Basic applied and action research – UGC NET Question

In this question statements A, B and C accurately describe basic, applied and action research. Statement A is true because basic research is aimed at theory building and generating general principles. Statement B is correct as applied research seeks solutions to specific practical problems, and statement C rightly highlights that action research is conducted by practitioners to improve their own practice. Statements D and E are wrong: D wrongly claims that action research is only about theory without concern for practice, and E incorrectly suggests that basic research is always less rigorous than action research, so the set of wrong statements is precisely D and E.

Option A:
Option A identifies only statement D as wrong and ignores statement E. While it is correct that statement D misrepresents the practice-oriented nature of action research, statement E is also incorrect because basic research can be highly rigorous in its methodology. Since Option A does not include all the wrong statements, it cannot be the correct answer.

Option B:
Option B selects only statement E as wrong and therefore overlooks statement D. It is true that E is incorrect because methodological rigour does not depend on whether research is basic or action oriented. However, because D is also a wrong statement, treating E as the sole incorrect statement makes this option invalid.

Option C:
Option C wrongly includes statement C in the list of incorrect statements. Statement C is actually true, as action research is typically undertaken by practitioners to improve their own practice. By treating a correct statement as wrong, this combination misclassifies the statements and therefore cannot be accepted.

Option D:
Option D correctly identifies D and E as the only wrong statements in the list. It omits statements A, B and C, all of which accurately characterise basic, applied and action research. Because it includes all and only the incorrect statements, this combination best answers the demand of the question to select the wrong statements.