There are Several Scientific, Engineering, and Social Sciences Fields where in We can Carry out Empirical Research. All these Research Areas Mainly Gather Different Data Points and then apply Several Statistical Techniques in Order to Bring Out useful and applicable Insights. Sometimes these Insights will be Useful for Policy Making at National and Global Level as well. This specific Blog Highlights Different Areas which Focus on Data and Applying Statistical Techniques and Conduct Empirical Investigations. Usually the Empirical Studies are Conducted on First Hand Information or Data Collected Earlier (Secondary Data) or Historical Data as well. Following are the areas where Data Plays Major Role and Empirical Investigations are being Carried Out:
1) Economics: This is the one of the areas where data plays major role. Basically, Different Governments Across the Globe, when they want to Launch Different Welfare Schemes for their Citizens, they conduct Citizen Surveys. The analysis of this data is useful to find the Socio-Economic Situation of the Citizens, and then Launch the Schemes/Policies based on Citizen Needs and Wants.
2) Business Management: This is the other area wheredata plays major role. If an Organization wants to take any managerial decision they collect HR data, Finance Data, Marketing, Production data and then apply statistical techniques over it and come to conclusion so that they can take a right decision for the Organization. These decisions can Impact the Organizational Revenues, Profitability, Valuation and Stakeholder Wealth. Usually, in Business, Market Research is Carried Out in Order to Find Customer Needs and Market Size. Marketing Research is Carried out in Order to Sell More Numbers of Products and To Find What Factors Contribute to More Marketability or to find What went Wrong in Certain Market Regions.
3) Physics Research: In this Field as well, different Apparatus such as Ammeter, Ohmmeter, Pendulum, Speedometer, timer, Thermometer, Trigonometric Angles, give different data points. These Data Points can give Useful Inferences after finding statistical relationships.
4) Chemistry Research: Here the data Points will be Different Chemical Compositions, Mixtures, Combinations, Chemical Concentrations, Dilution Levels, Saturation Levels, Liters, Milli Liters, Grams, Milligrams, Cubic Centimeters of Matters, become input for Research Hypothesis Proving. Using statistical techniques one can get the useful chemical observations and inferences.
5) Software Engineer: this is another area where different project metrics can be collected such as Time Estimates, Cost Estimates, Budgets, Schedules, Different Reserves such as Contingency Reserves, Project Reserves, Management Reserves. Other Data Points in this Stream include Quality Related Data such as Number of Bugs, Number of Defects Fixed, Number of Defects Reported, Defect Injection Rate, Number of Issues Resolved, Number of Open Tickets, etc. All this data becomes the Source of Empirical Software Engineering.
6) Project Management: is another area where in Several Data Points such as Project Schedules, Costs, Quality Measurements, Team Size, Project Complexity, Project Size, Work Breakdown Structures, Risk Breakdown Structures, Decision Trees, Opportunity Costs, …become sources of Empirical Research in Project Management.
7) Applied Psychology/Industrial Psychology: from the days of Edger Shein (was MIT Professor) we came across the Industrial Psychology Research. This area is famous for Empirical Research (after Economics Research); it includes earlier works of Scientific Management (1910s), Hathorne Experiments (1930s), Light Illumination Experiments, that is, Where Workers will be more Productive in Bright Light or Dim Light. The Empirical Investigations in this area gives different Organizational, Industrial Behavior oriented, Psychology Oriented Insights. The findings here will be useful in Order to build Better Organizational Culture, Culture for Better Innovation, Right Environment for Better Productivity, Right Behavior for Customer Delight. That’s why this stream is very important, if at all we do useful research with first-hand information.
8) Medical Research: this is another areas where empirical research can be carried out using data coming from Diagnostic Tests such as diabetic blood tests, pulse rate tests, ECG Readings, Blood Pressure Readings, GRBS readings, 2D echo Readings, Heart Beat Rates, Different Milli Grams of Medicine Dosage, Patient Different Symptoms, opthomological readings, Eye Vision Readings, Distance Measurements. This is the Huge data which has potential to grow to 8 billion world population. It makes Medical Research Huge Source of Empirical Investigations. Another Example, is Drug Trails data can also be used in Empirical Investigations.
9) Sports: For example,Physical Parameters of Sportsman such as Height, Weight, Eye Sight, Bone Strength, Chest Measurements, Hands, Legs Measurements, leading to a winner in 100 meters Olympic Winning Game. Calories Consumed per day by these Winning Athletes leading to better Performance can be Researched Using Empirical Studies with the Specified Data Points. Using Historical Data of Cricket, applying Statistical Predictive Analytics, one can Predict Which team has Maximum Probability of Winning the Cricket World Cup.
10) Engineering Research: Particularly, in Engineering Drawings, Automobile Component Measurements, Electrical Equipment Measurements, Automated Furnaces, Transmission Systems Data, Control Systems Data, Power Systems Data, and Data coming from Internet of Things, Data Coming from Sensors, Mobile Devices can be Used for Empirical Research in Engineering. Using this Data we can even Predict the Machine Failures or Need for Advanced Machine Serving. Machine Operations data also can be Used for Empirical Studies.
Statistical Techniques: such as Mean, Median, Mode, Standard Deviation, Variances, Correlation, Chi- Square Test, Regression, Linear Regression, Multiple Regress, t-Test, f-Test, Z-Test, ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), MANOVA (Multi Variate Analysis), Rank Correlation, Spearman Correlation, Factor Analysis, can be applied on Data and Useful Hidden Relationships and Patterns in Data can be Found Out; and the Results after Interpretations can be Applied to Organizations, Industries, Economies and Societies at Regional, National and Global Level. This is What is the Essence of Empirical Research.
Thus, Wherever data is Involved, or data can be Collected, there we can Conduct Empirical Studies and Draw Useful Insights, Inferences or Prove Different Hypotheses.
Hope This is Useful. Thank You,
Best Wishes,
Dr.Goparaju Purna Sudhakar
(https://gpsudhakar.com)