{"id":334748,"date":"2021-12-06T09:59:25","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T08:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.nl\/?p=334748"},"modified":"2023-06-22T10:27:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T08:27:06","slug":"exploratory-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/exploratory-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploratory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"
Exploratory research<\/strong> is a methodology approach that investigates research questions<\/a> that have not previously been studied in depth.<\/p>\n Exploratory research is often qualitative<\/a> and primary<\/a> in nature. However, a study with a large sample conducted in an exploratory manner can be quantitative<\/a> as well. It is also often referred to as interpretive research or a grounded theory approach due to its flexible and open-ended nature.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Exploratory research is often used when the issue you\u2019re studying is new or when the data collection process<\/a> is challenging for some reason.<\/p>\n You can use this type of research if you have a general idea or a specific question that you want to study but there is no preexisting knowledge or paradigm with which to study it.<\/p>\n Your university is eco-conscious and will not add the items if this will increase food waste. As there is also a cost associated with developing the recipes, the plan will only proceed if there is concrete proof that the vegan meals will be successful.<\/figure>\n Exploratory research questions are designed to help you understand more about a particular topic of interest. They can help you connect ideas to understand the groundwork of your analysis without adding any preconceived notions or assumptions yet.<\/p>\n Here are some examples:<\/p>\n Collecting information on a previously unexplored topic can be challenging. Exploratory research can help you narrow down your topic and formulate a clear hypothesis<\/a> and problem statement<\/a>, as well as giving you the \u201clay of the land\u201d on your topic.<\/p>\n Data collection using exploratory research is often divided into primary and secondary research methods, with data analysis following the same model.<\/p>\n In primary research, your data is collected directly from primary sources<\/a>: your participants. There is a variety of ways to collect primary data.<\/p>\n Some examples include:<\/p>\n In secondary research, your data is collected from preexisting primary research, such as experiments<\/a> or surveys.<\/p>\n Some other examples include:<\/p>\n For some subjects, it\u2019s possible to use large-n<\/em> government data, such as the decennial census or yearly American Community Survey (ACS) open-source data.<\/p>\n How you proceed with your exploratory research design depends on the research method you choose to collect your data. In most cases, you will follow five steps.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll walk you through the steps using the following example.<\/p>\n Therefore, you would like to focus on improving intelligibility instead of reducing the learner\u2019s accent.<\/p>\n However, the relationship between someone\u2019s accent and their intelligibility hasn\u2019t been studied yet. You decide to come up with an exploratory research design to investigate this relationship without spending too many resources or too much time doing so.<\/figure>\n The first step in conducting exploratory research is identifying what the problem is and whether this type of research is the right avenue for you to pursue. Remember that exploratory research is most advantageous when you are investigating a previously unexplored problem.<\/p>\n However, all current teaching methods focus on reducing the accent instead of improving intelligibility. You think this may not be the most efficient approach to helping people learn English as a second language.<\/figure>\n The next step is to come up with a solution to the problem you\u2019re investigating. Formulate a hypothetical statement to guide your research.<\/p>\n Next, conceptualize your data collection<\/a> and data analysis methods and write them up in a research design.<\/p>\n Next, you proceed with collecting and analyzing your data so you can determine whether your preliminary results are in line with your hypothesis.<\/p>\n In most types of research, you should formulate your hypotheses a priori and refrain from changing them due to the increased risk of Type I errors<\/a> and data integrity issues. However, in exploratory research, you are allowed to change your hypothesis based on your findings, since you are exploring a previously unexplained phenomenon that could have many explanations.<\/p>\n Decide if you would like to continue studying your topic. If so, it is likely that you will need to change to another type of research. As exploratory research is often qualitative in nature, you may need to conduct quantitative research with a larger sample size to achieve more generalizable<\/a> results.<\/p>\n You suggest an experiment during which participants listen to speech samples of speakers with non-native accents in varying degrees. Participants are asked to fill in the missing words in transcripts. This way, you can investigate whether people with a stronger non-native accent are indeed as intelligible as speakers with a native accent.<\/figure>\n It can be easy to confuse exploratory research with explanatory research. To understand the relationship, it can help to remember that exploratory research lays the groundwork for later explanatory research.<\/p>\n Exploratory research<\/strong> investigates research questions<\/a> that have not been studied in depth. The preliminary results often lay the groundwork for future analysis.<\/p>\n Explanatory research<\/strong> questions tend to start with \u201cwhy\u201d or \u201chow”, and the goal is to explain why or how a previously studied phenomenon takes place.<\/p>\n Like any other research design<\/a>, exploratory studies have their trade-offs: they provide a unique set of benefits but also come with downsides.<\/p>\n If you want to know more about statistics<\/a>, methodology<\/a>, or research bias<\/a>, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.<\/p>\n <\/em>Statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em> Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em> Research bias<\/strong><\/p>\n Exploratory research<\/a> is a methodology approach that explores research questions<\/a> that have not previously been studied in depth. It is often used when the issue you\u2019re studying is new, or the data collection process<\/a> is challenging in some way.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n Exploratory research<\/strong><\/a> aims to explore the main aspects of an under-researched problem, while explanatory research<\/strong><\/a> aims to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n Exploratory research<\/a> is often used when the issue you\u2019re studying is new or when the data collection process<\/a> is challenging for some reason.<\/p>\n You can use exploratory research if you have a general idea or a specific question that you want to study but there is no preexisting knowledge or paradigm with which to study it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n Quantitative research<\/strong><\/a> deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research<\/strong><\/a> deals with words and meanings.<\/p>\n Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables<\/a> and test hypotheses<\/a>. Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n <\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Exploratory research is a methodology approach that investigates research questions that have not previously been studied in depth. Exploratory research is often qualitative and primary in nature. However, a study with a large sample conducted in an exploratory manner can be quantitative as well. It is also often referred to as interpretive research or a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[23650],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"When to use exploratory research<\/h2>\n
Exploratory research questions<\/h2>\n
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Exploratory research data collection<\/h2>\n
Primary research<\/h3>\n
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Secondary research<\/h3>\n
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Step-by-step example of exploratory research<\/h2>\n
Step 1: Identify your problem<\/h3>\n
Step 2: Hypothesize a solution<\/h3>\n
Step 3. Design your methodology<\/h3>\n
Step 4: Collect and analyze data<\/h3>\n
Step 5: Avenues for future research<\/h3>\n
Exploratory vs. explanatory research<\/h2>\n
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Advantages and disadvantages of exploratory research<\/h2>\n
Advantages<\/h3>\n
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Disadvantages<\/h3>\n
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Other interesting articles<\/h2>\n
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Frequently asked questions about exploratory research<\/h2>\n
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