Research = the systematic inquiry — the structured search for knowledge through defined questions, planned methods and verifiable evidence (the classic textbook formula: "a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic" — Kothari's definition, the standard classroom source, named in the syllabus's reading list). The elements inside the definition: a question (not idle curiosity but a formulated problem), a method (the plan of inquiry), evidence (data collected and analysed), and communication (the findings reported for verification — Unit 7's subject). Types of research (the basic map): By purpose: fundamental/pure research (theory-driven — testing and building knowledge for its own sake) vs. applied research (problem-driven — solving a defined practical problem: the amendment's impact study); By knowledge-claim: descriptive (what is), exploratory (what is there — the first map of unmapped terrain), explanatory (why — the causes), evaluative (how well — the program's assessment), prescriptive (what should be — the reform recommendation); By method-family: doctrinal (the law-in-books) vs. empirical/socio-legal (the law-in- action) — Unit 2's great divide; By strategy: historical, comparative, analytical, survey, case study, experimental — Unit 2's and Unit 5's territories; By approach: quantitative (the numbers' world) vs. qualitative (the meanings' world) vs.
mixed — Unit 6's division.