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.
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What is explanatory research and its goals?
What is explanatory research and what are its importance? The primary purpose of explanatory research is to explain why phenom- ena occur and to predict future occurrences.Explanatory studies are charac- terized by research hypotheses that specify the nature and direction of the relationships between or among variables being studied.
What is the difference between explanatory and exploratory research?
- 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
What is it necessary to use explanatory research?
There are three basic types of questions that research projects can address:
- Descriptive. When a study is designed primarily to describe what is going on or what exists. …
- Relational. When a study is designed to look at the relationships between two or more variables. …
- Causal.
What is the purpose of explanatory research?
explanatory Research Question
- Descriptive research, being quantitative in nature, is not efficient to open-ended questions, this type of research can answer these questions more efficiently.
- research is more flexible as compared to that of descriptive research.
- The descriptive research uses the tools like mean, average, median and frequency. ...
What is the meaning of explanatory research?
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.
What is the meaning of Exploratory research?
What is exploratory research? Exploratory research is a methodology approach that explores research questions that have not previously been studied in depth. It is often used when the issue you're studying is new, or the data collection process is challenging in some way.
What is explanatory and descriptive research?
Key Takeaways. Exploratory research is usually conducted when a researcher has just begun an investigation and wishes to understand the topic generally. Descriptive research aims to describe or define the topic at hand. Explanatory research is aims to explain why particular phenomena work in the way that they do.
What is Exploratory research with example?
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.
What is the difference between exploratory and explanatory research?
What's the difference between exploratory and explanatory research? 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.
How do you do exploratory research?
How To Conduct Exploratory ResearchStep 1 - Identify the problem. This is a common starting point for all types of research. ... Step 2 - Create the hypothesis. ... Step 3 - Conduct further research.
Why is exploratory research important?
Importance of Exploratory Researches Exploratory research helps a researcher to build understanding about the problem of the research. The purpose of conducting this research is to explore the problem and areas around it and not to reach a conclusion.
What are the features of exploratory research?
One of the most important features of exploratory research is its potential for future research. Some key characteristics are: Flexible & Versatile, no structured forms are used, no experiment, cost incurred is low, wide exploration of views, interactive & open ended.
What are exploratory research questions?
What are Exploratory Research Questions? Exploratory research is a kind of research that involves investigating a research question that is not clearly understood or defined. This method of research is not used to obtain data that offers conclusive solutions or answers to the research question.
What’s the difference between method and methodology?
Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and rationale of your research project . It involves studying the methods used in your field and...
What’s the difference between quantitative and qualitative methods?
Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings. Quantitative methods allow yo...
What is sampling?
A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population . Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in...
What’s the difference between reliability and validity?
Reliability and validity are both about how well a method measures something: Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure (whether the r...
What is the difference between internal and external validity?
I nternal validity is the degree of confidence that the causal relationship you are testing is not influenced by other factors or variables . Ext...
What is experimental design?
Experimental design means planning a set of procedures to investigate a relationship between variables . To design a controlled experiment, you ne...
What are independent and dependent variables?
You can think of independent and dependent variables in terms of cause and effect: an independent variable is the variable you think is the ca...
What is the difference between quantitative and categorical variables?
Quantitative variables are any variables where the data represent amounts (e.g. height, weight, or age). Categorical variables are any variables...
What is the difference between discrete and continuous variables?
Discrete and continuous variables are two types of quantitative variables : Discrete variables represent counts (e.g. the number of objects in a...
What is the purpose of explanatory research?
Its intention is to provide details where a small amount of information exists.
Why is explanatory research important?
Explanatory research allows researchers to find a phenomenon that was not studied in depth. Although it does not give a conclusion of such a study, it helps to efficiently understand the problem. People who conduct explanatory research, do so with the objective of studying in detail the interaction of the phenomenon.
Why is it important to do exploratory research?
This method is extremely valuable for social research. They are essential when one wants to convey new data about a point of view on the study . Explanatory research allows researchers to find a phenomenon ...
What is literature research?
Literature research: It is one of the fastest and least expensive means of determining the hypothesis of the phenomenon and collecting information. It involves searching for literature on the internet and in libraries. It can of course be in magazines, newspapers, commercial and academic articles.
Does secondary research provide conclusive results?
Although it does not offer conclusive results, the researcher can find the reasons why a phenomenon occurs. It uses secondary researchas a source of information, such as literature or published articles that are carefully chosen to have a broad and balanced understanding of the topic.
What is explanatory research?
Explanatory Research is usually held for those ones that were researched not so good, or demands priorities, generates operational definitions and provides a better -researched model. It is one of the various types of research that is focused on details.
How can researchers understand and solve the problem more effectively?
Researchers can understand and solve the problem more effectively by researching similar cases or other groups who had a similar case. This analysis will help to understand the situation better, and to avoid the appearance of problem again.
What is explanatory research?
Explanatory research is a method for finding details in areas with small amounts of information. Investigators use this type of research in the early stages of their descriptive research to create a general understanding of their topic.
Purpose of explanatory research
Explanatory research helps researchers understand a particular problem in depth. This can give them a better comprehension on a specific topic. By conducting explanatory research, individuals can understand the cause, or hypothesis, behind a phenomenon and predict future occurrences. Some benefits of using explanatory research include:
Key characteristics of explanatory research
Explanatory research is recognizable from other types of research due to a few components. Some key characteristics of explanatory research include:
How to conduct explanatory research
To conduct explanatory research, find the subject of your investigation. This is the question you are trying to answer and helps guide the research process. Usually, this begins with "Why is...?" For instance, "Why is food with red packaging more likely to sell than food with blue packaging?"
What is explanatory research?
Explanatory research is actually a type of research design that focuses on explaining the aspects of your study. The researcher starts with a general idea and uses research as a tool that could lead to the subjects that would be dealt with in the incoming future.
Why is explanatory research not conclusive?
It does not provide conclusive results because of the lack of its statistical strength, but it makes the researcher determine how and why things happen.
Why is it important to do exploratory research?
The Explanatory Research allows the researcher to provide deep insight into a specific subject, which gives birth to more subjects and provides more opportunities for the researchers to study new things and questions new things. The deep study of subjects creates a cycle and, the critical thinking/study of the subject creates more questions ...
Why is exp research important?
Exp-Research can be very advantageous in directing subsequent research approaches. A great understanding of the subject allows the researcher to hone subsequent research questions and can greatly increase the usefulness of a study’s conclusions.
What is the deep study of subjects?
The deep study of subjects creates a cycle and , the critical thinking/study of the subject creates more questions and those questions lead to more ways for the researchers to study more things related to that subject.
When are exploratory researchers usually led?
Exploratory researchers are normally led when an issue is not obviously characterized. It permits the agent to familiarize himself with the issue or idea to be examined, and conceivably create theories (the meaning of theory) to be tried.
What is a research outline?
It is meant to provide details where a small amount of information exists for a certain product in mind of that researcher. For starting your research, you need to create a research outline or speech outline to pitch your research idea while writing a research proposal to your professor or a boss or in a board meeting.
What is the purpose of explanatory research?
Purpose of the Explanatory Research. Increasing understanding: The purpose of explanatory research is to increase an investigator's understanding of a given topic. It does not provide conclusive results due to a lack of statistical strength, but it does allow the researcher to determine how and why things happen.
What is an explanatory study?
Explanatory studies go beyond description and attempt to explain the reasons for the phenomenon that only descriptive study was observed. In an explanatory study, the researcher uses theories or hypotheses to represent the forces that caused a certain phenomenon to occur.
Why is exploratory research important?
Exploratory investigations are usually conducted when a problem is not obviously characterized. It allows the student to become familiar with the topic or idea to be examined, and possibly create theories to test his hypothesis. Explanatory research can be immensely valuable to social research.
What is the purpose of a researcher?
Their goal is to provide details where there is a small amount of information for a given product in mind for that researcher.
Why is it so difficult to reach appropriate conclusions based on the results of a causal investigation?
This is due to the impact of a wide range of factors and variables. In other words, although it can be inferred, it cannot be proved with a high level of certainty.
Why do we use causal studies?
Causal studies can play an instrumental role in terms of identifying the reasons behind a wide range of processes, as well as evaluating the impact of changes in existing norms . Causal studies generally offer the advantages of replication if the need arises.
When conducting research, must the researcher be able to adapt to the new data and to the new perception that he
When conducting research, the researcher must be able to adapt to the new data and to the new perception that he discovers as he studies the subject. It is not intended to provide final and conclusive answers to research questions, but does allow the researcher to explore research at a variable level of depth.
What is the difference between exploratory and explanatory research?
The main difference between explanatory and exploratory research is that explanatory research explains why certain phenomena work in the way that they do, whereas exploratory research explores and investigates a problem that is not clearly defined.
What are the different types of explanatory research?
Types of Explanatory Research. The most common types of explanatory research involve in-depth interviews, literature research, case studies, and focus group research. Interviews usually involve an expert in the field who can explain the phenomena under investigation. Literature research, on the other hand, involves searching information ...
What is exploratory research?
Exploratory research, on the other hand, is a type of research that attempts to explore and investigate a problem that is not clearly defined.
When do researchers conduct exploratory research?
A researcher conducts exploratory research when he or she has just begun researching and wants to understand and explore the topic generally. A researcher will use explanatory research when he or she wants to explain why a certain phenomenon happens.

Explanatory Research Questions
- Explanatory research answers “why” and “what” questions, leading to an improved understanding of a previously unresolved problem or providing clarity for related future research initiatives. Here are a few examples: 1. Why do undergraduate students obtain higher average gr…
Explanatory Research Data Collection
- 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: 1. Literature reviews 2. Interviews and focus groups 3. Pilot studies 4. Observations 5. Experiments The method you choose depends on several factors, including your timeline, budget, and the str…
Explanatory Research Data Analysis
- 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 ca…
Step-By-Step Example of Explanatory Research
- 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.
Explanatory vs. Exploratory Research
- It can be easy to confuse explanatory research with exploratoryresearch. 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 conclusiv…
Advantages and Disadvantages of Exploratory Research
- Like any other research design, exploratory research has its trade-offs: while it provides a unique set of benefits, it also has significant downsides: