies on economic conditions of business. Reserve Bank of India has setup a department for planning and management reporting.
4. Materials: The materials division makes use of research to form appropriate policies concerning where to buy, how much to buy, when to buy, and at what price to buy.
5. Human resource development: The HRD division makes use of research to analyze wage rates, incentive programmes, living costs, staff turnover levels, employment trends, and performance appraisal. Additionally, it makes use of research effectively for its most critical activity specifically human resource planning.
6. Government: Research lays the building blocks for all government policies. The researches carried out by the government are executed by a commission that usually consists of experts and highly experienced personnel in the field. These governmental researchers carry out massive researches and the funding goes by the government. For instance, it is applied for developing the union finance budget and railway budget yearly. It is employed for economic planning and optimal utilisation of resources for the growth and development of the country. It is also required for systematic collection of information on the economic and social structure of the country. This kind of information implies what is happening to the economy and what changes are taking place.

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Research produces knowledge which can be utilized outside a research setting. It also forms the foundation of program development and policies around the world. It also solves specific existing problems of interest. It cuts down on the probability of making a bad selection amongst alternative courses of action. This is specifically important in the light of growing competitors and growing size which make the task of selecting the best course of action hard for any business venture. Research is significant since it provides direction to handle a particular issue. Whether the issue is completely solved or not is not the forte of the research work. Gathering amicable and all the possible solutions hypothetically are in itself regarded as a good achievement.

In this article, we have discussed about the role of research in different fields like: marketing, human resource development, government, production, banking and materials.