Work: Scientific Method and Exploratory Research Essay Example

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When the purpose of research is to gain familiarity with a phenomenon or acquire new insight into it in order to formulate a more precise problem or develop hypothesis, the exploratory studies ( also known as formulative research ) come in handy. If the theory happens to be too general or too specific, a hypothesis cannot to be formulated. Therefore a need for an exploratory research is felt to gain experience that will be helpful in formulative relevant hypothesis for more definite investigation.

The results of exploratory research are not usually useful for decision-making by themselves, but they can provide significant insight into a given situation. Although the results of qualitative research can give some indication as to the "why", "how" and "when" something occurs, it cannot tell us "how often" or "how many". Exploratory research is not typically generalizable to the population at large. Social exploratory research "seeks to find out how people get along in the setting under question, what meanings they give to their actions, and what issues concern them.

The goal is to learn 'what is going on here? ' and to investigate social phenomena without explicit expectations. " (Russell K. Schutt, "Investigating the Social World," 5th ed. ). This methodology is also at times referred to as a grounded theory approach to qualitative research or interpretive research, and is an attempt to unearth a theory from the data itself rather than from a predisposed hypothesis. Earl Babbie identifies three purposes of social science research. The purposes are exploratory, descriptive and explanatory.

Exploratory research is used when

problems are in a preliminary stage. [2] Exploratory research is used when the topic or issue is new and when data is difficult to collect. Exploratory research is flexible and can address research questions of all types (what, why, how). Exploratory research is often used to generate formal hypotheses. Shields and Tajalli link exploratory research with the conceptual framework working hypothesis. [3] Skeptics, however, have questioned the usefulness and necessity of exploratory research in situations where prior analysis could be conducted instead.