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Exploratory Research – Types, Methods and Examples

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Exploratory Research

Definition:

Exploratory research is a type of research design that is used to investigate a research question when the researcher has limited knowledge or understanding of the topic or phenomenon under study.

The primary objective of exploratory research is to gain insights and gather preliminary information that can help the researcher better define the research problem and develop hypotheses or research questions for further investigation.

Exploratory Research Methods

There are several types of exploratory research, including:

Literature Review

This involves conducting a comprehensive review of existing published research, scholarly articles, and other relevant literature on the research topic or problem. It helps to identify the gaps in the existing knowledge and to develop new research questions or hypotheses.

Pilot Study

A pilot study is a small-scale preliminary study that helps the researcher to test research procedures, instruments, and data collection methods. This type of research can be useful in identifying any potential problems or issues with the research design and refining the research procedures for a larger-scale study.

This involves an in-depth analysis of a particular case or situation to gain insights into the underlying causes, processes, and dynamics of the issue under investigation. It can be used to develop a more comprehensive understanding of a complex problem, and to identify potential research questions or hypotheses.

Focus Groups

Focus groups involve a group discussion that is conducted to gather opinions, attitudes, and perceptions from a small group of individuals about a particular topic. This type of research can be useful in exploring the range of opinions and attitudes towards a topic, identifying common themes or patterns, and generating ideas for further research.

Expert Opinion

This involves consulting with experts or professionals in the field to gain their insights, expertise, and opinions on the research topic. This type of research can be useful in identifying the key issues and concerns related to the topic, and in generating ideas for further research.

Observational Research

Observational research involves gathering data by observing people, events, or phenomena in their natural settings to gain insights into behavior and interactions. This type of research can be useful in identifying patterns of behavior and interactions, and in generating hypotheses or research questions for further investigation.

Open-ended Surveys

Open-ended surveys allow respondents to provide detailed and unrestricted responses to questions, providing valuable insights into their attitudes, opinions, and perceptions. This type of research can be useful in identifying common themes or patterns, and in generating ideas for further research.

Data Analysis Methods

Exploratory Research Data Analysis Methods are as follows:

Content Analysis

This method involves analyzing text or other forms of data to identify common themes, patterns, and trends. It can be useful in identifying patterns in the data and developing hypotheses or research questions. For example, if the researcher is analyzing social media posts related to a particular topic, content analysis can help identify the most frequently used words, hashtags, and topics.

Thematic Analysis

This method involves identifying and analyzing patterns or themes in qualitative data such as interviews or focus groups. The researcher identifies recurring themes or patterns in the data and then categorizes them into different themes. This can be helpful in identifying common patterns or themes in the data and developing hypotheses or research questions. For example, a thematic analysis of interviews with healthcare professionals about patient care may identify themes related to communication, patient satisfaction, and quality of care.

Cluster Analysis

This method involves grouping data points into clusters based on their similarities or differences. It can be useful in identifying patterns in large datasets and grouping similar data points together. For example, if the researcher is analyzing customer data to identify different customer segments, cluster analysis can be used to group similar customers together based on their demographic, purchasing behavior, or preferences.

Network Analysis

This method involves analyzing the relationships and connections between data points. It can be useful in identifying patterns in complex datasets with many interrelated variables. For example, if the researcher is analyzing social network data, network analysis can help identify the most influential users and their connections to other users.

Grounded Theory

This method involves developing a theory or explanation based on the data collected during the exploratory research process. The researcher develops a theory or explanation that is grounded in the data, rather than relying on pre-existing theories or assumptions. This can be helpful in developing new theories or explanations that are supported by the data.

Applications of Exploratory Research

Exploratory research has many practical applications across various fields. Here are a few examples:

Marketing Research : In marketing research, exploratory research can be used to identify consumer needs, preferences, and behavior. It can also help businesses understand market trends and identify new market opportunities.
Product Development: In product development, exploratory research can be used to identify customer needs and preferences, as well as potential design flaws or issues. This can help companies improve their product offerings and develop new products that better meet customer needs.
Social Science Research: In social science research, exploratory research can be used to identify new areas of study, as well as develop new theories and hypotheses. It can also be used to identify potential research methods and approaches.
Healthcare Research : In healthcare research, exploratory research can be used to identify new treatments, therapies, and interventions. It can also be used to identify potential risk factors or causes of health problems.
Education Research: In education research, exploratory research can be used to identify new teaching methods and approaches, as well as identify potential areas of study for further research. It can also be used to identify potential barriers to learning or achievement.

Examples of Exploratory Research

Here are some more examples of exploratory research from different fields:

Social Science : A researcher wants to study the experience of being a refugee, but there is limited existing research on this topic. The researcher conducts exploratory research by conducting in-depth interviews with refugees to better understand their experiences, challenges, and needs.
Healthcare : A medical researcher wants to identify potential risk factors for a rare disease but there is limited information available. The researcher conducts exploratory research by reviewing medical records and interviewing patients and their families to identify potential risk factors.
Education : A teacher wants to develop a new teaching method to improve student engagement, but there is limited information on effective teaching methods. The teacher conducts exploratory research by reviewing existing literature and interviewing other teachers to identify potential approaches.
Technology : A software developer wants to develop a new app, but is unsure about the features that users would find most useful. The developer conducts exploratory research by conducting surveys and focus groups to identify user preferences and needs.
Environmental Science : An environmental scientist wants to study the impact of a new industrial plant on the surrounding environment, but there is limited existing research. The scientist conducts exploratory research by collecting and analyzing soil and water samples, and conducting interviews with residents to better understand the impact of the plant on the environment and the community.

How to Conduct Exploratory Research

Here are the general steps to conduct exploratory research:

Define the research problem: Identify the research problem or question that you want to explore. Be clear about the objective and scope of the research.
Review existing literature: Conduct a review of existing literature and research on the topic to identify what is already known and where gaps in knowledge exist.
Determine the research design : Decide on the appropriate research design, which will depend on the nature of the research problem and the available resources. Common exploratory research designs include case studies, focus groups, interviews, and surveys.
Collect data: Collect data using the chosen research design. This may involve conducting interviews, surveys, or observations, or collecting data from existing sources such as archives or databases.
Analyze data: Analyze the data collected using appropriate qualitative or quantitative techniques. This may include coding and categorizing qualitative data, or running descriptive statistics on quantitative data.
I nterpret and report findings: Interpret the findings of the analysis and report them in a way that is clear and understandable. The report should summarize the findings, discuss their implications, and make recommendations for further research or action.
Iterate : If necessary, refine the research question and repeat the process of data collection and analysis to further explore the topic.

When to use Exploratory Research

Exploratory research is appropriate in situations where there is limited existing knowledge or understanding of a topic, and where the goal is to generate insights and ideas that can guide further research. Here are some specific situations where exploratory research may be particularly useful:

New product development: When developing a new product, exploratory research can be used to identify consumer needs and preferences, as well as potential design flaws or issues.
Emerging technologies: When exploring emerging technologies, exploratory research can be used to identify potential uses and applications, as well as potential challenges or limitations.
Developing research hypotheses: When developing research hypotheses, exploratory research can be used to identify potential relationships or patterns that can be further explored through more rigorous research methods.
Understanding complex phenomena: When trying to understand complex phenomena, such as human behavior or societal trends, exploratory research can be used to identify underlying patterns or factors that may be influencing the phenomenon.
Developing research methods : When developing new research methods, exploratory research can be used to identify potential issues or limitations with existing methods, and to develop new methods that better capture the phenomena of interest.

Purpose of Exploratory Research

The purpose of exploratory research is to gain insights and understanding of a research problem or question where there is limited existing knowledge or understanding. The objective is to explore and generate ideas that can guide further research, rather than to test specific hypotheses or make definitive conclusions.

Exploratory research can be used to:

Identify new research questions: Exploratory research can help to identify new research questions and areas of inquiry, by providing initial insights and understanding of a topic.
Develop hypotheses: Exploratory research can help to develop hypotheses and testable propositions that can be further explored through more rigorous research methods.
Identify patterns and trends : Exploratory research can help to identify patterns and trends in data, which can be used to guide further research or decision-making.
Understand complex phenomena: Exploratory research can help to provide a deeper understanding of complex phenomena, such as human behavior or societal trends, by identifying underlying patterns or factors that may be influencing the phenomena.
Generate ideas: Exploratory research can help to generate new ideas and insights that can be used to guide further research, innovation, or decision-making.

Characteristics of Exploratory Research

The following are the main characteristics of exploratory research:

Flexible and open-ended : Exploratory research is characterized by its flexible and open-ended nature, which allows researchers to explore a wide range of ideas and perspectives without being constrained by specific research questions or hypotheses.
Qualitative in nature : Exploratory research typically relies on qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, or observation, to gather rich and detailed data on the research problem.
Limited scope: Exploratory research is generally limited in scope, focusing on a specific research problem or question, rather than attempting to provide a comprehensive analysis of a broader phenomenon.
Preliminary in nature : Exploratory research is preliminary in nature, providing initial insights and understanding of a research problem, rather than testing specific hypotheses or making definitive conclusions.
I terative process : Exploratory research is often an iterative process, where the research design and methods may be refined and adjusted as new insights and understanding are gained.
I nductive approach : Exploratory research typically takes an inductive approach to data analysis, seeking to identify patterns and relationships in the data that can guide further research or hypothesis development.

Advantages of Exploratory Research

The following are some advantages of exploratory research:

Provides initial insights: Exploratory research is useful for providing initial insights and understanding of a research problem or question where there is limited existing knowledge or understanding. It can help to identify patterns, relationships, and potential hypotheses that can guide further research.
Flexible and adaptable : Exploratory research is flexible and adaptable, allowing researchers to adjust their methods and approach as they gain new insights and understanding of the research problem.
Qualitative methods : Exploratory research typically relies on qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observation, which can provide rich and detailed data that is useful for gaining insights into complex phenomena.
Cost-effective : Exploratory research is often less costly than other research methods, such as large-scale surveys or experiments. It is typically conducted on a smaller scale, using fewer resources and participants.
Useful for hypothesis generation : Exploratory research can be useful for generating hypotheses and testable propositions that can be further explored through more rigorous research methods.
Provides a foundation for further research: Exploratory research can provide a foundation for further research by identifying potential research questions and areas of inquiry, as well as providing initial insights and understanding of the research problem.

Limitations of Exploratory Research

The following are some limitations of exploratory research:

Limited generalizability: Exploratory research is typically conducted on a small scale and uses non-random sampling techniques, which limits the generalizability of the findings to a broader population.
Subjective nature: Exploratory research relies on qualitative methods and is therefore subject to researcher bias and interpretation. The findings may be influenced by the researcher’s own perceptions, beliefs, and assumptions.
Lack of rigor: Exploratory research is often less rigorous than other research methods, such as experimental research, which can limit the validity and reliability of the findings.
Limited ability to test hypotheses: Exploratory research is not designed to test specific hypotheses, but rather to generate initial insights and understanding of a research problem. It may not be suitable for testing well-defined research questions or hypotheses.
Time-consuming : Exploratory research can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, particularly if the researcher needs to gather data from multiple sources or conduct multiple rounds of data collection.
Difficulty in interpretation: The open-ended nature of exploratory research can make it difficult to interpret the findings, particularly if the researcher is unable to identify clear patterns or relationships in the data.

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Informal Social Protection and Poverty pp 73–83 Cite as

Research Design, Methodology, and Data Collection

Zahid Mumtaz 2
First Online: 05 October 2022

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The chapter justifies the use of an exploratory research design and data source (madrassas) to answer the two research questions. It outlines an original household survey and a semi-structured interviews data collection approach based on MPI adopted for the study to recognize households facing uncertainties who are recipients of informal social protection. The methodology is unique because it captures the features of poor and vulnerable populations and institutional arrangements responsible for welfare outcomes in Pakistan. The approach also facilitated documentation of the characteristics of middle- and high-income households because, in some cases, middle- and high-income families send their children to madrassas to attain religious education. However, such families are not dependent on madrassa welfare. The necessary ethics approval was obtained from the university because the study involved vulnerable human subjects. The chapter provides a detailed explanation of the management of the ethical concerns related to the study, which helped ensure data quality. Such strategies can be valuable in ensuring the quality of data collection concerning similar situations elsewhere. Lastly, in its annexures, the chapter furnishes the participation information sheet, survey instrument and semi-structured interview questions delivered to households and madrassa heads in English and the local language.

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A detailed explanation about the history of madrassa development and an overview of studies on madrassas is provided in Chap. 5 .

For example, please see Evans et al. ( 2022 ), Evans 2022 , Nawaz and Iqbal ( 2020 ), Iqbal and Nawaz ( 2021 ), Mustafa and Ali ( 2018 ), Ghorpade ( 2017 ), Khan and Arif ( 2016 ).

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Several studies indicate that probability sampling can be used to select interview participants (see, for example, Tashakkori et al., 1998 ; Robinson 2014 ). In addition, many surveys using probability sampling techniques conducted at the national level include sections requiring responses in qualitative form. As I intend to generalize the data findings, I used the same methodology of participant identification, i.e. probability sampling for semi structured interviews.

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The list of madrassas present within each city was obtained from the district administration and local police department during the field work. The researcher appreciates the valuable contribution of each district administration and police department in providing the details of madrassas within their jurisdiction as well as administrative and logistic support for conducting the field work. In Pakistan, both rural and urban areas are located within the geographical boundaries of a city. Fifty per cent of madrassas were selected from rural areas and 50 per cent from urban areas to have an even spread. Eight madrassas were selected when there was only one city in a cluster. However, five madrassas were selected from each city if there were two cities in a cluster. This was done so that in case any madrassa refused to participate, then there would be other madrassas still remaining in the survey. 50 percent of madrassas selected from each city were providing boarding facilities, and 50 percent had no boarding facilities. The study was undertaken in compliance with the Australian National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research.

Zakat/Bait-ul-mal, BISP, and free food and shelter programs are social assistance programs.

Retirement pension (public and private), health insurance (Sehat card), and youth loans are social insurance programs.

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Exploratory Research

Exploratory research, as the name implies, intends merely to explore the research questions and does not intend to offer final and conclusive solutions to existing problems. This type of research is usually conducted to study a problem that has not been clearly defined yet. Conducted in order to determine the nature of the problem, exploratory research is not intended to provide conclusive evidence, but helps us to have a better understanding of the problem.

When conducting exploratory research, the researcher ought to be willing to change his/her direction as a result of revelation of new data and new insights. [1] Accordingly, exploratory studies are often conducted using interpretive research methods and they answer to questions such as what, why and how.

Exploratory research design does not aim to provide the final and conclusive answers to the research questions, but merely explores the research topic with varying levels of depth. It has been noted that “exploratory research is the initial research, which forms the basis of more conclusive research. It can even help in determining the research design, sampling methodology and data collection method” [2] . Exploratory research “tends to tackle new problems on which little or no previous research has been done” [3] .

Unstructured interviews are the most popular primary data collection method with exploratory studies. Additionally, surveys , focus groups and observation methods can be used to collect primary data for this type of studies.

Examples of Exploratory Research Design

The following are some examples for studies with exploratory research design in business studies:

A study into the role of social networking sites as an effective marketing communication channel
An investigation into the ways of improvement of quality of customer services within hospitality sector in London
An assessment of the role of corporate social responsibility on consumer behaviour in pharmaceutical industry in the USA

Differences between Exploratory and Conclusive Research

The difference between exploratory and conclusive research is drawn by Sandhursen (2000) [4] in a way that exploratory studies result in a range of causes and alternative options for a solution of a specific problem, whereas, conclusive studies identify the final information that is the only solution to an existing research problem.

In other words, exploratory research design simply explores the research questions, leaving room for further researches, whereas conclusive research design is aimed to provide final findings for the research.

Moreover, it has been stated that “an exploratory study may not have as rigorous as methodology as it is used in conclusive studies, and sample sizes may be smaller. But it helps to do the exploratory study as methodically as possible, if it is going to be used for major decisions about the way we are going to conduct our next study” [5] (Nargundkar, 2003, p.41).

Exploratory studies usually create scope for future research and the future research may have a conclusive design. For example, ‘a study into the implications of COVID-19 pandemic into the global economy’ is an exploratory research. COVID-19 pandemic is a recent phenomenon and the study can generate an initial knowledge about economic implications of the phenomenon.

A follow-up study, building on the findings of this research ‘a study into the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism revenues in Morocco’ is a causal conclusive research. The second research can produce research findings that can be of a practical use for decision making.

Advantages of Exploratory Research

Lower costs of conducting the study
Flexibility and adaptability to change
Exploratory research is effective in laying the groundwork that will lead to future studies.
Exploratory studies can potentially save time by determining at the earlier stages the types of research that are worth pursuing

Disadvantages of Exploratory Research

Inclusive nature of research findings
Exploratory studies generate qualitative information and interpretation of such type of information is subject to bias
These types of studies usually make use of a modest number of samples that may not adequately represent the target population. Accordingly, findings of exploratory research cannot be generalized to a wider population.
Findings of such type of studies are not usually useful in decision making in a practical level.

My e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: a step by step assistance contains discussions of theory and application of research designs. The e-book also explains all stages of the research process starting from the selection of the research area to writing personal reflection. Important elements of dissertations such as research philosophy , research approach , methods of data collection , data analysis and sampling are explained in this e-book in simple words.

John Dudovskiy

[1] Source: Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2012) “Research Methods for Business Students” 6 th edition, Pearson Education Limited

[2] Singh, K. (2007) “Quantitative Social Research Methods” SAGE Publications, p.64

[3] Brown, R.B. (2006) “Doing Your Dissertation in Business and Management: The Reality of Research and Writing” Sage Publications, p.43

[4] Sandhusen, R.L. (2000) “Marketing” Barrons

[5] Nargundkar, R. (2008) “Marketing Research: Text and Cases” 3 rd edition, p.38

A guide to exploratory research design

Last updated

9 March 2023

Reviewed by

Jean Kaluza

Knowledge is power, especially when designing a new product or improving an existing one. You may have questions like who will use your product. What niche market needs this product? How will customers respond to the product? Where does the product need improving?

Analyze exploratory research

Finds answers to questions asked in your exploratory research faster when you analyze it in Dovetail

What is exploratory research?

When you're blazing a trail for a new concept, you need questions answered and problems solved. Exploratory research will help you better understand the problems and offer solutions you could focus on to transform the idea into reality.

What is an exploratory research design example?

When you have an idea about a new product, you're excited about the prospect that customers will be lining up at the door to purchase it. Before spending money on design and development, determine if customers will love it as much as you do.

You will want to conduct exploratory research to determine how people will respond to your product. Your data may show that your potential customers have a different opinion than you expected. Once you receive the data, your perception of how to proceed with the product's design will become more apparent.

Methods and types of exploratory research

Understanding the methods of exploratory research and how to reach potential customers can provide valuable data for product conception. There are two primary methods of conducting exploratory research: primary research and secondary research.

Primary research

Primary research involves direct interactions with your customer base. This could include conducting surveys , hosting focus groups , or one-on-one interviews.

Primary research aims to gather first-hand information about your customers' needs, preferences, and opinions. You can gain valuable insights into their behaviors and decision-making processes by interacting directly with your target audience.

Secondary research

Secondary research involves gathering information that others have already collected. This could include conducting online searches, reviewing industry reports, or visiting the library to read books and journals. Secondary research aims to gather information that can help you better understand your target market and industry trends.

Exploratory research data collection

Gathering data about a new subject can be difficult. But exploratory research can make it easier by helping you focus on a specific topic and creating a clear hypothesis and problem statement. It also gives you an overview of the subject.

Exploratory research involves two types of data collection methods: primary and secondary research. Both methods follow the same model for data analysis.

Primary research methods

This research method involves communicating with people in different ways to gather information, including:

Observations

Interviews

Focus groups

You might have your product's models, drawings, or prototypes ready for testing. Then, you can gather a target sample group to interact with it. By observing their interactions and listening to their questions, answers, and comments, you can identify necessary changes to the product. This process will also give you insights into how customers will respond to it when it launches.

Exploratory research questions

Once you establish which primary research method you will use, tailor those methods to retrieve data that will answer questions about moving forward with your product.

These questions can include the following:

Who will get the most benefit from using the product?

What features of the product will customers most likely use or not use?

Is the product easy to use or too complicated?

How can the product be improved?

Secondary research methods

This research method is limited in providing a detailed understanding of product performance among potential customers. Nevertheless, it can help you explore whether similar concepts have been tried before and their success rates. To gather such data, you can refer to these sources:

Case studies

Existing literature

Online sources

Characteristics of exploratory research

When exploring what type of data you require for your project, consider the characteristics of exploratory research. Check whether the following features align with your project's needs.

Difficult to quantify

It’s extremely difficult to quantify unstructured data. This data type does not typically contain common variables to compare corresponding data points to. However, quantitative data points can be pulled if studies are conducted with a large enough sample size. It just takes significantly longer to analyze. Still, unstructured data is more valuable because it's open-ended qualitative feedback that will help direct your project.

Low-cost, interactive, open-ended

Taking the time to budget for exploratory research has excellent cost-saving significance. The cost of designing and developing a product that may not do well on the market can be higher than what you spend when doing exploratory research.

And the research doesn't have to stop after one survey or one focus group. You can continue this type of interactive research with your target group or customer base throughout all phases of product development. This includes the design, manufacturing, market introduction, and customer experience phases.

Time-consuming

Although it is time-consuming to perform exploratory research, this is nothing compared to the time you could waste producing a product that the public might not receive well. Take the time to construct exploratory research designs that will reap high-quality data with steps that include:

Addressing the problems that you will need to solve

Identifying the target sample group

Designing the data collection format

Collecting the data

Categorizing the data into useful information

Incorporating the information into the design process

Depending on how extensive your target sample group is and what formats you use to collect the data, this also may impact how long it takes to get the information you need.

For example, a survey format may take less time than an interview structure. And if you're surveying 15,000 people rather than just 1,000, this can take a while to receive and examine the results.

When to use exploratory research

Exploratory research can be used not only for product design issues but also to determine the ideal market target and improve customer experience with your product or service.

For example, suppose your business has a website or app. In that case, you can use exploratory research to determine user experience when customers use them.

How to conduct exploratory research

In conducting exploratory research, here are the steps you can follow:

Step 1: Identify your problem

Regarding product design, the first step is identifying what obstacles, challenges, or motivations your product will solve for your customers to become viable in the market.

Step 2: Hypothesize a solution

Conducting secondary research on products similar to yours can provide valuable insights that can help you develop a successful solution. By examining the launch and performance of these products, you can generate hypotheses about what may work for your own product.

You may want to add features to your product that were considered successful or remove features that weren't.

Step 3: Design your methodology or process

Next, determine at what points and how you want to collect feedback on your product as you design and iterate it. Perhaps, surveys adequately produce the data you need at the conceptual phase, and running a focus group could be better before the alpha release.

The processes and methodology depend on your resources, team strengths, and at which points in the development process you need direction the most.

Step 4: Collect and analyze data

Analyzing the data collected is how we make our findings actionable. Techniques such as content analysis , thematic analysis , or grounded theory help identify patterns and themes in the data.

If we identify a theme where potential customers are consistently choosing our competitor over us, it may indicate a specific feature that they prefer. To address this, we should conduct further exploration and analysis to determine the reason for this preference. Based on our findings, we may need to build and design similar features to better compete with our rivals.

Step 5: Avenues for future research

If the research that you did helps the design process of your product, you now have a proven avenue for future research in product design, manufacturing, market introduction, and customer experiences for your business.

Advantages of exploratory research

Exploratory research provides significant cost-effectiveness and time-savings on projects. If a project is unsuccessful because you did not conduct exploratory research, it will lead to much more cost and time expenditures in the future. And once you have a proven exploratory research process established, it will be easier to do further research when needed.

Challenges of exploratory research

When doing exploratory research, flexibility is key. If you're unwilling to be open to the results, bias can factor into data interpretation, rendering the data useless. Also, if you haphazardly assemble a quick study with a small sample, the sample size may not represent the target audience.

The extra effort of exploratory research is worth it

Now that you know the significance of exploratory research and its impact on successful product development and customer experience , it's time to initiate your exploratory research design. And to organize your exploratory research efforts, find a platform that helps you store customer research , feedback, and insights all in one place.

What is exploratory research vs. descriptive?

Exploratory research studies unexamined topics or problems. Descriptive research describes the characteristics of a subject to compare and contrast with other subjects observed in the same study.

Which exploratory research is the quickest and least costly?

Secondary research methods are the quickest and less costly. However, they do not offer comprehensive or specified information that will help develop a product design. Primary research methods can be more expensive than secondary ones but still possible to conduct on a budget.

Which type of research design takes the longest?

Primary research takes the longest because of the necessary steps to collect the information you need. It also depends on how wide of a net you cast to collect the data. The more people involved in surveys, focus groups, and interviews, the more time it will take to extract and analyze the data.

What is the sample size of exploratory research?

The sample size is the number of people participating in your exploratory research design. The sample size should be representative of the target audience for your product.

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INTRODUCTION

Research is a continuous process that requires improvement over time, and the purpose of all research is to provide answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures (Lelissa, 2018). The research problem having been formulated in clear-cut terms, the researcher will be required to prepare a research design that is, the researcher will have to state the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted. The preparation of such a design facilitates research to be as efficient as possible yielding maximal information (Tegan, 2021).

According to Goundar (2019), one of the first considerations when designing a research project is what the researcher hopes to achieve, in broad terms, by conducting the research. What do they hope to say about their subject? Do they want a deep understanding of whatever phenomenon they are studying, or do they want a broad, but perhaps less deep, understanding? Do they want policymakers or others to use their research findings to shape social life, or is this project more about them exploring their interests? Their responses to each of these questions will influence the design of their research.

Every research problem is uniquely different, but almost all research problems and research objectives can be categorised into one of the types of research designs, viz., exploratory and conclusive (Asika, 2004). When conducting research, the researcher’s choice of design is influenced by the available information. Researchers may decide to work on a problem that has not been thoroughly studied in order to establish priorities, develop operational definitions, and improve the final research design. This type of research is referred to as exploratory research (Umesh, 2021). According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016) an exploratory research design is a valuable means of finding out ‘what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light.

It is particularly useful if researchers wish to clarify the understanding of a problem, such as if they are unsure of the precise nature of the problem.

Exploratory research can be likened to the activities of the traveller or explorer (Adams & Schvaneveldt, 1991 as cited in Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016). Its great advantage is that it is flexible and adaptable to change. When conducting exploratory research the researcher must be willing to change their direction as a result of new data that appear and new insights that occur to them (Lelissa, 2018). Adams and Schvaneveldt (1991) reinforce this point by arguing that the flexibility inherent in exploratory research does not mean absence of direction to the enquiry. What it does mean is that the focus is initially broad and becomes progressively narrower as the research progresses. Exploratory research design is evolutionary and historical in nature and it rarely involves the employment of large samples or use of structured questionnaires (Asika, 2004).

Management science research is the systematic development and acquisition of knowledge tailored to specific management needs in order to solve managerial problems in a timely and effective manner. Management science research generates knowledge by combining data from various subjects such as strategy, organisational behaviour, entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology, human resource management, international business, and marketing, to name a few (Bernd, 2017). The selection of the appropriate research method is one of the most important fundamentals for success in this field for solving managerial problems (Lelissa, 2018). The use of this design in management sciences may play an important role in the development of this field because it assists a researcher in developing an understanding of the research problem. In this regard, exploratory research design adds value and contributes to the advancement of business research topics (Bashin, 2020).

This research aims to shed more light on exploratory research design and its conduct in management sciences. The researcher wants to show the application of exploratory research in the management sciences as well. To be reliable, exploratory research should be carried out in a transparent and honest manner, and should adhere to a set of guidelines. In essence, if exploratory research design is carried out in this manner, the study will achieve high validity while also providing new and innovative ways to analyse reality.

Statement of the Problem

The research design establishes the decision-making processes, conceptual structure of investigation, and analytical methods used to address the study’s central research problem (Tegan, 2021). Taking the time to select an appropriate research design will assist researchers in organising their thoughts, define the scope of their study, increase the reliability of their findings, and avoiding misleading or incomplete conclusions. As a result, if any aspect of research design is flawed or misappropriate, the quality and dependability of the results, as well as the overall value of the study, will diminish (Umesh, 2021).

In management sciences research today, the researcher’s choice of research design, survey questions, and research method is sometimes largely influenced by the preferences of the researcher rather than what works best for the research context, resulting to inappropriate usage of research design (Lelissa, 2018). For instance, some researchers provide the final and conclusive answers to the research questions in studies where the situations are unclear and have not attracted serious investigations and research in the past. Further, some researchers employ an exploratory research design in studies where specific relationships among variables of a research problem are investigated and the information required is clearly defined. In many instances, inappropriate usage of design in the systematic investigation can infuse bias into the research process. Not all designs are suited for all kinds of research in management sciences. An exploratory research design is required in the preliminary stages of research when the research problem is unclear and the researcher wants to scope out the nature and extent of a specific research problem (Elman, Gerring & Mahoney, 2020).

In other words, researchers must understand what research designs are available to best address their research problems and guide them throughout the research process. With new researchers in mind, this article focuses on exploratory research design – its conduct and applications in management sciences.

Research Objectives

The main objective of this study is to examine the exploratory research design in management sciences. The specific objectives are to:

Evaluate the conduct of exploratory research design in management sciences.
Examine the application of exploratory research design in management sciences.

METHODOLOGY

This study utilised exploratory research design and reliant on secondary data gathered from various publications, journals, textbooks, and internet sources that focused on exploratory research design. The articles extracted for the study were examined using content analysis.

CONCEPTUAL REVIEW

Concept of Exploratory Research Design

Exploratory research design can be defined as research conducted to investigate an undefined problem. It is carried out to gain a better understanding of the current problem (Asika, 2004; Olajide & Lawal, 2020; Akhtar, 2016; Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016, Richard, 2018; Elman, Gerring, & Mahoney, 2020). Explorative research design, as the name implies, seeks to elucidate research questions rather than provide final and conclusive solutions to existing problems (Brown, 2006; Nargundkar, 2008). A researcher begins with a broad concept and uses this research as a vehicle to identify issues that can be the focus of future research (Lelissa, 2018). The goal of exploratory research is not to provide final and conclusive answers to research questions, but rather to explore the research topic in varying depths. It has been stated that exploratory research is the preliminary research that serves as the foundation for more conclusive research (Asika, 2004; Akhtar, 2016; Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016).

Exploratory research “tends to address new problems with little or no prior research”. The exploratory research design focuses on collecting secondary or primary data in an unstructured format and interpreting it using informal procedures (Bernd, 2017). Due to its aims and structure, exploratory research designs incorporate the least amount of scientific method and rigor of the other research designs classified above (Umesh, 2021). When only research questions serve as the foundation of the investigation, the explorative research design is qualitative. When hypotheses are used to test a specific relationship between identified variables in a research problem, it is quantitative (Asika, 2004). Tegan (2021) also stated that exploratory research is frequently qualitative. A large-sample exploratory study, on the other hand, can be quantitative as well. Due to its flexibility and open-ended nature, it is also known as interpretive research or a grounded theory approach. Researchers are advised to be careful not to confuse exploratory research with explanatory research, which is also preliminary in nature but instead explores why a well-documented problem occurs (Tegan, 2021).

Exploratory research is not usually generalisable to the general population. The outcomes of this research provide answers to questions like what, how and why (Bernd, 2017).

According to Akhtar (2016), exploratory research aids in determining the best research design, data collection method, and subject selection. Only with extreme caution does exploratory research draw definitive conclusions. Exploratory research, by definition, relies on techniques such as: (i) quantitative research by reviewing available literature. (ii) Informal qualitative approaches, such as conversations with customers, employees, management, or competitors. (iii) Formal qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies, or pilot studies.

Brown (2006) distinguishes between exploratory and conclusive research by stating that exploratory studies yield a variety of causes and alternative solutions for a specific problem, whereas conclusive studies yield the final information that is the only solution to an existing research problem. In other words, an exploratory research design simply investigates the research questions, leaving room for future studies, whereas a conclusive research design seeks to provide final research findings. Furthermore, “an exploratory study may not have as rigorous a methodology as that used in conclusive studies, and sample sizes may be smaller (Nargundkar, 2008).

Benefits and limitations of Exploratory Research Design Voxco (2021) and Tegan (2021) pointed the following benefits and limitation of exploratory research design in management sciences.

The benefits are as follows:

Exploratory research can contribute valuable and insightful information to a study and is critical to its success.
Exploratory research enables the researcher to be as creative as possible in order to gain the most understanding of a subject.
It enables a better understanding of what a research team’s objectives should be throughout the course of a study. Having this information on hand will help anyone conducting research from outside sources.
Regardless of the field that research is required, exploratory research can be used in a variety of fields. As a result, it is critical to understand how the various fields will influence any research that will be conducted.
It will be useful to compare and contrast different techniques, such as secondary research, discussions, or qualitative research through focus groups, surveys, or case studies. Within exploratory research, the Internet allows for more interactive research methods.
The researcher has a lot of flexibility and can adapt to changes as the research progresses.
It is usually cost effective.
It helps lay the foundation of a research, which can lead to further research.
It enables the researcher understand at an early stage, if the topic is worth investing the time and resources and if it is worth pursuing.
It can assist other researchers to find out possible causes for the problem, which can be further studied in detail to find out, which of them is the most likely cause for the problem.

While the limitations includes the following;

Even though it can point you in the right direction towards what is the answer, it is usually inconclusive.
The main disadvantage of exploratory research is that they provide qualitative data. Interpretation of such information can be judgmental and biased.
Most of the times, exploratory research involves a smaller sample, hence the results cannot be accurately interpreted for a generalized population.
Many a times, if the data is being collected through secondary research, then there is a chance of that data being old and is not updated.

Figure 1. A Conceptual Model of Exploratory Research

example of exploratory research design pdf

Adopted from Voxco (2021)

Types and Methodologies of Exploratory Research

While it may appear difficult to research something about which there is little information, several methods can assist a researcher in determining the best research design, data collection methods, and subject selection. There are two methods for conducting research: primary and secondary. A researcher can employ a variety of methods under these two categories. The information gleaned from these studies can be qualitative or quantitative (Formplus, 2019). The following are some of the most commonly used research designs:

Primary Research Methods

According to Goundar (2019), primary research entails gathering information directly from the subject. It could be done by a group of people or by an individual. This type of research can be carried out directly by the researcher or by a third party on their behalf. Primary research is conducted specifically to investigate a specific problem that necessitates an in-depth investigation (Formplus, 2019).

Surveys/Polls : Surveys/polls are used to collect information from a specific number of participants. It is one of the most essential quantitative methods. To investigate opinions, trends, and so on, various types of surveys or polls can be utilised (Richard, 2018; Umesh, 2021). Surveys can now be sent online and are very easy to access thanks to technological advancements. For example, using a survey app on a tablet, laptop, or even a mobile phone. This information is also available to the researcher in real time (Umesh, 2021).
Interviews: It entails gathering a large amount of information from public sources. An interview with a subject matter expert can provide the researcher with meaningful insights that a generalised public source cannot. To obtain meaningful information about a topic, interviews are conducted in person or over the phone using open-ended questions (Tegan, 2021; Umesh, 2021; Formplus, 2019)
Focus groups: Another common method in exploratory research is focus groups. In this method, a group of people is selected and allowed to express their thoughts on the topic being investigated. However, it is critical to ensure that the individuals chosen for a focus group share a common background and have comparable experiences (Elman, Gerring, & Mahoney, 2020).
Observations: Observation research can be qualitative or quantitative in nature. This type of research involves observing a person and deducing conclusions based on their reactions to various parameters. There is no direct communication with the subject in such a study (Richard, 2018; Umesh, 2021).

Secondary Research Methods

Secondary research is the collection of information from previously published primary research. In this type of study, the researcher gathers information from various sources such as case studies, magazines, newspapers, books, and so on (Gerring & Mahoney, 2020).

Online research: This is one of the quickest ways to gather information on any topic in today’s world. A large amount of data is readily available on the internet, and the researcher can download it as needed (Elman, Gerring & Mahoney, 2020; Baxter & Jack, 2010). The genuineness and authenticity of the source websites from which the researcher is gathering information is an important consideration for such a study (Goundar, 2019).
Literature research : Literature research is one of the most cost-effective methods for testing a hypothesis. There is a wealth of information available in libraries, online sources, and even commercial databases. Newspapers, magazines, library books, documents from government agencies, specific topic related articles, literature, Annual reports, published statistics from research organisations, and so on are examples of its sources (Elman, Gerring & Mahoney, 2020; Umesh, 2021).
Case study research: Case study research can assist a researcher in gathering more information by carefully analysing existing cases that have encountered a similar problem. Such analyses are critical, particularly in today’s business world. The researcher only needs to make sure that he carefully analyses the case in comparison to all of the variables present in the previous case against his own case (Baxter & Jack, 2010).

Conduct of an Exploratory Research in Management Sciences

The following is an illustration of the steps for conducting an exploratory research designs in management sciences:

Figure 1. Procedures for Conducting a Mixed Methods Research Design

Adapted from Tegan (2021).

Identify the problem: A researcher identifies the subject of research and the problem is addressed by carrying out multiple methods to answer the questions (Voxco, 2021).
Define the research questions: Even if the researchers know what they want to investigate, defining the research question in clear terms is an important part of the process. Defining the research question will assist the researchers in determining the direction of their research. It will assist them in keeping the research on track and ensuring that it is carried out efficiently. (Bashin, 2020).
Design the methodology: Next, conceptualise the data collection and data analysis methods and write them up in a research design. The researcher can use one or more than one method (described earlier) to conduct the research (Tegan, 2021). Exploratory research necessitates speaking with your people in order to obtain detailed information about the subject matter. Researchers commonly use surveys and interview to gain insight into unexplored subjects. Researchers can gather a wealth of useful information by soliciting customer feedback (Voxco, 2021).
Gather research Data: Once the method for conducting exploratory research has been determined, the researchers must collect the resulting data. Spend a good time to explore different sources and make sure that the study is not missing an aspect of the research (Tegan, 2021).
Analyse result: The next step is to analyse the data so that the researcher can determine whether the preliminary results are in line with the questions earlier defined (Elman, Gerring & Mahoney, 2020).
Prospects for future research: The researcher should determine whether to continue to study the topic. If this is the case, the researcher will almost certainly need to switch to a different type of research (Elman, Gerring & Mahoney, 2020). Since exploratory research is frequently qualitative in nature, the researcher may need to conduct quantitative research with a larger sample size to achieve results that are more generalisable (Umesh, 2021).

Applications of Exploratory Research in Management Sciences

The following table depicts an illustration of the application of exploratory research design in management sciences

Table1 Illustration on the Applications of Exploratory Research Design in Management Sciences

Source: Researcher (2022)

Following a review of a few articles on the subject written by various researchers who used an exploratory research design in management sciences. The findings revealed that some researchers used exploratory research design appropriately in their studies, whereas others’ choice of research design was largely influenced by the researchers’ preferences rather than what works best for the research context, resulting in inappropriate research design usage. For instance, some researchers employed an exploratory research design in studies where specific relationships among variables of a research problem are investigated, the information required was clearly defined, and in subjects that had been severely studied by other researchers in the past.

Further, some researchers were observed to be able to collect data using various methods such as primary and secondary sources. The researcher observed that multiple methods for data collection were used in a single study in order to optimize the strengths and lessen the weaknesses of each method in a research process. As a result, using a variety of data collection methods allows researchers to answer questions that cannot be answered using only primary or secondary sources.

Analysis of management sciences research using an exploratory research design seems to be an intriguing topic for scholars and practitioners due to its positive impact on organisational performance. This design is used to study and attain understanding into situations that have not previously attracted severe investigations and research. Its goal is to more succinctly define a problem and develop courses of action that will lead to its solution. In order to improve the appropriate use of this research design in management science, this study examined the conduct and application of an exploratory research design for research students and novice researchers with little prior knowledge in the field. It is designed to help researchers understand when and how to use exploratory research design at any stage of their research. It highlighted the various types and methodologies of exploratory research design. It also highlighted some of the benefits and limitations of using an exploratory research design. Further, it demonstrated the conduct and applications of exploratory research design in management sciences by referring to various articles in this field.

The study would like to emphasise that knowledge of exploratory research design can help a researcher better define and understand research problems and questions in management research. Ideally, this review of studies that used exploratory research design, as well as the ideas provided for the application and conduct of exploratory studies, will help to advance research in management sciences and can also assist management researchers in designing and conducting this type of study.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are made based on the study’s conclusion:

Researchers should choose research designs that they are most comfortable with and feel most competent to handle, but the choice should ideally be based on the nature of the research phenomenon being studied and information available.
Researchers should be more sensitized of the appropriate use of exploratory research designs by publishing articles about exploratory research design in peer-reviewed journals.
When conducting exploratory research, management sciences researchers should use a multi-method approach for data collection, so that the researcher’s desire for a better understanding of a phenomenon are satisfied.
Abbas, M. H., Majeed, H. T. & Luma, M. H. (2021). Employee’s retention strategy and its impact on organisational memory: An exploratory research for the opinion of faculty members at private colleges on Baghdad. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 10(1), 357-372. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2021-0030
Adams, G. & Schvaneveldt, J. (1991). Understanding research methods (2nd edn). New York, Longman.
Akhtar, M. D. (2016). Research design. Research in social sciences interdisciplinary perspectives. Https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308915548
Anol, B. (2018). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. University of South Florida. Http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3/.
Asika, N. (2004). Research methodology: A process approach. Lagos, Mukudamu & Brothers Enterprises.
Bashin, H. (2020). What is exploratory research? Types of exploratory studies in sales. Https://www.marketing91.com/exploratory-research/
Baxter, P. & Jack, S. (2010). Qualitative case study methodology: study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559.
Bernd, R. (2017). Theory and methodology of exploratory social science research. IJSRM, 5(4), 129-150.
Brown, R. B. (2006). Doing your dissertation in business and management: The reality of research and writing. Sage Publications, New York.
Camargo, L. R., Pereira, S. C. F. & Scarpin, M. R. S. (2020). Fast and ultra-fast fashion supply chain management: An exploratory research. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 48 (6), 537-553. Https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-04-2019-0133
Chiarini, A., Belvedere, V. & Grando, A. (2020). Industry 4.0 strategies and technological developments. An exploratory research from Italian manufacturing companies. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 12(5), 1385-1398. Https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2019.1710304
Dudovskiy, J. (2019). The ultimate guide to writing a dissertation in business studies: A step by step assistance. Https://research-methodology.net/research-methodology/_ftnref4
Elman, C., Gerring, J. & Mahoney, J. (Eds.). (2020). The production of knowledge: Enhancing progress in social science. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108762519
Fonseca, L. M. & Domingues, J. P. (2018). Exploratory research of ISO 14001:2015 transition among Portuguese organisations. Sustainability, 10 (781), 1-16. Doi:10.3390/su10030781
Formplus. (2019). Exploratory research: What are its method and examples? Https://www.formpl.us/blog/exploratory-research
Goundar, S. (2019). Chapter 3 – Research methodology and research method. Victoria University of Wellington. Https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333015026
Haughton, R. (2021). Exploring knowledge retention strategies to prevent knowledge loss in project-based organisations (PBOs). (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11609&context=dissertations
Kei, W. C. & Abdulla, M. (2020). The nature and challenges of guest house business in the Maldives: An exploratory study. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 21(1), 56-61. Https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358420926688
Lelissa, T. B. (2018). Research methodology. (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Africa). Https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329715052
Leonor, J., Samuel, P., Pedro, R. & Tiago, O. (2021). What are the main drivers of blockchain adoption within supply chain? – An exploratory research. Procedia Computer Science, 181, 495–502.
Nargundkar, R. (2008). Marketing research: Text and cases, 3rd edition. MC Graw Hill, India.
Olajide, O. T. & Lawal, O. R. (2020). Exploratory research design in management sciences: An x-ray of literature. Economics and Applied Informatics, Dunarea de Jos, University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, 2, 79-84. Https://doi.org/10.35219/eai15840409109
Pooja, S. (2019). Techno stress creators -An exploratory research on teaching and non teaching staff working in colleges. International. Journal of Management and Humanities (IJMH), 3(9), 1-7.
Richard. S. (2018). On the uses of exploratory research and exploratory studies in social science. Cornel University, Department of Sociology.
Sagolsem, A. (2019). Entrepreneurial marketing as sustainable competitive advantage for SME’s: An exploratory study within the Irish Flower Industry. (Master thesis, Dublin Business School). Https://esource.dbs.ie/handle/10788/3789
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research methods for business students, 7th ed. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Tegan, G. (2021). A guide to exploratory research. Https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/exploratory-research/
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Voxco. (2021). Exploratory research: Pros and cons. Https://www.voxco.com/blog/exploratory-research-pros-and-cons/
Wijdène, O. L. & Manel, K. (2020). Cultural challenges of e-learning experiences: An exploratory research. International Journal of E-Services and Mobile Applications (IJESMA), 12(3), 345-351. DOI: 10.4018/IJESMA.2020070102

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Methodology

Explanatory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Explanatory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Published on December 3, 2021 by Tegan George and Julia Merkus. Revised on November 20, 2023.

Explanatory research is a research method that explores why something occurs when limited information is available. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic, ascertain how or why a particular phenomenon is occurring, and predict future occurrences.

Explanatory research can also be explained as a “cause and effect” model, investigating patterns and trends in existing data that haven’t been previously investigated. For this reason, it is often considered a type of causal research .

When to use explanatory research, explanatory research questions, explanatory research data collection, explanatory research data analysis, step-by-step example of explanatory research, explanatory vs. exploratory research, advantages and disadvantages of explanatory research, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about explanatory research.

Explanatory research is used to investigate how or why a phenomenon takes place. Therefore, this type of research is often one of the first stages in the research process, serving as a jumping-off point for future research. While there is often data available about your topic, it’s possible the particular causal relationship you are interested in has not been robustly studied.

Explanatory research helps you analyze these patterns, formulating hypotheses that can guide future endeavors. If you are seeking a more complete understanding of a relationship between variables, explanatory research is a great place to start. However, keep in mind that it will likely not yield conclusive results.

You analyzed their final grades and noticed that the students who take your course in the first semester always obtain higher grades than students who take the same course in the second semester.

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Explanatory research answers “why” and “how” questions, leading to an improved understanding of a previously unresolved problem or providing clarity for related future research initiatives.

Here are a few examples:

Why do undergraduate students obtain higher average grades in the first semester than in the second semester?
How does marital status affect labor market participation?
Why do multilingual individuals show more risky behavior during business negotiations than monolingual individuals?
How does a child’s ability to delay immediate gratification predict success later in life?
Why are teens more likely to litter in a highly littered area than in a clean area?

After choosing your research question, there is a variety of options for research and data collection methods to choose from.

A few of the most common research methods include:

Literature reviews
Interviews and focus groups
Pilot studies
Observations
Experiments

The method you choose depends on several factors, including your timeline, budget, and the structure of your question. If there is already a body of research on your topic, a literature review is a great place to start. If you are interested in opinions and behavior, consider an interview or focus group format. If you have more time or funding available, an experiment or pilot study may be a good fit for you.

In order to ensure you are conducting your explanatory research correctly, be sure your analysis is definitively causal in nature, and not just correlated.

Always remember the phrase “correlation doesn’t mean causation.” Correlated variables are merely associated with one another: when one variable changes, so does the other. However, this isn’t necessarily due to a direct or indirect causal link.

Causation means that changes in the independent variable bring about changes in the dependent variable. In other words, there is a direct cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

Causal evidence must meet three criteria:

Temporal : What you define as the “cause” must precede what you define as the “effect.”
Variation : Intervention must be systematic between your independent variable and dependent variable.
Non-spurious : Be careful that there are no mitigating factors or hidden third variables that confound your results.

Correlation doesn’t imply causation, but causation always implies correlation. In order to get conclusive causal results, you’ll need to conduct a full experimental design .

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Your explanatory research design depends on the research method you choose to collect your data . In most cases, you’ll use an experiment to investigate potential causal relationships. We’ll walk you through the steps using an example.

Step 1: Develop the research question

The first step in conducting explanatory research is getting familiar with the topic you’re interested in, so that you can develop a research question .

Let’s say you’re interested in language retention rates in adults.

You are interested in finding out how the duration of exposure to language influences language retention ability later in life.

Step 2: Formulate a hypothesis

The next step is to address your expectations. In some cases, there is literature available on your subject or on a closely related topic that you can use as a foundation for your hypothesis . In other cases, the topic isn’t well studied, and you’ll have to develop your hypothesis based on your instincts or on existing literature on more distant topics.

You phrase your expectations in terms of a null (H 0 ) and alternative hypothesis (H 1 ):

H 0 : The duration of exposure to a language in infancy does not influence language retention in adults who were adopted from abroad as children.
H 1 : The duration of exposure to a language in infancy has a positive effect on language retention in adults who were adopted from abroad as children.

Step 3: Design your methodology and collect your data

Next, decide what data collection and data analysis methods you will use and write them up. After carefully designing your research, you can begin to collect your data.

You compare:

Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 0 and 6 months of age.
Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 6 and 12 months of age.
Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 12 and 18 months of age.
Monolingual adults who have not been exposed to a different language.

During the study, you test their Spanish language proficiency twice in a research design that has three stages:

Pre-test : You conduct several language proficiency tests to establish any differences between groups pre-intervention.
Intervention : You provide all groups with 8 hours of Spanish class.
Post-test : You again conduct several language proficiency tests to establish any differences between groups post-intervention.

You made sure to control for any confounding variables , such as age, gender, proficiency in other languages, etc.

Step 4: Analyze your data and report results

After data collection is complete, proceed to analyze your data and report the results.

You notice that:

The pre-exposed adults showed higher language proficiency in Spanish than those who had not been pre-exposed. The difference is even greater for the post-test.
The adults who were adopted between 12 and 18 months of age had a higher Spanish language proficiency level than those who were adopted between 0 and 6 months or 6 and 12 months of age, but there was no difference found between the latter two groups.

To determine whether these differences are significant, you conduct a mixed ANOVA. The ANOVA shows that all differences are not significant for the pre-test, but they are significant for the post-test.

Step 5: Interpret your results and provide suggestions for future research

As you interpret the results, try to come up with explanations for the results that you did not expect. In most cases, you want to provide suggestions for future research.

However, this difference is only significant after the intervention (the Spanish class.)

You decide it’s worth it to further research the matter, and propose a few additional research ideas:

Replicate the study with a larger sample
Replicate the study for other maternal languages (e.g. Korean, Lingala, Arabic)
Replicate the study for other language aspects, such as nativeness of the accent

It can be easy to confuse explanatory research with exploratory research. If you’re in doubt about the relationship between exploratory and explanatory research, just remember that exploratory research lays the groundwork for later explanatory research.

Exploratory research questions often begin with “what”. They are designed to guide future research and do not usually have conclusive results. Exploratory research is often utilized as a first step in your research process, to help you focus your research question and fine-tune your hypotheses.

Explanatory research questions often start with “why” or “how”. They help you study why and how a previously studied phenomenon takes place.

Like any other research design , explanatory research has its trade-offs: while it provides a unique set of benefits, it also has significant downsides:

It gives more meaning to previous research. It helps fill in the gaps in existing analyses and provides information on the reasons behind phenomena.
It is very flexible and often replicable , since the internal validity tends to be high when done correctly.
As you can often use secondary research, explanatory research is often very cost- and time-effective, allowing you to utilize pre-existing resources to guide your research prior to committing to heavier analyses.

Disadvantages

While explanatory research does help you solidify your theories and hypotheses, it usually lacks conclusive results.
Results can be biased or inadmissible to a larger body of work and are not generally externally valid . You will likely have to conduct more robust (often quantitative ) research later to bolster any possible findings gleaned from explanatory research.
Coincidences can be mistaken for causal relationships , and it can sometimes be challenging to ascertain which is the causal variable and which is the effect.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Normal distribution
Degrees of freedom
Null hypothesis
Discourse analysis
Control groups
Mixed methods research
Non-probability sampling
Quantitative research
Ecological validity

Research bias

Rosenthal effect
Implicit bias
Cognitive bias
Selection bias
Negativity bias
Status quo bias

Explanatory research is a research method used to investigate how or why something occurs when only a small amount of information is available pertaining to that topic. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic.

Exploratory research aims to explore the main aspects of an under-researched problem, while explanatory research aims to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem.

Explanatory research is used to investigate how or why a phenomenon occurs. Therefore, this type of research is often one of the first stages in the research process , serving as a jumping-off point for future research.

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

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Exploratory Research – Types, Methods and Examples

Exploratory Research

Exploratory Research Methods

Literature Review

Pilot Study

Focus Groups

Expert Opinion

Observational Research

Open-ended Surveys

Data Analysis Methods

Content Analysis

Thematic Analysis

Cluster Analysis

Network Analysis

Grounded Theory

Applications of Exploratory Research

Examples of Exploratory Research

How to Conduct Exploratory Research

When to use Exploratory Research

Purpose of Exploratory Research

Characteristics of Exploratory Research

Advantages of Exploratory Research

Limitations of Exploratory Research

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Exploratory Research

Examples of Exploratory Research Design

Differences between Exploratory and Conclusive Research

Advantages of Exploratory Research

Disadvantages of Exploratory Research

A guide to exploratory research design

Analyze exploratory research

What is an exploratory research design example?

Primary research

Secondary research

Primary research methods

Exploratory research questions

Secondary research methods

Difficult to quantify

Low-cost, interactive, open-ended

Time-consuming

Step 1: Identify your problem

Step 2: Hypothesize a solution

Step 3: Design your methodology or process

Step 4: Collect and analyze data

Step 5: Avenues for future research

What is exploratory research vs. descriptive?

Which exploratory research is the quickest and least costly?

Which type of research design takes the longest?

What is the sample size of exploratory research?

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