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Exploratory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Exploratory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Published on December 6, 2021 by Tegan George . Revised on November 20, 2023.

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 grounded theory approach due to its flexible and open-ended nature.

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

Exploratory research is often used when the issue you’re studying is new or when the data collection process is challenging for some reason.

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.

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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.

Here are some examples:

What effect does using a digital notebook have on the attention span of middle schoolers?
What factors influence mental health in undergraduates?
What outcomes are associated with an authoritative parenting style?
In what ways does the presence of a non-native accent affect intelligibility?
How can the use of a grocery delivery service reduce food waste in single-person households?

Collecting information on a previously unexplored topic can be challenging. Exploratory research can help you narrow down your topic and formulate a clear hypothesis and problem statement , as well as giving you the “lay of the land” on your topic.

Data collection using exploratory research is often divided into primary and secondary research methods, with data analysis following the same model.

Primary research

In primary research, your data is collected directly from primary sources : your participants. There is a variety of ways to collect primary data.

Some examples include:

Survey methodology: Sending a survey out to the student body asking them if they would eat vegan meals
Focus groups: Compiling groups of 8–10 students and discussing what they think of vegan options for dining hall food
Interviews: Interviewing students entering and exiting the dining hall, asking if they would eat vegan meals

Secondary research

In secondary research, your data is collected from preexisting primary research, such as experiments or surveys.

Some other examples include:

Case studies : Health of an all-vegan diet
Literature reviews : Preexisting research about students’ eating habits and how they have changed over time
Online polls, surveys, blog posts, or interviews; social media: Have other schools done something similar?

For some subjects, it’s possible to use large- n government data, such as the decennial census or yearly American Community Survey (ACS) open-source data.

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.

We’ll walk you through the steps using the following example.

Therefore, you would like to focus on improving intelligibility instead of reducing the learner’s accent.

Step 1: Identify your problem

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.

Step 2: Hypothesize a solution

The next step is to come up with a solution to the problem you’re investigating. Formulate a hypothetical statement to guide your research.

Step 3. Design your methodology

Next, conceptualize your data collection and data analysis methods and write them up in a research design.

Step 4: Collect and analyze data

Next, you proceed with collecting and analyzing your data so you can determine whether your preliminary results are in line with your hypothesis.

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 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.

Step 5: Avenues for future research

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 results.

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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.

Exploratory research investigates research questions that have not been studied in depth. The preliminary results often lay the groundwork for future analysis.

Explanatory research questions tend to start with “why” or “how”, and the goal is to explain why or how a previously studied phenomenon takes place.

Like any other research design , exploratory studies have their trade-offs: they provide a unique set of benefits but also come with downsides.

It can be very helpful in narrowing down a challenging or nebulous problem that has not been previously studied.
It can serve as a great guide for future research, whether your own or another researcher’s. With new and challenging research problems, adding to the body of research in the early stages can be very fulfilling.
It is very flexible, cost-effective, and open-ended. You are free to proceed however you think is best.

Disadvantages

It usually lacks conclusive results, and results can be biased or subjective due to a lack of preexisting knowledge on your topic.
It’s typically not externally valid and generalizable, and it suffers from many of the challenges of qualitative research .
Since you are not operating within an existing research paradigm, this type of research can be very labor-intensive.

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

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.

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.

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.

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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Home » Exploratory Research – Types, Methods and Examples

Exploratory Research – Types, Methods and Examples

Table of Contents

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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Exploratory Research: Types & Characteristics

Consider a scenario where a juice bar owner feels that increasing the variety of juices will enable an increase in customers. However, he is not sure and needs more information. The owner intends to conduct exploratory research to find out; hence, he decides to do exploratory research to find out if expanding their juices selection will enable him to get more customers or if there is a better idea.

Another example of exploratory research is a podcast survey template that can be used to collect feedback about the podcast consumption metrics both from existing listeners as well as other podcast listeners that are currently not subscribed to this channel. This helps the author of the podcast create curated content that will gain a larger audience. Let’s explore this topic.

LEARN ABOUT: Research Process Steps

Content Index

Exploratory research: Definition

Primary research methods, secondary research methods, exploratory research: steps to conduct a research, characteristics of exploratory research, advantages of exploratory research, disadvantages of exploratory research, importance of exploratory research.

Exploratory research is defined as a research used to investigate a problem which is not clearly defined. It is conducted to have a better understanding of the existing research problem , but will not provide conclusive results. For such a research, a researcher starts with a general idea and uses this research as a medium to identify issues, that can be the focus for future research. An important aspect here is that the researcher should be willing to change his/her direction subject to the revelation of new data or insight. Such a research is usually carried out when the problem is at a preliminary stage. It is often referred to as grounded theory approach or interpretive research as it used to answer questions like what, why and how.

Types and methodologies of Exploratory research

While it may sound difficult to research something that has very little information about it, there are several methods which can help a researcher figure out the best research design, data collection methods and choice of subjects. There are two ways in which research can be conducted namely primary and secondary.. Under these two types, there are multiple methods which can used by a researcher. The data gathered from these research can be qualitative or quantitative . Some of the most widely used research designs include the following:

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Primary research is information gathered directly from the subject. It can be through a group of people or even an individual. Such a research can be carried out directly by the researcher himself or can employ a third party to conduct it on their behalf. Primary research is specifically carried out to explore a certain problem which requires an in-depth study.

Surveys/polls : Surveys /polls are used to gather information from a predefined group of respondents. It is one of the most important quantitative method. Various types of surveys or polls can be used to explore opinions, trends, etc. With the advancement in technology, surveys can now be sent online and can be very easy to access. For instance, use of a survey app through tablets, laptops or even mobile phones. This information is also available to the researcher in real time as well. Nowadays, most organizations offer short length surveys and rewards to respondents, in order to achieve higher response rates.

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For example: A survey is sent to a given set of audience to understand their opinions about the size of mobile phones when they purchase one. Based on such information organization can dig deeper into the topic and make business related decision.

Interviews: While you may get a lot of information from public sources, but sometimes an in person interview can give in-depth information on the subject being studied. Such a research is a qualitative research method . An interview with a subject matter expert can give you meaningful insights that a generalized public source won’t be able to provide. Interviews are carried out in person or on telephone which have open-ended questions to get meaningful information about the topic.

For example: An interview with an employee can give you more insights to find out the degree of job satisfaction, or an interview with a subject matter expert of quantum theory can give you in-depth information on that topic.

Focus groups: Focus group is yet another widely used method in exploratory research. In such a method a group of people is chosen and are allowed to express their insights on the topic that is being studied. Although, it is important to make sure that while choosing the individuals in a focus group they should have a common background and have comparable experiences.

For example: A focus group helps a research identify the opinions of consumers if they were to buy a phone. Such a research can help the researcher understand what the consumer value while buying a phone. It may be screen size, brand value or even the dimensions. Based on which the organization can understand what are consumer buying attitudes, consumer opinions, etc.

Observations: Observational research can be qualitative observation or quantitative observation . Such a research is done to observe a person and draw the finding from their reaction to certain parameters. In such a research, there is no direct interaction with the subject.

For example: An FMCG company wants to know how it’s consumer react to the new shape of their product. The researcher observes the customers first reaction and collects the data, which is then used to draw inferences from the collective information.

LEARN ABOUT: Causal Research

Secondary research is gathering information from previously published primary research. In such a research you gather information from sources likes case studies, magazines, newspapers, books, etc.

Online research: In today’s world, this is one of the fastest way to gather information on any topic. A lot of data is readily available on the internet and the researcher can download it whenever he needs it. An important aspect to be noted for such a research is the genuineness and authenticity of the source websites that the researcher is gathering the information from.

For example: A researcher needs to find out what is the percentage of people that prefer a specific brand phone. The researcher just enters the information he needs in a search engine and gets multiple links with related information and statistics.

Literature research : Literature research is one of the most inexpensive method used for discovering a hypothesis. There is tremendous amount of information available in libraries, online sources, or even commercial databases. Sources can include newspapers, magazines, books from library, documents from government agencies, specific topic related articles, literature, Annual reports, published statistics from research organizations and so on.

However, a few things have to be kept in mind while researching from these sources. Government agencies have authentic information but sometimes may come with a nominal cost. Also, research from educational institutions is generally overlooked, but in fact educational institutions carry out more number of research than any other entities.

Furthermore, commercial sources provide information on major topics like political agendas, demographics, financial information, market trends and information, etc.

For example: A company has low sales. It can be easily explored from available statistics and market literature if the problem is market related or organization related or if the topic being studied is regarding financial situation of the country, then research data can be accessed through government documents or commercial sources.

Case study research: Case study research can help a researcher with finding more information through carefully analyzing existing cases which have gone through a similar problem. Such exploratory data analysis are very important and critical especially in today’s business world. The researcher just needs to make sure he analyses the case carefully in regards to all the variables present in the previous case against his own case. It is very commonly used by business organizations or social sciences sector or even in the health sector.

LEARN ABOUT: Level of Analysis

For example: A particular orthopedic surgeon has the highest success rate for performing knee surgeries. A lot of other hospitals or doctors have taken up this case to understand and benchmark the method in which this surgeon does the procedure to increase their success rate.

Identify the problem : A researcher identifies the subject of research and the problem is addressed by carrying out multiple methods to answer the questions.
Create the hypothesis : When the researcher has found out that there are no prior studies and the problem is not precisely resolved, the researcher will create a hypothesis based on the questions obtained while identifying the problem.
Further research : Once the data has been obtained, the researcher will continue his study through descriptive investigation. Qualitative methods are used to further study the subject in detail and find out if the information is true or not.

LEARN ABOUT: Descriptive Analysis

They are not structured studies
It is usually low cost, interactive and open ended.
It will enable a researcher answer questions like what is the problem? What is the purpose of the study? And what topics could be studied?
To carry out exploratory research, generally there is no prior research done or the existing ones do not answer the problem precisely enough.
It is a time consuming research and it needs patience and has risks associated with it.
The researcher will have to go through all the information available for the particular study he is doing.
There are no set of rules to carry out the research per se, as they are flexible, broad and scattered.
The research needs to have importance or value. If the problem is not important in the industry the research carried out is ineffective.
The research should also have a few theories which can support its findings as that will make it easier for the researcher to assess it and move ahead in his study
Such a research usually produces qualitative data , however in certain cases quantitative data can be generalized for a larger sample through use of surveys and experiments.

LEARN ABOUT: Action Research

The researcher has a lot of flexibility and can adapt to changes as the research progresses.
It is usually low cost.
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.
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.

LEARN ABOUT: Projective Techniques & Conformity Bias

Exploratory research is carried out when a topic needs to be understood in depth, especially if it hasn’t been done before. The goal of such a research is to explore the problem and around it and not actually derive a conclusion from it. Such kind of research will enable a researcher to set a strong foundation for exploring his ideas, choosing the right research design and finding variables that actually are important for the in-depth analysis . Most importantly, such a research can help organizations or researchers save up a lot of time and resources, as it will enable the researcher to know if it worth pursuing.

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Exploratory Research: Definition, Types, Examples

Appinio Research · 12.10.2023 · 28min read

Are you ready to unlock the power of exploration in research? In this guide, we'll navigate the fascinating realm of exploratory research, demystifying its techniques and shedding light on its real-world applications.

Whether you're a seasoned researcher seeking to broaden your methodological toolkit or a novice embarking on your first research endeavor, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and insights to harness the full potential of exploratory research. Join us as we dive deep into the intricacies of understanding, planning, conducting, and reporting exploratory research, with real-life examples illuminating the way.

What is Exploratory Research?

Exploratory Research is an investigative method used in the early stages of a research project to delve into a topic when little to no existing knowledge or information is available. It is a dynamic and flexible approach aimed at gaining insights, uncovering trends, and generating initial hypotheses. The primary purposes of exploratory research are:

Understanding Complexity: Exploratory research helps researchers understand the intricate and multifaceted nature of a research topic, especially when the subject matter is not well-defined.
Idea Generation: It serves as a fertile ground for generating new ideas, hypotheses, and research questions that can guide more focused studies in the future.
Problem Identification: It helps identify research problems or gaps in existing knowledge, allowing researchers to refine their research objectives.
Decision Support: Exploratory research provides valuable information for making informed decisions about the direction and scope of a research project.

Importance of Exploratory Research

Exploratory research holds immense significance in the world of research and problem-solving for several reasons:

Risk Reduction: By exploring a topic before committing to a specific research path, exploratory research helps reduce the risk of pursuing unproductive or irrelevant research.
Informed Research: It lays the groundwork for subsequent phases of research, ensuring that subsequent studies are well-informed and more likely to yield meaningful results.
Creative Exploration: It encourages creative and open-minded exploration of topics, making it particularly useful when dealing with novel or emerging issues.
Adaptability: Exploratory research methods are adaptable and can be tailored to the unique characteristics of a research question or problem.

Types of Exploratory Research

Exploratory research encompasses various methodologies, each designed to suit specific research objectives and contexts. Let's explore these types in more detail:

Literature Review

Literature Review involves a systematic examination of existing research, publications, and sources related to a specific topic. It serves as a comprehensive exploration of the current state of knowledge.

Purpose: To identify existing theories, concepts, and gaps in the literature related to a research topic.
Methods: Researchers review academic papers, books, articles, and other scholarly sources. They synthesize and analyze the findings and theories presented in these sources.
Benefits: A literature review provides a solid foundation for understanding the historical context and key debates surrounding a topic. It helps researchers identify areas where further investigation is needed.

Pilot Studies

Pilot Studies are small-scale research projects conducted before a full-scale study. They serve as test runs to assess the feasibility of research methods and data collection tools.

Purpose: To test research procedures, instruments, and methodologies in a controlled environment.
Methods: Researchers select a smaller sample and conduct data collection and analysis as if it were a full study.
Benefits: Pilot studies help identify potential problems, refine research designs, and improve the quality of data collection.

Case Studies

Case Studies involve an in-depth examination of a specific individual, group, organization, or event. They offer a holistic view of a particular phenomenon.

Purpose: To explore real-life contexts and understand complex, unique situations.
Methods: Researchers gather data through interviews, observations, and document analysis, providing rich, contextual insights.
Benefits: Case studies provide a deep understanding of specific instances, allowing researchers to extract valuable lessons or generate hypotheses for broader research.

Focus Groups

Focus Groups bring together a small group of participants to engage in open and structured discussions about a particular topic.

Purpose: To explore group dynamics, collective opinions, and shared perceptions on a specific subject.
Methods: Researchers facilitate group discussions with carefully designed questions, encouraging participants to express their thoughts and experiences.
Benefits: Focus groups reveal diverse perspectives, uncover latent issues, and provide qualitative data for further investigation.

In-depth Interviews

In-depth Interviews involve one-on-one conversations between a researcher and a participant, allowing for detailed exploration of experiences, opinions, and perceptions.

Purpose: To gain in-depth insights into individual perspectives and experiences.
Methods: Researchers use open-ended questions to guide interviews, creating a conversational and exploratory atmosphere.
Benefits: In-depth interviews provide rich, nuanced data and are well-suited for studying sensitive topics or personal experiences.

Observational Research

Observational Research entails the systematic observation and recording of behaviors, events, or phenomena in their natural settings.

Purpose: To understand behavior or phenomena as they naturally occur in their real-world context.
Methods: Researchers select settings, define variables, and record data through direct observations.
Benefits: Observational research captures authentic behavior and context, offering insights that might be missed in controlled environments.

Content Analysis

Content Analysis is a method for analyzing textual, visual, or audio content to uncover patterns, themes, or trends.

Purpose: To explore and understand the content and communication surrounding a particular topic or media.
Methods: Researchers define coding categories, code content based on these categories, and analyze the frequency and patterns of codes.
Benefits: Content analysis provides quantitative and qualitative insights into the content of documents, media, or communication channels.

These various types of exploratory research methods offer researchers a versatile toolkit for diving into the unknown and gaining valuable insights, setting the stage for further investigation and discovery.

How to Plan and Design Exploratory Research?

In the planning and design phase of exploratory research, careful consideration of key elements is crucial to ensure the research objectives are met effectively. Let's delve into these elements:

1. Research Objectives

Before embarking on exploratory research, it's essential to define clear and specific research objectives.

Purpose: Research objectives should clarify what you aim to achieve through your exploratory study. Are you looking to understand a phenomenon, generate hypotheses, identify research gaps, or explore new concepts?
Specificity: Objectives should be well-defined, leaving no room for ambiguity. They should guide your research process and serve as a benchmark for success.
Alignment: Ensure that your research objectives align with the broader goals of your research project and contribute to the generation of valuable insights.

2. Data Collection Methods

Selecting appropriate data collection methods is a critical step in planning exploratory research.

The choice of methods should align with your research objectives.

Method Suitability: Consider the nature of your research question. Qualitative methods like interviews and focus groups are ideal for exploring subjective experiences, while quantitative methods may be more suitable for gathering numerical data.
Data Sources: Identify the sources of data you will tap into, whether it's primary data (collected directly) or secondary data (existing sources).
Data Collection Tools: Determine the specific tools and instruments you will use for data collection. This may include interview guides, questionnaires, or observation protocols.

3. Sampling Techniques

Choosing the proper sampling techniques is crucial to ensure that your exploratory research represents the target population or context effectively.

Purposeful Sampling: When using qualitative methods like interviews and focus groups, purposeful or selective sampling helps identify participants who can provide valuable insights based on specific criteria, such as expertise or experience.
Random Sampling: If your exploratory research involves quantitative data collection, consider random sampling methods to ensure that your sample is representative of the larger population.
Snowball Sampling: In cases where it's challenging to identify participants through traditional methods, snowball sampling allows initial participants to refer others, creating a chain of referrals.

4. Data Analysis Approaches

Determining the data analysis approaches is essential for making sense of the information collected during exploratory research.

Qualitative Data Analysis: For qualitative data, approaches like thematic analysis , content analysis, or narrative analysis help identify patterns, themes, and trends within the data.
Quantitative Data Analysis: If you have quantitative data, statistical analysis and data visualization techniques can reveal trends, correlations, and significant findings.
Mixed-Methods Analysis: In cases where both qualitative and quantitative data are collected, a mixed-methods analysis approach can provide a more comprehensive understanding.

5. Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are paramount in exploratory research, as they ensure the well-being and rights of participants are protected.

Informed Consent: Obtain informed consent from participants, explaining the purpose of the research, their role, and the potential risks and benefits. Consent forms should be clear and voluntary.
Privacy and Anonymity: Protect the confidentiality and anonymity of participants by avoiding disclosing personal or sensitive information without explicit consent.
Data Security: Safeguard research data to prevent unauthorized access or breaches of confidentiality.
Conflict of Interest: Disclose any conflicts of interest or potential biases that may affect the research process or findings.
Compliance: Adhere to ethical guidelines and regulations established by relevant institutions or governing bodies, such as institutional review boards (IRBs).

With a well-planned approach that includes clearly defined research objectives, appropriate data collection methods, thoughtful sampling techniques, robust data analysis approaches, and ethical considerations, you can set the stage for a successful exploratory research endeavor.

How to Conduct Exploratory Research?

In this section, we will delve into the practical aspects of conducting exploratory research, which involves data collection and analysis. These steps are vital to uncover insights and generate hypotheses. Let's explore each component in detail:

Data Collection

Effective data collection is the cornerstone of exploratory research. Here are various methods you can use to collect data:

1. Literature Review Process

Literature review is the process of systematically searching, reviewing, and summarizing existing academic literature related to your research topic. This step is crucial as it provides a foundation for understanding the current state of knowledge and identifying research gaps:

Identify Relevant Sources: Begin by searching for relevant academic papers, books, articles, and reports. Online databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, and academic library catalogs are excellent resources.
Synthesize Information: Summarize the essential findings and ideas from the sources you've collected. Create a literature review matrix or summary to organize your results and identify common themes.
Identify Research Gaps: As you review the literature, pay attention to areas where there's a lack of research or conflicting findings. These gaps can inform your exploratory research objectives.

2. Conducting Pilot Studies

Pilot studies are small-scale research projects designed to test and refine your research methods and instruments. They provide valuable insights and help identify potential issues before embarking on a full-scale study.

Define Objectives: Clearly define the objectives of your pilot study. What specific aspects of your research design are you testing? What do you hope to learn from the pilot?
Select Sample: Choose a small, representative sample for your pilot study. This sample should reflect your target population as closely as possible.
Collect Data: Implement your research methods on the selected sample. Pay close attention to any challenges or issues that arise during data collection.
Analyze Results: After collecting data, analyze the results. Look for any anomalies or unexpected findings that may require adjustments to your research design.

3. Running Case Studies

Case studies involve in-depth investigations into specific individuals, groups, organizations, or events. They provide rich, contextual data.

Select a Case: Choose a relevant case that aligns with your research objectives. Consider cases that offer unique insights or perspectives on your topic.
Gather Data: Collect data through a combination of interviews, observations, and document analysis. Triangulate your data sources for a comprehensive view.
Analyze Data: Analyze the collected data to identify patterns, themes, and insights. Use coding or thematic analysis to categorize information.

4. Organizing Focus Groups

Focus groups bring together a small group of participants to engage in open and structured discussions about a particular topic.

Recruit Participants: Recruit a diverse group of participants who can provide valuable insights into your research questions. Ensure that the group dynamics are conducive to open discussion.
Design Questions: Prepare a set of open-ended questions that guide the discussion. Encourage participants to share their perspectives and experiences.
Conduct the Session: Facilitate the focus group session, making sure everyone has an opportunity to speak. Take detailed notes and consider using audio or video recording.
Analyze Findings: Transcribe and analyze the focus group discussions. Look for common themes, opinions, and areas of agreement or disagreement among participants.

5. Performing In-depth Interviews

In-depth interviews involve one-on-one conversations between a researcher and a participant, allowing for detailed exploration of experiences, opinions, and perceptions.

Prepare Interview Guide: Develop a structured interview guide with open-ended questions that align with your research objectives. The guide provides a framework for the interview.
Select Participants: Choose participants who can offer in-depth insights into your research questions. Establish rapport and build trust during the interviews.
Conduct Interviews: Conduct one-on-one interviews, following the interview guide but allowing for flexibility to explore unexpected topics. Encourage participants to share their thoughts and experiences.
Transcribe and Analyze: Transcribe the interviews and analyze the responses. Look for common themes, patterns, and noteworthy quotes that support your research objectives.

6. Observational Research Techniques

Observational research involves the systematic observation and recording of behaviors, events, or phenomena in their natural settings.

Select the Setting: Choose a setting that allows for unobtrusive observation of the behavior or phenomena you're studying. Ensure that your presence does not influence the behavior.
Define Variables: Clearly define the behaviors or phenomena you're observing. Create an observation checklist or coding scheme to record data systematically.
Record Data: Systematically record your observations, either in real-time or through video/audio recordings. Be objective and avoid making interpretations during the observation.
Analyze Data: After data collection, analyze the recorded observations to identify patterns, trends, and any noteworthy behaviors. Consider interrater reliability if multiple observers are involved.

7. Content Analysis Methods

Content analysis is a method for systematically analyzing textual, visual, or audio content to uncover patterns, themes, or trends.

Define Coding Categories: Determine the coding categories or themes that align with your research objectives. Create a coding scheme that can be applied consistently.
Code Content: Apply the coding scheme to the content you're analyzing. This may involve categorizing text passages, images, or audio segments based on predefined criteria.
Record and Analyze Data: Record the coded data systematically and analyze it to identify patterns, trends, or recurring themes. Consider using software tools to assist in content analysis.

Data Analysis

After collecting data through the various methods, it's essential to analyze it effectively to extract meaningful insights:

1. Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative data analysis involves the examination of non-numeric data, such as text, interviews, and observations.

Data Coding: Begin by coding the qualitative data, which involves categorizing information into themes or codes. This step helps organize the data for analysis.
Thematic Analysis: Conduct thematic analysis to identify recurring themes, patterns, and trends within the data. Look for connections and relationships between themes.
Constant Comparison: Use constant comparison, where you compare new data with existing codes and themes to refine your understanding of the data.
Interpretation: Interpret the qualitative data in the context of your research objectives. Explore the implications of your findings and consider how they contribute to your research goals.

2. Quantitative Data Analysis

Quantitative data analysis involves the examination of numerical data gathered through surveys, experiments, or other structured methods.

Data Cleaning: Begin by cleaning the data and addressing any missing values, outliers, or inconsistencies. Ensure that the data is in a usable format for analysis.
Descriptive Analysis: Perform descriptive analysis to summarize the main characteristics of the data. This includes calculating measures like mean, median, and standard deviation.
Inferential Analysis: If applicable, conduct inferential analysis to test hypotheses or determine relationships between variables. Common statistical tests include t-tests, ANOVA, and regression analysis.
Data Visualization: Create visual representations of your quantitative data using charts, graphs, and tables to illustrate key findings.

3. Identifying Patterns and Themes

Across both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, the process of identifying patterns and themes is essential.

Pattern Recognition: Look for recurring patterns, trends, or regularities in the data. These patterns may be related to your research objectives or unexpected discoveries.
Theme Identification: In qualitative data analysis, identify themes or categories that emerge from the data. Themes represent commonalities in participants' responses or behaviors.
Cross-Referencing Data: Compare findings from different data collection methods (e.g., interviews, surveys) to triangulate your results and gain a more comprehensive understanding.
Iterative Process: Data analysis is often an iterative process. You may revisit and refine your analysis as you uncover new insights or refine your research questions.

By effectively collecting and analyzing data, you can extract meaningful insights, identify trends, and generate hypotheses that will guide your exploratory research and inform future research endeavors.

How to Report and Present Exploratory Research Findings?

Effectively reporting and presenting exploratory research findings is vital to communicate insights and guide future actions. Let's explore the components of this phase in more detail.

Structure of Research Reports

Creating a well-structured research report ensures that your exploratory findings are communicated clearly and effectively.

Title Page: Begin with a title page that includes the title of the report, your name, affiliation, and the date of publication.
Executive Summary: Provide a concise summary of the research objectives, methods, key findings, and recommendations. This section should be informative yet brief.
Table of Contents: Include a table of contents to help readers navigate through the report easily.
Introduction: Introduce the research topic, objectives, and the importance of exploratory research in addressing your research questions.
Methodology: Describe the methods used for data collection, including sampling techniques, data analysis approaches, and ethical considerations.
Findings: Present your research findings, organized by research method (e.g., literature review, pilot study, focus groups, interviews, etc.).
Discussion: Interpret your findings, discuss their implications, and relate them to your research objectives. Consider addressing any limitations.
Recommendations: Offer recommendations based on your exploratory research. What actions or further research should be pursued?
Conclusion: Summarize the key points of your study, emphasizing its significance.
Appendices: Include any supplementary materials, such as interview transcripts, survey questionnaires, or additional data.
References: Cite all the sources you referenced in your report using a consistent citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

Visualizing Data

Effective data visualization enhances the understanding of your exploratory findings.

Tables: Organize data in tabular format for easy comparison.
Charts and Graphs: Use bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, or scatter plots to represent quantitative data.
Infographics: Create visual summaries of key findings using infographics.
Images and Visuals: Include relevant images, photographs, or screenshots to illustrate points.

Interpreting Results

Interpreting your exploratory research results involves:

Contextualizing Findings: Explain the significance of your findings within the broader context of your research objectives.
Discussing Implications: Consider the practical implications of your findings. How do they impact the research area or field?
Addressing Limitations: Acknowledge any limitations or constraints in your study, such as sample size or data collection challenges.
Comparing with Hypotheses: If applicable, compare your findings with any initial hypotheses you may have developed during the exploratory phase.
Suggesting Future Research: Identify areas where further research is needed, building upon the insights gained in your exploratory study.

Making Recommendations

Based on your exploratory research, provide actionable recommendations.

Practical Steps: Offer specific actions or decisions that can be made based on your findings.
Policy Recommendations: If relevant, suggest changes or improvements to policies or practices.
Further Research: Highlight areas where more in-depth research is required to build upon your exploratory findings.
Implementation Plan: Outline a plan for implementing the recommendations, if applicable.

Remember that the clarity of your report and the persuasiveness of your recommendations are crucial in making your exploratory research valuable to your audience. Effective communication ensures that your insights lead to informed decisions and further exploration in your field of study.

Exploratory Research Advantages and Limitations

Exploratory research offers valuable insights into various aspects of a research topic, but it also comes with its own set of advantages and limitations. Understanding these factors is essential for making informed decisions about using exploratory research in your projects. Let's explore both sides of the coin.

Exploratory Research Advantages

Insight Generation: Exploratory research excels at discovering the unknown. It allows you to explore and uncover new phenomena, trends, or perspectives that may have been previously unknown or overlooked.
Hypothesis Generation: By investigating a topic with an open mind, you can generate hypotheses and research questions that can guide more focused research in the future. These initial hypotheses can serve as a valuable starting point.
Flexibility: Exploratory research is well-suited for complex and multifaceted topics where a structured approach may not be appropriate. It provides the flexibility to adapt to evolving research objectives.
Qualitative Understanding: Methods like interviews, focus groups, and content analysis provide rich qualitative data. This qualitative understanding is crucial for exploring nuances and complexities in human experiences and behaviors.
Contextual Understanding: Exploratory research often takes place in real-world contexts. Case studies and observational research, for example, allow you to understand how phenomena operate in their natural environments, providing valuable context.
Pilot Testing: Exploratory research, including pilot studies, helps in refining research methodologies and instruments. By uncovering potential issues early on, it reduces errors in subsequent studies.

Exploratory Research Limitations

Lack of Generalizability: Exploratory research often uses small, non-representative samples. This makes it challenging to generalize findings to larger populations or broader contexts. The insights gained may be specific to the participants or conditions involved.
Subjectivity: The qualitative nature of many exploratory research methods can introduce subjectivity in data analysis and interpretation. Researchers' biases and perspectives may influence the findings.
Time and Resource Intensive: Some exploratory research methods, such as in-depth interviews or case studies, can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. This can limit the scalability of exploratory studies.
Limited Quantitative Data: If your research requires precise numerical data, exploratory research may not be sufficient. It primarily focuses on qualitative insights and quantitative data may be limited in scope.
Potential for Bias: The choice of research methods and participants can introduce bias into your findings. For example, purposive sampling in qualitative research may inadvertently select participants with similar perspectives.
Incomplete Picture: Exploratory research may provide an insufficient or preliminary picture of a topic. It often requires further investigation for validation and a more comprehensive understanding.
Ethical Challenges: The open-ended nature of exploratory research can raise ethical challenges, especially in sensitive research areas. Ensuring participant consent and privacy is essential.

Understanding these advantages and limitations is crucial for researchers to make informed decisions about when and how to apply exploratory research methods. It's essential to carefully consider these factors in the context of your research objectives and the specific challenges and opportunities presented by your research topic.

Exploratory Research Examples

Exploratory research is a versatile approach employed across various fields to gain insights, uncover trends, and generate hypotheses. Let's explore real-world examples of how different exploratory research methods have been applied effectively:

1. Real-Life Case Studies

Facebook's emotional contagion study.

Background: In 2014, Facebook conducted a controversial exploratory research study to investigate emotional contagion. The study involved manipulating the content that appeared in users' newsfeeds to measure how emotional content impacted their own posts.

Method: Facebook used large-scale data analysis to conduct this study, which involved over 689,000 users. They manipulated the visibility of positive and negative posts to examine whether emotional states could be influenced online.

Findings: The study found that when users saw fewer positive posts in their newsfeeds, they tended to post fewer positive updates themselves, and vice versa for negative posts. This research sparked discussions about ethical considerations in online experimentation and the power of social media platforms to influence emotions.

Harvard Business School's Airbnb Case Study

Background: Harvard Business School conducted an exploratory case study on Airbnb, a disruptive platform in the hospitality industry. The goal was to understand how Airbnb disrupted traditional lodging markets and its impact on the hotel industry.

Method: Researchers collected data from various sources, including interviews with Airbnb hosts, surveys of travelers, and publicly available data on Airbnb listings and hotel occupancy rates. They analyzed the data to identify trends and insights.

Findings: The study found that Airbnb significantly impacted the hotel industry by offering unique, affordable, and personalized lodging options. It also highlighted challenges such as regulatory issues and concerns about safety and quality control.

2. Focus Groups

Apple's product development.

Background: Apple Inc. frequently conducts exploratory research through focus groups to gather insights and opinions from potential users before launching new products or features.

Method: Apple assembles small groups of potential users and conducts moderated discussions. Participants are encouraged to share their thoughts, preferences, and concerns about prototypes or concepts.

Findings: Apple gains valuable feedback about user preferences and pain points by engaging with focus groups. For example, before launching the Apple Watch, focus groups provided insights into desired features like health tracking and customization.

Political Campaign Strategy

Background: In politics, campaign teams often use focus groups to explore voters' opinions, reactions to candidates, and key campaign issues.

Method: Focus groups consist of a diverse set of voters who engage in discussions about campaign messages, policies, and candidate attributes. Campaign teams use these insights to tailor their strategies.

Findings: Focus groups help political campaigns understand which messages resonate with different voter demographics. For instance, a focus group may reveal that a candidate's stance on a specific policy particularly appeals to a specific age group, influencing campaign messaging.

3. Content Analysis

Climate change discourse in media.

Background: Exploratory content analysis has been employed to study media coverage of climate change. Researchers aim to understand how different media outlets frame climate change issues.

Method: Researchers collect articles and news reports from various sources and then analyze the content to identify recurring themes, framing, and the use of language. This helps determine how climate change is portrayed in the media.

Findings: Content analysis has revealed that media outlets may use different frames when discussing climate change, such as "economic impact," "environmental consequences," or "scientific consensus." These frames can influence public perception and policy discussions.

Social Media Sentiment Analysis

Background: Companies and organizations use content analysis of social media posts to gauge public sentiment and gather insights into customer opinions and preferences.

Method: Automated tools are used to collect and analyze social media posts, comments, and mentions related to a specific brand, product, or topic. Natural language processing techniques identify sentiment (positive, negative, neutral) and key themes.

Findings: By analyzing social media content, companies can identify customer complaints, emerging trends, or public sentiment shifts in real time. For example, a restaurant chain may use sentiment analysis to track customer reactions to new menu items.

4. Observational Research

Supermarket shopping behavior.

Background: Observational research is frequently used in the retail industry to understand consumer behavior. One example is studying how shoppers navigate supermarkets.

Method: Researchers observe shoppers in a supermarket, noting their paths through the store, product choices, and interactions with displays. This data helps retailers optimize store layouts and product placement.

Findings: Observational research has shown that shoppers tend to follow predictable patterns in supermarkets, such as starting with fresh produce. Retailers use this data to design store layouts that encourage specific shopping behaviors and maximize sales.

Child Development Studies

Background: Observational research is crucial in child development studies to understand how children learn and develop through their interactions with the environment.

Method: Researchers use video recordings or live observations to document children's behaviors in various settings, such as classrooms or homes. They analyze these observations to identify developmental milestones and learning patterns.

Findings: Observational research in child development has contributed to our understanding of how children acquire language, social skills, and cognitive abilities. For example, it has revealed how peer interactions influence language development in preschoolers.

These real-world examples illustrate the diverse applications of exploratory research methods, from understanding user preferences for tech giants like Apple to analyzing media discourse on critical issues like climate change. Exploratory research empowers organizations and researchers with valuable insights that inform decision-making and shape future research directions.

Exploratory research is a dynamic tool that opens doors to discovery. It helps us uncover hidden insights, generate fresh ideas, and better understand the world around us. By delving into the unknown and embracing its flexibility, we can embark on journeys of exploration that enrich our knowledge and inform future endeavors.

So, whether you're exploring uncharted territories in academia, industry, or any field, remember that the spirit of curiosity and the methods of exploratory research can be your compass. With the right strategies and ethical considerations, you'll not only navigate the challenges but also uncover the treasures of knowledge that await. As you embark on your own exploratory research adventures, may you find answers to your questions, ignite new inquiries, and, above all, revel in the joy of discovery.

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Exploratory Research: Definition, Types, Examples

What is Exploratory Research or Exploratory Studies?

Exploratory research (exploratory study) is a small-scale study of relatively short duration, undertaken when little is known about a situation or problem. An exploratory study helps a researcher to

Diagnose a problem;
Search for alternatives;
Discover new ideas;
Develop and sharpen his concepts more clearly;
Establish priority among several alternatives;
Identify variables of interest;
Set research questions and objectives;
Formulate hypotheses;
Develop an operational definition of variables;
Improve his final research design.

The exploratory study helps to save time and money. If the problem appears not as important at first sight, a research project may be abandoned at the initial stage.

Exploratory study progressively narrows down the scope of the research topic and transforms the undefined problems into defined ones, incorporating specific research objectives.

An exploratory study comes to an end when the researcher is fully convinced that he has established the major dimension of the research, and no additional research is needed to conduct the larger study.

Examples of Exploratory Research

Tribal people in Bangladesh have some peculiar and uncommon background characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of the population.

Sporadic information suggests that they have a large family size, low age at marriage, and high mortality.

Because of the fact that researchers in the past did not have easy access to this population, the above conjectures could not be examined scientifically.

A small-scale study was planned to examine these in the face of these peculiarities to launch a large-scale survey.

The planned study is explorative, which will help the researchers to formulate objectives and hypotheses, keeping in view the above peculiarities regarding their distinct demographic characteristics.

The government-supplied oral contraceptive pills (OCP) and condoms are provided free of charge through government field workers and clinics.

Even then, why a significant proportion of women in the lowest quintile prefer to purchase contraceptives produced by Social Marketing Company (SMC) rather than availing of free services is very critical and valuable information for SMC. To explore this, the SMC wants to conduct a study.

They intend to prepare a profile of the SMC brand contraceptive users of the poorest and poor quintile to gather their perception of SMC product and their views on the govt, supplied contraceptives.

We cite one more example from business research (Saleh, 1995)

Nowadays, entrepreneurship has become a focal point in the business community in both government and non-government agencies and in business education in Bangladesh.

This has led to a greatly accelerated effort among researchers to undertake studies on entrepreneurship and small business growth and development.

Although there has been quite a good number of studies focusing on entrepreneurs’ characteristics, there is still a great deal of mystery about women in business, and queries remain about their entrepreneurial characteristics, motivation, and business success.

An exploratory study, therefore, is planned to be conducted with the sole objective of identifying the motivation of women entrepreneurs for business and assessing their entrepreneurial skills.

Types of Exploratory Research Methods

Secondary data analysis, experience survey, pilot study, focus group discussion.

The exploratory study offers an opportunity to obtain insights into the problem in major ways:

Analyzing any existing documents or studies. This is secondary data analysis;
Sharing experiences with knowledgeable individuals. This is an experience survey;
Investigating the situations informally. This falls under a pilot study;
Conducting a case study. The case may be an individual or a group of individuals;
Designing a focus group.

Electronic data processing dates back to about 50 years, and the large-scale collection and analysis of social science data are not much older.

The most emerging barrier now is the cost of data collection for any scientific study. In recent years, the data processing cost has considerably decreased owing to the availability of increased facilities. This is seriously limiting the research endeavor of the students and professionals.

More and more researchers, however, are overcoming this cost obstacle by engaging in secondary analysis-building research projects around re-analyzing data originally collected by someone else for another purpose.

Secondary data, sometimes also called historical data, are data previously collected and assembled for some project other than one at hand. Studies based on secondary data do not need access to respondents or subjects.

The process thus enables you to avoid the cost of data collection by producing a new set of findings out of old data.

In recent years, survey data are increasingly likely candidates for secondary analysis because of the volume of such data and because of their availability in an inexpensive and well-organized form.

Scientists of various disciplines and students are taking advantage of this abundant database for their research.

The chief advantage of secondary data analysis is that data for such studies are almost always less expensive to collect than acquiring primary data.

Also, secondary analysis can be completed relatively more quickly since it involves less time in the collection procedure. These data are very often available on soft copies.

Studies based on secondary data can help you to explore and decide what further research needs to be done. It further contributes to enriching your research proposal with specific references and citations.

Analysis of available records may often be the only way to obtain quantitative data about the past.

As more and more survey data accumulate, trend studies comparing responses to similar survey questions asked over many years become more practical and valuable for testing or developing theory.

Secondary analysis can often be the basis for an important pilot study.

Before embarking on an extensive and costly study, researchers may use secondary analysis of past research to assess the soundness of their research design, pretest the plausibility of their hypotheses, and determine the strengths and weaknesses of formerly used indicators and question wordings.

More importantly, a secondary study may be used as the sole basis for a research study since in many research situations, one cannot conduct primary research because of physical, legal, or cost constraints.

The most important limitation of secondary analysis is that the information may not meet your specific needs. The most common problems are;

The data may be outdated;
There may be variations in the operational definition of terms;
The units of measurement may be different;
The research design and sampling design may not be known or may be inappropriate;
There may be no codebook available for re-analyzing the data.

Although the objectives of an exploratory study may be accomplished with both qualitative and quantitative techniques, yet it relies more heavily on qualitative techniques.

When studies based on secondary data become difficult, researchers may well profit by seeking information from persons experienced in the area of study, tapping into their collective memories and experiences.

A survey involving such persons is referred to as an experience survey.

In essence, they are the key informants (KI) with abundant experience in their area, and the interview with them is known as the key informant interview (K1I).

The purpose of surveying such experts and seeking their opinions is to help sharpen the research problems and clarifying concepts rather than develop conclusive evidence. The outcome of an experience survey may result in a new hypothesis, discarding the old one, or may give information about the practicality of doing the study.

Sharing experiences with the experts may indicate whether certain facilities are available or not, what factors need to be controlled, and who is supposed to cooperate in the study.

An experienced survey is usually informal and involves a small number of people who have been carefully selected. The investigating format to be used in the survey should be flexible enough so that we can explore various avenues that emerge during the interview.

A case study is an exploratory social research methodology aimed at intensively investigating one or a few situations identical to the researcher’s problem situations.

Rather than using random samples and following a rigid protocol (strict set of rules) to examine a limited number of variables, case study methods involve an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event: a case.

They provide a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting the results.

As a result, the researcher may gain a sharpened understanding of why the instance happened as it did, and what might become important to look at more extensively in future research.

Case studies lend themselves to both generating and testing hypotheses.

When selecting a case for the case study, researchers often use information-oriented sampling instead of random sampling. This is because the average case is often not the richest in the information.

Extreme or atypical cases reveal more information because they activate more basic mechanisms and more actors in the situation studied.

Since a case study places emphasis on detail, it provides valuable insight for problem-solving, evaluation, and strategy. In the case of studies, researchers are not trying to establish a representative probability sample, and no attempt is made to meet the minimum design requirements.

Despite these limitations, case studies have a significant scientific role.

A single, well-designed case study can provide a major challenge to theory and provide a source of new hypotheses and direction of research.

When discussed in the context of an exploratory study, a pilot study refers to a small-scale research study that uses sampling but does not apply the rigorous standard. A pilot study generates primary data, usually for qualitative analysis.

This feature distinguishes a pilot study from secondary data analysis, which gathers background information. A pilot study is a tentative study using relatively unstructured interviews of a handful of respondents or subjects who are similar to those who will be the target of the later survey.

A pilot study is often compared to a theatrical dress rehearsal before a final theatre is staged. These studies are intended to allow the researchers to try out various possibilities before deciding which ones to adopt.

A pilot study nearly always results in a considerable improvement to the survey documents leading to a general increase in the efficiency of the research design.

Such studies can often stimulate new lines of inquiry, prompted by the researchers or unsolicited responses of the respondents or subjects.

They can also suggest new types of data that should be collected, point out and resolve ambiguities in the way that questions are being asked indicate modifications needed in the order of topic covered and help to eliminate fruitless lines of inquiry.

A well- planned pilot study offers an opportunity to the researchers based on its results, as to whether the main study is still worth to carry out or not. Any investigator, who contemplates an exclusive survey, should conduct the pilot study as an opportunity to discover and correct mistakes before they become serious and incurable.

A focus group discussion (FGD) is a way of reducing the amount of time and personnel required for conducting and analyzing in-depth study and yet getting detailed qualitative information by interviewing a panel of a relatively large number of respondents.

The focus group interview has become so popular that many researchers now consider it to be the only exploratory research tool.

Typically, the panel is made up of 6 to 10 respondents.

The panel is led by a trained moderator or facilitator who meets for 90 minutes to 2 hours at a designated time. The moderator uses group dynamics principles to focus or guide the group in an exchange of ideas, feelings, and experiences on a single topic.

The moderator introduces the topic using a general discussion guide and encourages the group members to discuss the subjects.

In ideal situations, the group discussion will proceed uninterrupted.

Depending on the subject matter of discussion, forming separate groups for different population subsets is often rewarding. This type of homogeneous grouping tends to promote more intense and freer discussions.

It may also be conducted by telephone as an alternative to the face-to-face focus group discussion. This is particularly effective when;

It is difficult to reach the target group, particularly when the group members represent experts, professionals, high-level executives, etc.
When the target group members are rarely found, and
When the group members are so sensitive that anonymity is warranted.

The primary advantage of the focus group interview as an exploratory research tool is its relative flexibility and its ability to quickly and inexpensively understand the core issue of the topic, especially when compared with the rigidity of a formal study.

However, because they are qualitative devices with limitations of sampling accuracy, results from focus group discussions should not be considered a replacement for quantitative analyses.

Exploratory research is conducted when little is known about a situation or problem. Its main purpose is to diagnose problems, search for alternatives, discover new ideas, sharpen concepts, and improve the final research design.

How does exploratory research assist in the research process?

Exploratory research helps in narrowing down the scope of the research topic, transforming undefined problems into defined ones, and determining the major dimensions of the research. It can lead to the decision of whether to proceed with a larger study or abandon a research project at an early stage.

What are the main methods utilized in exploratory research?

The primary methods in exploratory research include secondary data analysis, experience surveys, pilot studies, case studies, and focus group discussions.

What is the role of a case study in exploratory research?

A case study offers an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a specific instance or event. It provides a systematic way to observe events, gather and analyze data, and report results, leading to insights for problem-solving, evaluation, and strategy formulation .

How does a focus group discussion function in exploratory research?

A focus group discussion involves interviewing a panel of 6 to 10 respondents to gain detailed qualitative insights. Led by a trained moderator, the group discusses a single topic, sharing ideas, feelings, and experiences. It’s a flexible method that quickly provides core insights into a topic.

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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

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As you can see, there is much to think about and many decisions to be made as you begin to define your research question and your research project. Something else you will need to consider in the early stages is whether your research will be exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory. Each of these types of research has a different aim or purpose, consequently, how you design your research project will be determined in part by this decision. In the following paragraphs we will look at these three types of research.

Exploratory research

Researchers conducting exploratory research are typically at the early stages of examining their topics. These sorts of projects are usually conducted when a researcher wants to test the feasibility of conducting a more extensive study; he or she wants to figure out the lay of the land with respect to the particular topic. Perhaps very little prior research has been conducted on this subject. If this is the case, a researcher may wish to do some exploratory work to learn what method to use in collecting data, how best to approach research participants, or even what sorts of questions are reasonable to ask. A researcher wanting to simply satisfy his or her own curiosity about a topic could also conduct exploratory research. Conducting exploratory research on a topic is often a necessary first step, both to satisfy researcher curiosity about the subject and to better understand the phenomenon and the research participants in order to design a larger, subsequent study. See Table 2.1 for examples.

Descriptive research

Sometimes the goal of research is to describe or define a particular phenomenon. In this case, descriptive research would be an appropriate strategy. A descriptive may, for example, aim to describe a pattern. For example, researchers often collect information to describe something for the benefit of the general public. Market researchers rely on descriptive research to tell them what consumers think of their products. In fact, descriptive research has many useful applications, and you probably rely on findings from descriptive research without even being aware that that is what you are doing. See Table 3.1 for examples.

Explanatory research

The third type of research, explanatory research, seeks to answer “why” questions. In this case, the researcher is trying to identify the causes and effects of whatever phenomenon is being studied. An explanatory study of college students’ addictions to their electronic gadgets, for example, might aim to understand why students become addicted. Does it have anything to do with their family histories? Does it have anything to do with their other extracurricular hobbies and activities? Does it have anything to do with the people with whom they spend their time? An explanatory study could answer these kinds of questions. See Table 3.1 for examples.

Table 3.1 Exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research differences (Adapted from Adjei, n.d.).

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Exploratory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Exploratory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Published on 6 May 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on 20 January 2023.

Exploratory research is a methodology approach that investigates topics and research questions that have not previously been studied in depth.

Exploratory research is often qualitative 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 grounded theory approach due to its flexible and open-ended nature.

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

Exploratory research is often used when the issue you’re studying is new or when the data collection process is challenging for some reason.

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.

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Here are some examples:

What effect does using a digital notebook have on the attention span of primary schoolers?
What factors influence mental health in undergraduates?
What outcomes are associated with an authoritative parenting style?
In what ways does the presence of a non-native accent affect intelligibility?
How can the use of a grocery delivery service reduce food waste in single-person households?

Collecting information on a previously unexplored topic can be challenging. Exploratory research can help you narrow down your topic and formulate a clear hypothesis , as well as giving you the ‘lay of the land’ on your topic.

Data collection using exploratory research is often divided into primary and secondary research methods, with data analysis following the same model.

Primary research

In primary research, your data is collected directly from primary sources : your participants. There is a variety of ways to collect primary data.

Some examples include:

Survey methodology: Sending a survey out to the student body asking them if they would eat vegan meals
Focus groups: Compiling groups of 8–10 students and discussing what they think of vegan options for dining hall food
Interviews: Interviewing students entering and exiting the dining hall, asking if they would eat vegan meals

Secondary research

In secondary research, your data is collected from preexisting primary research, such as experiments or surveys.

Some other examples include:

Case studies : Health of an all-vegan diet
Literature reviews : Preexisting research about students’ eating habits and how they have changed over time
Online polls, surveys, blog posts, or interviews; social media: Have other universities done something similar?

For some subjects, it’s possible to use large- n government data, such as the decennial census or yearly American Community Survey (ACS) open-source data.

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.

We’ll walk you through the steps using the following example.

Therefore, you would like to focus on improving intelligibility instead of reducing the learner’s accent.

Step 1: Identify your problem

Step 2: Hypothesise a solution

The next step is to come up with a solution to the problem you’re investigating. Formulate a hypothetical statement to guide your research.

Step 3. Design your methodology

Next, conceptualise your data collection and data analysis methods and write them up in a research design.

Step 4: Collect and analyse data

Next, you proceed with collecting and analysing your data so you can determine whether your preliminary results are in line with your hypothesis.

Step 5: Avenues for future research

Exploratory research investigates research questions that have not been studied in depth. The preliminary results often lay the groundwork for future analysis.

Explanatory research questions tend to start with ‘why’ or ‘how’, and the goal is to explain why or how a previously studied phenomenon takes place.

Like any other research design , exploratory research has its trade-offs: it provides a unique set of benefits but also comes with downsides.

It can be very helpful in narrowing down a challenging or nebulous problem that has not been previously studied.
It can serve as a great guide for future research, whether your own or another researcher’s. With new and challenging research problems, adding to the body of research in the early stages can be very fulfilling.
It is very flexible, cost-effective, and open-ended. You are free to proceed however you think is best.

Disadvantages

It usually lacks conclusive results, and results can be biased or subjective due to a lack of preexisting knowledge on your topic.
It’s typically not externally valid and generalisable, and it suffers from many of the challenges of qualitative research .
Since you are not operating within an existing research paradigm, this type of research can be very labour-intensive.

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.

Exploratory research explores the main aspects of a new or barely researched question.

Explanatory research explains the causes and effects of an already widely researched question.

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

Quantitative methods allow you to test a hypothesis by systematically collecting and analysing data, while qualitative methods allow you to explore ideas and experiences in depth.

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Exploratory Research – Guide, Definition & Examples

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Exploratory research deals with undiscovered or unfamiliar issues, frequently making up the foundation for further structured research. Within research methodology , it can be identified by its open-ended and flexible approach with the goal to explore new horizons, create ideas, or bringing clarity to debatable topics. Exploratory research does not test hypotheses but rather asks questions and collects first data, where further valuable and more in-depth investigations can be conducted.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Exploratory Research – In a Nutshell
2 Definition: Exploratory research
3 The usage of exploratory research
4 Exploratory research questions
5 Exploratory research data collection
6 The five steps of exploratory research with examples
7 Exploratory vs. explanatory research
8 Advantages vs. disadvantages

Exploratory Research – In a Nutshell

Exploratory research investigates issues that don’t have thorough studies yet.
It provides an onset of an existing problem to explore further.
It is usually structured as qualitative research and refers to a primary source.

Definition: Exploratory research

Exploratory research is a study methodology that explores an issue that has not been extensively studied in the past or a new topic or subject. It explores specific elements of an existing phenomenon and gets more insight into it.

Your university library is considering adding an alternative medicine section to it. However, the institution is hesitant because of concerns that the decision may cause backlash from students, which may lead to unrest in the school. Therefore, the plan will only proceed if there is concrete proof that the reception from the students will be positive.

The usage of exploratory research

This method is often applied when the study issue is novel or when the data collection process for the study issue is challenging. You can also use this method if you have a general notion about a subject or a specific question that you would like to explore, but there is no existing knowledge with which to explore it.

Exploratory research questions

Academic studies usually begin with research questions. These questions are usually constructed to assist you to understand more about a particular subject. Therefore, they help you put together notions to master the footing of your investigation without adding any predetermined philosophies or assumptions.

What elements influence drug use in university students?
What effect does using digital learning tools have on the attention span of undergraduates?
What outcomes are connected with the gentle parenting style?

Exploratory research data collection

Data collection in this form of research is challenging because it involves working with a previously unexplored subject. However, exploratory research allows you to narrow down your subject of interest and come up with a distinct premise and problem statement.

You can use primary and secondary research questions to gather data. Primary research collects data directly from primary sources. Some examples of these sources are:

Focus groups

On the other hand, secondary research collects data from existing materials. Examples of secondary research data collection techniques are:

Case studies
Literature review
Online polls

The five steps of exploratory research with examples

The way you conduct this research usually depends on your chosen data collection method. However, this research features five standard steps.

You teach English to non-native speakers. Your current oral proficiency technique focuses on reducing your student’s foreign accent. However, you suspect that a foreign accent does not affect intelligibility. So, you want to shift your attention to increasing intelligibility. Nevertheless, there is no pre-existing research on the link between accent and intelligibility. Therefore, you decide to develop an exploratory research design to explore this issue.

Step 1 of exploratory research: Problem identification

The first step is narrowing down the problem and determining if using an exploratory study is an ideal course of action.

You notice that there is no difference in intelligibility between individuals that speak English with a foreign accent and those with a native accent. Also, you realize that trying to eliminate a student’s accent is not suitable because it is part of their identity. Unfortunately, all current teaching approaches focus on accent reduction.

Step 2 of exploratory research: Hypothesize a solution

The next step is establishing a solution to the challenge you are investigating. This involves articulating a hypothetical statement that will guide your study.

You anticipate that foreign English students would benefit from focusing on promoting intelligibility instead of reducing their accent. You think that it would be wiser to have an oral proficiency technique that echoes this.

Step 3 of exploratory research: Methodology design

This is where you conceptualize your data collection and analysis techniques and use them to develop a research design.

You choose to conduct formal interviews with other English teachers. You design interview questions that focus on issues to do with training oral proficiency. You ensure that the questions focus on the link between accent and intelligibility.

Step 4 of exploratory research: Data collection and analysis

Now you collect and analyze your data from the third step. Next, you can decide if your pilot results support your hypothesis. This research technique allows you to change your hypothesis depending on your findings.

Because of the interview analysis, you conclude that other teachers have similar thoughts as your hypothesis.

Step 5 of exploratory research: Avenues for future research

At this stage, you can determine if you would like to pursue the topic further. If you choose to do so, you will need to switch to another research design, like quantitative research with a larger sample size. Note that exploratory research does not usually give conclusive or generalizable results.

Your pilot outcomes prove your expectations to be right. However, you decide to pursue the study further with a more extensive study. So, you choose an experiment where subjects listen to audio samples of non-English speakers with foreign accents in different degrees. Ask the subjects to note mistakes in the transcript and use the data to determine if your hypothesis is correct.

Exploratory vs. explanatory research

Exploratory research explores research questions that have not been studied extensively in the past. The preliminary outcomes form the foundation for future explorations of the subject. In contrast, explanatory research questions focus on the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’.

Advantages vs. disadvantages

Here are the pros and cons of exploratory research:

What is the main purpose of explanatory research?

This form of research seeks to explore a topic that has not been previously studied in-depth. Its results form the foundation for further studies.

What is the value of exploratory research?

It is easy to conduct and gives more insight into an unexplored issue. It guides further studies on the subject.

What is exploratory research?

Exploratory research is a study methodology that explores an issue that has not been extensively studied in the past or a new topic or subject.

How is exploratory research conducted?

It features five steps: problem identification, hypothesizing, research design, data collection and analysis, and further research.

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Chapter 3: Developing a Research Question

3.2 Exploration, Description, Explanation

Exploratory research

Descriptive research

Explanatory research

Table 3.1 Exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research differences (Adapted from Adjei, n.d.).

Research Methods for the Social Sciences: An Introduction Copyright © 2020 by Valerie Sheppard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Citation & referencing
Structure and sections
APA examples overview
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Qualitative vs. Quantitative
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Types of research studies
Types of variables
MLA style overview
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MLA citation & referencing
MLA structure & sections
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Plagiarism checker
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Types of research bias
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Research topic
Statistics overview
Levels of measurment
Measures of central tendency
Measures of variability
Hypothesis testing
Parameters & test statistics
Types of distributions
Correlation
Effect size
Hypothesis testing assumptions
Types of ANOVAs
Types of chi-square
Statistical data
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Exploratory Research – Guide, Definition & Examples

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Exploratory Research – In a Nutshell
2 Definition: Exploratory research
3 The usage of exploratory research
4 Exploratory research questions
5 Exploratory research data collection
6 The five steps of exploratory research with examples
7 Exploratory vs. explanatory research
8 Advantages vs. disadvantages

Exploratory Research – In a Nutshell

Exploratory research investigates issues that don’t have thorough studies yet.
It provides an onset of an existing problem to explore further.
It is usually structured as qualitative research and refers to a primary source.

Definition: Exploratory research

The usage of exploratory research

Exploratory research questions

What elements influence drug use in university students?
What effect does using digital learning tools have on the attention span of undergraduates?
What outcomes are connected with the gentle parenting style?

Exploratory research data collection

You can use primary and secondary research questions to gather data. Primary research collects data directly from primary sources. Some examples of these sources are:

Focus groups

On the other hand, secondary research collects data from existing materials. Examples of secondary research data collection techniques are:

Case studies
Literature review
Online polls

The five steps of exploratory research with examples

The way you conduct this research usually depends on your chosen data collection method. However, this research features five standard steps.

Step 1 of exploratory research: Problem identification

The first step is narrowing down the problem and determining if using an exploratory study is an ideal course of action.

Step 2 of exploratory research: Hypothesize a solution

The next step is establishing a solution to the challenge you are investigating. This involves articulating a hypothetical statement that will guide your study.

Step 3 of exploratory research: Methodology design

This is where you conceptualize your data collection and analysis techniques and use them to develop a research design.

Step 4 of exploratory research: Data collection and analysis

Because of the interview analysis, you conclude that other teachers have similar thoughts as your hypothesis.

Step 5 of exploratory research: Avenues for future research

Exploratory vs. explanatory research

Advantages vs. disadvantages

Here are the pros and cons of exploratory research:

What is the main purpose of explanatory research?

This form of research seeks to explore a topic that has not been previously studied in-depth. Its results form the foundation for further studies.

What is the value of exploratory research?

It is easy to conduct and gives more insight into an unexplored issue. It guides further studies on the subject.

What is exploratory research?

Exploratory research is a study methodology that explores an issue that has not been extensively studied in the past or a new topic or subject.

How is exploratory research conducted?

It features five steps: problem identification, hypothesizing, research design, data collection and analysis, and further research.

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Accept all Save

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Organizing an Exploratory Essay

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This resource will help you with exploratory/inquiry essay assignments.

Exploratory essays are very different from argumentative essays. In fact, an exploratory essay is likely different from any other essay you’ve written. Instead of writing to convince an audience of the validity of a thesis, you will be writing to find out about a problem and perhaps to form some preliminary conclusions about how it might be solved.

But there is another aspect the exploratory genre that is equally important. An exploratory essay is, in essence, a retrospective of your writing and thinking process as you work through a problem. It describes when, how, and why you completed certain types of research. This kind of writing is about how you work through problems that require writing and research. You will have to be introspective and think about your thinking process in order for your essay to turn out well.

Very roughly, then, your exploratory essay may follow this sort of structure:

Introduction

The introduction should outline the problem you explored and why it’s important. In addition, you should briefly discuss 1) some of the problem’s possible causes; 2) the institutions and people involved with the problem; 3) some of the possible solutions to the problem. A brief overview of the types of sources you researched during your inquiry.

Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs should discuss the inquiry process you followed to research your problem. These paragraphs should include the following:

Introduction of source (title, author, type of media, publisher, publication date, etc.) and why you chose to use it in your exploration
Important information you found in the source regarding your problem
Why the information is important and dependable in relation to the problem
Some personal introspection on how the source helped you, allowed you to think differently about the problem, or even fell short of your expectations and led you in a new direction in your research, which forms a transition into your next source.

The conclusion should restate the problem you explored, outline some of its possible causes, review the institutions and people involved, and highlight some possible solutions. If you still have any questions about the problem (and it’s ok to have some), you will discuss them here. Talk about why you think you still have questions regarding the problem you explored, where you might look to answer these questions, and what other forms of research you would have to do.

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v.377; 2022

Special Paper

Exploratory analyses in aetiologic research and considerations for assessment of credibility: mini-review of literature, kim luijken.

1 Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands

Olaf M Dekkers

Frits r rosendaal, rolf h h groenwold.

2 Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands

Associated Data

No additional data available.

To provide considerations for reporting and interpretation that can improve assessment of the credibility of exploratory analyses in aetiologic research.

Mini-review of the literature and account of exploratory research principles.

This study focuses on a particular type of causal research, namely aetiologic studies, which investigate the causal effect of one or multiple risk factors on a particular health outcome or disease. The mini review included aetiologic research articles published in four epidemiology journals in the first issue of 2021: American Journal of Epidemiology , Epidemiology , European Journal of Epidemiology , and International Journal of Epidemiology , specifically focusing on observational studies of causal risk factors of diseases.

Main outcome measures

Number of exposure-outcome associations reported, grouped by type of analysis (main, sensitivity, and additional).

The journal articles reported many exposure-outcome associations: a mean number of 33 (range 1-120) exposure-outcome associations for the primary analysis, 30 (0-336) for sensitivity analyses, and 163 (0-1467) for additional analyses. Six considerations were discussed that are important in assessing the credibility of exploratory analyses: research problem, protocol, statistical criteria, interpretation of findings, completeness of reporting, and effect of exploratory findings on future causal research.

Conclusions

Based on this mini-review, exploratory analyses in aetiologic research were not always reported properly. Six considerations for reporting of exploratory analyses in aetiologic research were provided to stimulate a discussion about their preferred handling and reporting. Researchers should take responsibility for the results of exploratory analyses by clearly reporting their exploratory nature and specifying which findings should be investigated in future research and how.

Introduction

Reports of aetiologic studies often have results of multiple exploratory analyses, with the aim of identifying topics for future research. Although this form of reporting might seem reasonable, it is not without risk, because compared with the results of a confirmatory study, assessing the credibility of exploratory findings is generally more complicated.

The origin of exploratory data analysis can be traced back at least to Tukey in the 1960s and 1970s 1 2 who encouraged statisticians to develop visualisation techniques for representing and capturing structures in datasets to establish new research questions. These new research questions should subsequently be answered with independent datasets (often termed confirmatory analysis). For example, when a new biomarker is thought to be part of a known causal pathway, performing a small preparatory exploratory study before conducting a full blown large cohort study seems worthwhile, because the cohort study is financially expensive and requires large investments of resources. Similarly, if a known exposure-outcome effect is thought to vary across subgroups of the population, exploring this idea first before embarking on confirmative analyses of the effect of heterogeneity seems appropriate.

Even when researchers consider an analysis to be exploratory, a hypothesis is easily promoted to a fact. For example, findings in journal articles can be exaggerated to more certain statements in press releases and news articles. 3 In medical science in particular, where results are sometimes quickly implemented in clinical practice, researchers should take responsibility for the results they report. The Hippocratic oath (“First, do not harm”) applies as well to medical research as it does to clinical practice.

In this paper, we discuss issues that complicate the interpretation of exploratory analyses in causal studies. Causal research can refer to different types of research, such as randomised studies or intervention studies. We do not address these studies in our manuscript; we focus on aetiologic research, in which causes of disease are investigated. Specifically, the causal effect of risk factors on a health outcome or disease are studied, typically in an observational setting. We provide practical pointers for researchers on how to report exploratory analyses in aetiologic research and how to clarify what the exploratory results imply for future research and implementation in practice. We hope to encourage a discussion about the preferred handling and reporting of these analyses.

Exploratory analyses in aetiologic research

The term exploratory analysis typically refers to analyses for which the hypothesis was not specified before the data analysis. 4 Considering exploratory analyses in a broader sense, however, is probably more relevant in aetiologic research, because of the observational data and clustering of analyses within cohorts. We use the term exploratory analyses here to indicate analyses that are initial and preliminary steps towards solving a research problem. Exploratory analyses are often conducted in addition to planned primary analyses of a study. We do not consider sensitivity analyses, where the main hypothesis is evaluated under different assumptions, to be exploratory in this paper. We also do not consider outcomes that are evaluated as a secondary objective but are correlated with the primary outcome to be exploratory, because these analyses contribute to the investigation of the primary research question. Genome-wide association studies, where the exploratory nature of analyses is commonly accounted for by looking at multiple testing, 5 are beyond the scope of this paper.

Mini-review and overview of existing reporting guidance

Before we discuss considerations about the reporting of exploratory aetiologic studies, we wanted to illustrate some of the aspects of exploratory studies that need explicit reporting. Hence we performed a small review of published aetiologic studies. We identified all articles on original research in four journals in their first issue of 2021: American Journal of Epidemiology , Epidemiology , European Journal of Epidemiology , and International Journal of Epidemiology . We excluded studies that did not look at an aetiologic research question, such as prediction studies, studies on therapeutic interventions, and randomised trials. For each article, we counted the number of primary analyses, sensitivity analyses, and additional analyses that were performed. The unit of counting was the association estimator, where we counted only one association if the association was reported on different scales (eg, absolute and relative scales for binary endpoints).

Also, we reviewed existing reporting guidance documents on aspects relevant to exploratory analyses, specifically the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement, 6 RECORD (REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely collected health Data) statement, 7 STROBE-MR (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Using Mendelian Randomisation) for mendelian randomisation studies, 8 STREGA (Strengthening the Reporting of Genetic Association Studies) for genome association studies, 9 and the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials. 10

Patient and public involvement

Involving patients or the public in the design, conduct, reporting, or dissemination plans of our research was not appropriate or possible.

Mini-review

The mini-review included 25 original aetiologic articles. These articles reported a mean number of 33 (range 1-120) exposure-outcome associations for the primary analysis, 30 (0-336) for sensitivity analyses, and 163 (0-1467) for additional analyses, mainly concerning subgroup or interaction analyses (supplementary file). Most articles did not explicitly report which analyses were prespecified, and only one study referred to a publicly available protocol. 11 The methodological scrutiny of the subgroup analyses varied from thoughtful evaluations of exposure effect heterogeneity in well established subgroups to evaluations of exposure effects across subgroups that seemed to have been formed exhaustively across many potential risk factors. Despite the fact that our review included only a small sample of studies, the image that arises from it is that many results were presented, and insufficient information was reported to fully judge the validity and merits of the results.

Existing reporting guidance

The STROBE 6 and RECORD 7 statements provide checklists of items to report in observational studies that are relevant to exploratory analyses ( table 1 ). Extensions of STROBE, such as STROBE-MR 8 and STREGA, 9 provide additional guidance for reporting of studies where many analyses are performed. Guidance for reporting randomised trials also provides helpful information for reporting exploratory analyses in aetiologic research, in particular the CONSORT extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials. 10 Not all of these recommendations can be directly applied to observational aetiologic studies, however, because the procedures for generating and testing of hypotheses are more established in randomised studies than in observational settings.

Considerations for reporting of exploratory aetiologic research

STROBE=Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement; RECORD= REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely collected health Data statement; STROBE-MR= Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Using Mendelian Randomization; STREGA=Strengthening the Reporting of Genetic Association Studies; CONSORT=Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials.

Exploratory research principles

Inspired by the existing recommendations for reporting, we list six considerations for reporting and interpretation that can improve the assessment of the credibility of exploratory analyses in aetiologic research ( table 1 ). The list is not exhaustive but we hope it will encourage further discussion on the reporting of exploratory research.

Consideration 1: explicitly state the objective of all analyses, including exploratory analyses

Stating the objective of an aetiologic study clarifies how to interpret the results. The objectives of confirmatory aetiologic research ideally contain a well defined targeted effect of a specific aetiologic factor on a specific outcome in a specific population. 13 14 In early discovery research, objectives are not always rigorously defined but could be specified more generally (eg, understanding the origin of a particular outcome). An implication of stating the objective in general terms, however, is that the methodological handling of the analysis becomes less clear and the number of researchers’ degrees of freedom becomes large. 15 Consequently, interpreting results without deriving spurious (causal) conclusions requires thought and effort because the analysis does not necessarily provide information towards a causal effect (see consideration 4). 16 17 18 The more general an objective is stated, the more provisional the analysis becomes. This caveat includes machine learning approaches where no explicit causal modelling assumptions are made.

Because exploratory analyses in aetiologic research often aim to inform a future in-depth causal analysis, reporting both the objective of the provisional exploratory analysis and the (future) confirmatory analysis is important. This reporting is in line with the CONSORT reporting checklist for pilot randomised controlled trials which recommends that researchers state the objective of the eventual trial in the manuscript of a pilot study. 10 The rationale and need for the exploratory analysis in aetiologic research should be outlined together with uncertainties that need to be dealt with before performing an independent confirmative analysis of the causal mechanism. Reporting the position of provisional analyses relative to future research clarifies the level of credibility of the findings from exploratory analyses.

Consideration 2: establish a study protocol before data analysis and make the protocol available to readers

Preregistered protocols help distinguish which analyses were planned before observing the data and which analyses were performed post hoc, thereby avoiding hypothesising after the results are known. For randomised trials, preregistration of the study protocol is considered the norm. 19 Preregistration does not seem as widespread in observational aetiologic research, but is increasingly encouraged, 20 21 and explicitly recommended in the RECORD reporting checklist. 7 Because aetiologic research often uses existing cohort data that have been analysed for related research questions, preregistration of aetiologic studies does not ensure the same level of credibility of statistical evidence as preregistration before collecting the data.

Nosek and colleagues 22 have provided preliminary guidance on preregistration of analyses conducted with existing data. These authors suggest that what was known in advance about the dataset should be transparently reported so that the credibility of statistical findings can be assessed, taking into account analyses that have been performed previously. Implementing this advice is probably challenging in large epidemiological cohort studies because of the many analyses that might have been performed. But trying to clarify why and how an analysis is conducted before observing the data is a laudable practice that can be implemented directly in aetiologic studies. This practice is ideally accompanied by work on developing guidance for preregistration of aetiologic studies that use existing data.

Preregistration of analyses that are exploratory in nature is even less common, possibly contradicting the definition of exploration. We consider exploratory analysis, however, as discovery work that serves to motivate funding for larger studies that are, for example, better able to control confounding or to collect data rigorously. Given this important probing role, simply stating in a research protocol that certain relations will be explored is not enough; time and effort must be invested in designing the analysis appropriately. Not every detail can be specified in advance, but interpretation of the results provided by data can be challenging and unintentionally overconfident when no question was clearly articulated before seeing the answer.

Consideration 3: do not base judgments on significance values only

Only reporting the results of analyses that provided a P value below the prespecified α level (eg, 0.05) is discouraged throughout all scientific disciplines (for example, as discussed in a 2019 supplementary issue of The American Statistician ). 23 Avoiding selective reporting based on significance values is particularly relevant to exploratory findings because the statistical properties of exploratory tests are less well known than those of confirmatory tests. 24 For example, the expected number of false positives (that is, the type I error rate) is probably increased when the choice for a statistical test was based on pattens in the observed data. Although procedures have been developed for correction of multiple testing in confirmatory settings, consensus on how to prevent false positive findings in exploratory settings has not yet been established. 24 25 26

Increasing the number of exploratory analyses, without correction for multiple testing, raises the risk of deriving false positive conclusions, but too strict corrections for multiple testing increases the probability of false negative findings (that is, the type II error rate). 27 A raised type II error rate could occur, for example, when an analysis of various positively correlated hypotheses is corrected for multiple testing as if all of the hypotheses were independent (eg, by applying a Bonferroni correction). The decision to statistically correct for multiple testing depends, among other issues, on the total number of tests performed in the same dataset, correlation between the hypotheses being tested, and sample size. Reporting each of these considerations clarifies the analytical context of findings and helps to assess the credibility of the results. This form of reporting is in line with the STROBE-MR 8 and STREGA 9 checklists which recommend stating how multiple comparisons were managed, although recommendations for the handling of multiple testing seem more established in genome-wide association studies than in clinical aetiologic cohort studies. 5

Consideration 4: interpret findings in line with the nature of the analysis

Interpreting and communicating results in line with the exploratory nature of an analysis is challenging because an accurate representation of the degree of tentativeness of the results is required. Assessing this degree of tentativeness based on only the results of an analysis (that is, based on the numerical estimates) is complicated because seemingly convincing results can be misleading and a clinical explanation can be found that does not follow from the statistical evidence. 28 29 Cognitive biases, such as hindsight bias, can distort the interpretation of findings.

Reporting of findings from exploratory analyses starts with indicating whether the analysis was planned before or after observing the data, which is recommended in the CONSORT extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials. 10 Results of exploratory analyses can be interpreted by focusing on what is reported about the objectives and applied methodology rather than overstepping the findings. The specificity with which findings are interpreted should match the generality with which the objective is stated (see consideration 1). 16 17 18 For example, when various subgroup analyses are performed with the general aim of identifying possible subgroups from the available data where an exposure effect was different, researchers should report that many subgroups were explored, including characterisation of the subgroups and description of the presence or absence of effect heterogeneity, rather than discussing only one or two specific subgroups where the effect size was extreme. Furthermore, exploratory analyses often fail to support strong conclusions. Recommendations for clinical practice or generalisations based on exploratory analyses should generally be avoided.

Consideration 5: report (summarised) results of all exploratory analyses that were performed

When findings are selectively reported, especially when reporting is guided by significant findings (see consideration 3), the credibility of reported findings is probably overstated. 30 Reporting the results of all of the exploratory analyses that were conducted (possibly in a supplementary file) provides a transparent and honest report of the analysis and facilitates better interpretation of the findings. This approach is in line with the STROBE extension in STREGA, which recommends that all results of analyses should be presented, even if numerous analyses were undertaken. 9

Reporting all analyses that have been conducted seems simple, but can be challenging in practice, mainly because the process of performing a study is typically iterative. A framework for initial data analysis by Huebner and colleagues could help keep track of all subanalyses that are conducted as part of a main analysis. 31 This framework distinguishes exploratory analyses that are part of a primary analysis from additional exploratory analyses that require separate reporting. Another helpful practice could be to have a reflection period after performing analyses to establish whether the analyses look at (slightly) different research questions and to report separate analyses for each research question.

Consideration 6: accompany exploratory analyses by a proposed research agenda

The credibility of exploratory findings can be communicated through a research agenda prioritising future research and how this research should be set up. Reporting a research agenda is similar to the CONSORT extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials that recommends reporting which and how future confirmative trials can be informed by the pilot study. 10

Formulating a research agenda allows researchers to take responsibility for the exploratory findings presented and future research that should be performed, avoiding the empty statement that “more research is needed”. In medical science in particular, where study results are sometimes quickly implemented into clinical practice, researchers are encouraged to take responsibility for the results they report by clearly explaining which exploratory findings should be investigated in future research and how.

Our mini-review showed that exploratory analyses in aetiologic research were not always reported optimally. The credibility of exploratory results is affected by a combination of the theoretical rationale for the analysis, clarity of the defined research problem, applied methodology, and degree to which analytical decisions are driven by the data. Choosing a particular analysis based on observed patterns in the data complicates statistical inferences. Moreover, the design and methods applied in an exploratory analysis might be less optimal than the primary analysis of the study, which further complicates interpretation of exploratory analyses. Therefore, information on these aspects should be clearly reported.

Exploration is essential to the progress of science. Strict confirmatory studies are a powerful mechanism for final evaluations before implementation in clinical practice, but will probably not stimulate new ideas. 32 33 Open minded exploratory analyses can lead to unexpected discoveries and resourceful innovations of epidemiological science, but effort is required to accurately interpret the results. Because exploratory analyses are usually done to generate new research questions, quickly performing a statistical test (or multiple tests) to get the first answer to the problem is tempting. When quick test results are presented in a research article, however, their interpretation might be ad hoc and unintentionally overconfident.

To show their full value, exploratory analyses of aetiologic research need to be conducted and interpreted correctly . We have provided six considerations for reporting of exploratory analyses to encourage a discussion on exploratory analyses and how the credibility of these analyses is ideally assessed in aetiologic research. Continuation of this discussion will contribute to the understanding of inferences that can be made from exploratory analyses in aetiologic research and will help strike a balance between their opportunities and risks.

What is already known on this topic

Exploratory analyses in aetiologic research are initial steps towards solving a research problem and are often conducted in addition to planned primary analyses of a study
Exploratory analyses might lead to new discoveries in aetiologic research, but effort is needed to accurately interpret the results because these analyses are often conducted with few data resources and insufficient adjusting for confounding
Statistical properties of exploratory tests are less well known than those of confirmatory tests

What this study adds

This study focuses on a particular type of causal research, namely aetiologic studies, which investigate the causal effect of one or multiple risk factors on a particular health outcome or disease
Six considerations for reporting of exploratory analyses in aetiologic research were provided to stimulate a discussion about their preferred handling and reporting
Researchers should take responsibility for results of exploratory analyses by clearly reporting their exploratory nature and specifying which findings should be investigated in future research and how

Web extra.

Extra material supplied by authors

Web appendix: Supplementary file

Contributors: KL was involved in the conceptualisation, investigation, methodology, visualisation, and writing (original draft) of the article. OMD was involved in the conceptualisation, investigation, methodology, and writing (review and editing) of the article. FRR was involved in the conceptualisation, investigation, methodology, and writing (review and editing) of the article. RHHG was involved in the conceptualisation, investigation, methodology, supervision, and writing (review and editing) of the article. KL, OMD, FRR, RHHG gave final approval of the version to be published and are accountable for all aspects of the work. KL is the main guarantor of this study. The corresponding author attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.

Funding: RHHG was supported by grants from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (ZonMW, project 917.16.430) and from Leiden University Medical Centre. The funders had no role in considering the study design or in the collection, analysis, interpretation of data, writing of the report, or decision to submit the article for publication.

Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: support from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and Leiden University Medical Centre for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

The lead author (the manuscript’s guarantor) affirms that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained.

Dissemination to participants and related patient and public communities: An abstract was submitted to the annual Dutch epidemiology conference ( www.weon.nl ). The authors aim to share their work with stakeholders at the annual Dutch epidemiology conference ( www.weon.nl ), at institutional meetings, and will post a link with a plain language summary on their personal websites ( www.rolfgroenwold.nl ).

Provenance and peer review: not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Ethics statements

Ethical approval.

Not required.

Data availability statement

Open access
Published: 19 December 2023

Pre-migratory flights in migrant songbirds: the ecological and evolutionary importance of understudied exploratory movements

Zephyr Züst 1 ,
Andrey Mukhin 2 ,
Philip D. Taylor 3 &
Heiko Schmaljohann 1

Movement Ecology volume 11 , Article number: 78 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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Across the animal kingdom, from honeybees to cranes to beavers, exploratory movements to exploit resources, scout prospective territories, or otherwise gain valuable experiences and information that promote fitness have been documented. For example, exploratory movements to investigate potential dispersal targets have been observed in roe deer, Northern cardinals, and tigers alike. However, despite how widespread these movements are, a cohesive definition of exploratory movements has been lacking. We first provide a clear definition of exploratory movements, and use one particular group—migratory songbirds—to catalogue exploratory movements across the annual cycle. The exceptional mobility of migratory songbirds results in exploratory movements not only at a local scale, but also on a regional scale, both in and out of the breeding season. We review the extent to which these movements are made within this group, paying particular attention to how such movements confer fitness benefits, as by securing high-quality territories, prospecting for extra-pair paternity, or even exploiting ephemeral resources. We then zoom in one step further to a particular exploratory movement that has been, to date, almost completely overlooked within this group: that of pre-migratory flights. These flights, which occur during the transitional period between the stationary breeding period and the onset of migration, occur at night and may not be made by all individuals in a population—reasons why these flights have been heretofore critically understudied. We provide the first definition for this behaviour, summarise the current knowledge of this cryptic movement, and hypothesise what evolutionary/ecological advantages conducting it may confer to the individuals that undertake it. As these flights provide experience to the individuals that undertake them, we expect that birds that make pre-migratory flights are better equipped to survive migration (direct fitness benefits) and, due to orientation/navigation abilities, may also reach preferred territories on breeding and wintering grounds faster (indirect fitness benefits). We hope to encourage ecologists to consider such hidden movements in their research concepts and to enhance the framework of movement ecology by this behaviour due to its presumed high biological importance to the annual cycle of birds.

As animals move through an unfamiliar environment, they inherently expose themselves to unknown threats. The costs of these exploratory movements are outweighed by various gains, such as access to limited resources (food, mates, habitat) or encountering characteristic landscape features that may aid navigation. Thus, despite possible risks associated with exploration of unfamiliar areas, the benefits at least balance the costs.

Notably, exploratory movements have been documented across nearly all vertebrate groups and insects (for insect reviews, see [ 2 – 4 ]). Age, experience, and life stage play a role in when, and to what extent, exploratory movements are made. For example, in mammals, exploratory movements preceding dispersal are widely observed [ 5 – 13 ], and appear to be a precursor to successful dispersal [ 14 ]. Excursions in apparent pursuit of breeding opportunities in mammals have also been recorded [ 15 – 19 ]. Among amphibians, the study of exploration behaviour has been “deeply neglected” [ 20 ], although invasive cane toads Rhinella marina at the front edge of their expanding range show higher levels of exploratory behaviour than those from the core of the range [ 21 ], suggesting a willingness to move in unfamiliar landscapes, likely facilitating their invasion [ 22 ]. When fewer females were present within their territories, male Caucasian rock lizards Darevskia saxicola made more exploratory movements beyond their territory borders [ 23 ]. Even freshwater fish have been documented making periodic exploratory movements outside of their home pools to assess alternative home sites [ 24 ].

Although they may not be universally conducted within the group or even within a given species, exploratory movements in birds have been especially well-documented. To find ephemeral food resources or to locate better feeding conditions when food availability on-territory is scarce, birds make exploratory movements off-territory [ 25 – 28 ]. Juveniles make exploratory movements prior to emancipation or dispersal [ 29 – 31 ], and both subadults and adults make regional exploratory movements to prospect future breeding sites [ 32 – 34 ]. Broadly, exploratory movements have been observed across avian taxa, including cranes [ 35 ], prairie-chickens Tympanuchus spp . [ 36 , 37 ], and songbirds [ 38 – 40 ].

These examples demonstrate the extent to which exploratory movements can occur across the animal kingdom, which underlines this behaviour as a fundamental trait for ecology and evolution. However, despite the clear abundance of cases in which exploratory movements have been observed, we found little consensus on how, exactly, an exploratory movement is defined. (A subcategory is the “exploratory foray,” though this is typically limited to individuals with a defined territory, as summarised in [ 41 ]). Often, an exploratory movement is termed as such, without any explanation of what criteria were used for this designation. Exploratory movement has been defined as:

movement outside an individual’s home range [ 14 ], wherein individuals return to or near to that home range [ 42 – 45 ],

movement synonymous with prospecting, in which individuals assess habitat that they may later use as breeding territories [ 46 , 47 ],and

movement that serves as a prelude to dispersal [ 8 , 48 , 49 ], though sometimes, the term “exploratory movement” is used synonymously with “dispersal movement” [ 50 ].

These definitions are insufficient to capture all movements that are exploratory in nature, especially as we think exploratory movements may occur during life stages even when an individual is not defending a territory, or may not serve purely to gain one’s own territory, as for individuals on migration (e.g., [ 51 ]).

Our first objective was to provide a general definition of exploratory movements. In order to be able to characterise, research, quantify, and compare exploratory movements between studies, species, populations and individuals, a cohesive definition is required. Applying this definition, we review the ecological and evolutionary importance of exploratory movements within the annual cycle in order to highlight the biological significance of such movements. For this, we focus on migratory songbirds as model organisms. In this highly motile group, exploratory movements have been documented throughout the annual cycle, making it an ideal system in which to investigate the purpose, drivers, and potential benefits of exploratory movements, especially as they may refer to movements beyond a year-round or breeding range. We then evaluate, characterise, and highlight the understudied transitional period between breeding and autumn migration [ 52 , 53 ]. During this transition phase, rarely recorded exploratory movements—so-called “pre-migratory flights”—occur [ 54 , 55 ]. We review the current knowledge on these flights, highlight their ecological and evolutionary importance, and postulate their significant immediate and delayed fitness benefits. Our review aims to promote research on this particular exploratory movement and stimulate scientific discussion about it within the full annual cycle perspective.

Definition of exploratory movements

We generally define an exploratory movement as a movement with a primary purpose to exploit nearby resources and/or gain information or experience beyond an individual’s current stationary phase, such as natal/breeding area, wintering ground, or stopover site, to increase immediate (e.g., survival, extra-pair copulation) or delayed (e.g., information about favourable nest sites for future breeding season, etc.) fitness benefits. Such movement does not necessarily have to be directed with the primary purpose of relocating, but may happen in any direction and over different time periods. Such a movement may terminate at or near the stationary phase from which it was initiated (e.g., during the breeding season, on an extended stopover), or alternatively may terminate elsewhere if conducted during a transient period (e.g., dispersal), during the transition from a transient to a stationary period (e.g., arrival at breeding grounds, arrival at a stopover site), or vice versa.

Ecological and evolutionary importance of exploratory movements within the annual cycle of migratory songbirds

We expect that exploratory movements occur both in juveniles and in adults throughout the annual cycle. Here we focus on migratory songbirds to capture the ecological and evolutionary importance of such movements. Although exploratory movements often occur unnoticed and thus are broadly understudied, examples of such exploratory movements appear to be reported more often among migratory birds compared to other groups. Within this group, exploratory movements have been observed both in territorial and non-territorial contexts across the annual cycle (Fig. 1 ). However, in contrast to other taxa (such as parrots and non-migratory songbirds), to the best of our knowledge, there are very few studies that focus specifically on exploratory movements for food acquisition within migratory songbirds. We speculate that such movements occur throughout the annual cycle, and surmise that due to their migratory nature, migratory birds may even be able to find and exploit ephemeral food resources faster than their non-migratory counterparts (e.g., [ 56 ]). Without further studies to support this type of exploratory movement, we focus predominantly on exploratory movements in the context of reproduction and territory acquisition below.

Exploratory movements have been observed in migratory songbirds across the annual cycle. These movement types are found in all age classes . For example, on the breeding grounds, a bird may prospect for extra-pair copulations (EPCs) or prospect other territories to evaluate how successful they have been, while on migration, a bird may explore a stopover site to locate food

Exploratory movements on the breeding grounds (adults)

Upon arrival on their breeding grounds, individuals decide where to breed. Experienced birds may occupy a territory successfully held in previous years [ 57 , 58 ] or shift territories based on prior knowledge of higher quality areas [ 59 ] to maintain or increase reproductive success. They may investigate hetero- and conspecifics’ choice of territory and nest site to inform their own decisions about where and how much to invest in a breeding decision [ 60 – 64 ].

One reliable information source on where to settle are social cues of conspecifics, e.g., songs, which indicate favourable breeding habitats. Playback experiments that simulate this type of social information were used by both hatch year and after hatch year birds [ 65 – 67 ]. It was even shown that yellow warblers Setophaga petechia distinguish between “paired” and “unpaired” song types: more birds settled at “paired” plots, using the social cue of pair status as a proxy for habitat quality [ 68 ]. This non-random distribution strongly suggests that exploratory movements through potential breeding habitats inform settlement decisions. This was further demonstrated in nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos [ 69 ]. Males were translocated to a novel habitat and hence lacked any knowledge of prior breeding success. These functionally “naïve” breeders then prospected previously established male territories before establishing their own [ 69 ]. Comparable exploratory movements were observed in females of different species, similarly exploring multiple male territories before settling [ 70 , 71 ], and preferentially choosing the highest-quality male [ 72 ] and/or territory [ 73 ].

As the breeding season proceeds, males and females explore other territories to engage in extra-pair copulations, often covering substantial distances (e.g., [ 74 – 80 ]). Notably, male hooded warblers Setophaga citrina move up to 2.5 km between forest fragments [ 81 ], and eastern kingbirds Tyrannus tyrannus [ 82 ] travel up to 15 km to secure extra-pair copulations. Male black-throated blue warblers Setophaga caerulescens that breed in food-scarce territories seek extra-pair copulations far beyond their immediate spatial neighbourhood, where feeding conditions might be better and may lead to higher offspring survival [ 83 ]. Further extraterritorial exploratory movements throughout the breeding season, e.g., within-season territory shifts to higher-quality areas, and female assessment of neighbouring males before the advent of their fertile period, are reviewed in Whitaker and Warkentin [ 84 ].

Over the course of the breeding season, increasingly more individuals fail to secure a mate or experience nest failure. In these cases, unsuccessful or unpaired individuals may make exploratory forays to gain information about conspecifics’ nesting success, or may explore available habitat to attempt to secure a breeding opportunity elsewhere. For example, subadult female tree swallows adopt a floater strategy and make exploratory movements in active territories, which enable them to quickly identify and exploit an available nest site [ 85 ]. Male ortolan buntings Emberiza hortulana that fail to secure a mate shortly after arrival on their breeding grounds continuously shift to new territories, sometimes moving more than 40 km between patches [ 86 ]. Moreover, birds may make exploratory movements to identify potential territories for future breeding attempts, gleaning social information about where conspecifics have produced nestlings and/or fledges as indicators of territory quality [ 87 ], sometimes more than 30 km away from the own territories [ 88 ]. A spectacular example was found in Kirtland’s warblers Setophaga kirtlandii , in which unpaired males made nocturnal flights to prospect settled territories up to 77 km away, timing their movements to match with the nestling and fledging stages of successful breeders [ 89 ]. Red-backed shrikes Lanius collurio also carried out movements up to 1 h around their summer territories/breeding areas, ostensibly following breeding failure [ 90 ], possibly to do similar prospecting.

Likely due to difficulty in tracking highly mobile individuals or following their movements throughout the course of an entire season or beyond, most studies document only one type of exploratory movement per species. However, multiple different exploratory movements have been characterised within a single species [ 91 ], and is indeed what we expect to observe within migratory songbirds.

In sum, exploratory movements of adults on breeding grounds serve to maximise their fitness by encountering the highest-quality mates and territories, extra-pair partners, and/or by gaining information to determine where to settle. Birds that arrive first to the breeding grounds explore available habitat and select territories with the best amenities [ 92 ], and these early-arriving birds fledge more young on their territories compared to later-arriving birds [ 93 ]. However, both early- and late-arriving birds may still take advantage of exploring other territories to secure extra-pair paternity [ 94 ]. Failed breeders that prospect successful territories have also been shown to return earlier and have higher probabilities of settling on a high-quality territory the subsequent year [ 95 ], thereby somewhat offsetting their unsuccessful attempts.

Exploratory movements during migration

During migration, most birds encounter novel environments. This is especially true for first year long-distance migrants, which often cross completely different ecosystems from the natal sites in which they hatched. Birds may need to adjust to unfamiliar conditions or seek the most favourable site within the novel environment, so unsurprisingly, exploratory movements play an important role during the various stages of migration. After arriving at a stopover site, migrants may leave shortly afterwards in any direction to find a more suitable habitat for the purposes of stopover within the “stopover landscape”, [ 96 – 99 ], see also [ 100 ]. Individuals may make exploratory flights to gain familiarity within a patch, or may move continuously in an exploratory manner throughout the stopover [ 101 , 102 ]. Northern wheatears Oenanthe oenanthe conduct exploratory flights on a stopover site prior to committing to departing, presumably to assess suitability of meteorological conditions aloft for the next migratory bout [ 51 ]. These exploratory movements have direct consequences for birds’ fitness. Should a bird fail to find sufficient resources on stopover to fuel, it may starve. If it takes too long to accumulate energy, it may arrive at its breeding or wintering grounds too late to compete for a high-quality territory, reducing its indirect fitness. Should it depart in poor conditions, it may require more time to complete its migration [ 103 ], further reducing its probability of settling on a high-quality territory. As such, exploratory movements on stopover that serve to find favourable resources [ 102 ] or assess meteorological conditions may have consequences both for an individuals’ immediate fitness (i.e. survival), but also its reproductive potential.

Exploratory movements on the wintering grounds

Whether and to what extent exploratory movements are made on the wintering grounds is currently unknown. Nevertheless, given that exploratory movements occur throughout the rest of migratory songbirds’ annual cycle, we think it plausible that birds also perform such movements on wintering grounds, for example to locate patchily-distributed foods, or—in the case of species that defend territories on their wintering grounds—to prospect high-quality territories. The prevalence of these movements may be age-dependent: for example, all individuals may benefit from scouting for ephemeral food resources, while experienced individuals that already hold high-quality territories may be less likely to prospect territories elsewhere on their wintering grounds.

Exploratory movements on the breeding grounds (juveniles)

Back at the breeding grounds, the annual (cycle) perspective of exploratory movements begins again, but we now focus on juveniles. Although juveniles are inexperienced in terms of breeding, they are not naïve with respect to, e.g., favourable nest sites, and therefore have a reproductive advantage over immigrants to the area lacking the same knowledge [ 104 ]. Hatch-year birds may make exploratory movements as soon as they gain independence, moving diurnally to identify habitat to which to disperse [ 43 , 105 , 106 ], to identify potential future breeding grounds [ 107 – 111 ], and/or to identify local landscape features as signposts/landmarks to facilitate returning in subsequent years [ 108 ]. However, time constraints may limit the availability of this information. Indeed, it has been argued that prospecting for future breeding areas within the active breeding season may be more prevalent in long-distance migrants than short-distance migrants or residents, as they necessarily have less time to initiate migration and therefore less time after the breeding season ends to prospect the area [ 86 ]. This constraint affects both juveniles and adults.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, then, age-related differences in post-breeding movements have been documented in blackpoll warblers Setophaga striata . While the movements of adults in the post-breeding period indicated the commencement of migration, hatch-years instead appear to undertake regional exploratory flights [ 112 ]. Similarly, “pronounced non-directional wandering movements” are also documented in juvenile barn swallows Hirundo rustica [ 113 ] and sand martins Riparia riparia [ 114 ]. These movements occur well after the breeding season has ended, suggesting they serve a purpose beyond assessing potential future territories. It is argued that birds learn navigational cues, e.g., landmarks, signposts, and/or magnetic information, during their local exploratory flights and thus improve their ability to return to the scouted breeding area during the next spring season. The ultimate benefit is that the bird could make use of prior knowledge gained from the exploratory movements performed there, and thus have higher breeding success than they would if in a novel breeding habitat.

Pre-migratory flights

The exploratory movements that occur in the transition from the breeding season to migration are extremely understudied in migratory songbirds. While breeding, most avian migrants are stationary, territorial, have relatively low energy stores, and rest during the night. During migration, long-distance migratory songbird are highly mobile, accumulating energy during the day during stopover, and excessive burning excessive energy during nocturnal migratory flights, while sleeping only very little. When transitioning from the stationary breeding period to the mobile migratory period, significant behavioural and physiological changes occur in preparation for migration [ 52 , 53 ] (Fig. 3 ). These changes are all the more significant for many songbirds that switch from diurnal activity when breeding to nocturnal activity when migrating, and we therefore hypothesise that pre-migratory flights may more broadly occur within this same transitionary period for long-distance, nocturnally migratory songbirds, though the extent to which an individual, or even a given species, performs such movements remains to be seen.

Speculative evidence for this behaviour comes in the form of nocturnal restlessness, which has been described in a number of long-distance migrants (i.e., [ 115 – 117 ]). Such restlessness has been observed prior to the (migratory) period classified as Zugunruhe [ 116 , 118 , 119 ], which may indicate pre-migratory flight behaviour by wild birds held in captivity. Given this background, pre-migratory flights likely have a circadian component, similar to that of Zugunruhe . As these observations were not limited to one species, they also suggest that pre-migratory activity is a common behaviour shown by many nocturnal migrant songbirds before departing on migration. Nevertheless, this pre-Zugunruhe restlessness may not be directly related to pre-migratory flights and the link between the two remains to be elucidated, as to date, no study has shown a clear connection between caged birds’ restlessness and pre-migratory flight behaviour.

Definition of pre-migratory flights

We define pre-migratory flights as nocturnal movements undertaken by a migratory bird during the transitional period between the end of a stationary annual cycle stage and the onset of migration. These flights enable individuals to gain information or experience necessary for migration. In preparation for migration, these birds shift their daily rhythms to nocturnal rhythms and must gain experience with flying at night prior to setting out on migration; we thus speculate these movements are exclusive to nocturnal migrants and must occur at night.

Current knowledge of pre-migratory flights

To date, the only examples of pre-migratory flights were documented on the Courish Spit in Russia within cohorts of juvenile birds; pre-migratory flights in adults of any species have yet to be studied. Mukhin [ 54 ] ringed reed warblers in the nest and subsequently noted their nocturnal post-fledging movements by capturing birds between sunset and sunrise prior to the onset of migration. Twenty-five juveniles between 37 and 50 days of age were caught at night,all were moulting and had low fat scores. Previous work suggests that the youngest age at which juvenile reed warblers initiate migration is approximately 54 days (Mukhin, unpubl. data, [ 120 ]). These juveniles were caught 10 km or more away from their natal sites, and predominantly northeast of their natal sites, making it extremely unlikely these juveniles were migrating. Forty other juveniles in a similar age class (mean age = 43 days) were caught during the day, possibly during post-fledging dispersal movements. Given the clear occurrence of diurnal movements, and that diurnally moving birds were not captured moving nocturnally or vice-versa, nocturnal flights likely served a purpose distinct from diurnal flights.

In a follow-up study, Mukhin et al. [ 55 ] radio-tracked 27 juvenile reed warblers at their natal site and followed their nocturnal movements. Of those, 16 birds tagged before age 40 d made nocturnal flights that consisted of “flying in different directions over the study area and also disappearing from the reception range [1.5 km], with subsequent reappearance […] the same night”. One bird performed a total of nine pre-migratory flights over two weeks prior to leaving the study area, initiating its flights earlier in the night as the season advanced. These pre-migratory flights nicely illustrate the gradual transition from exclusively diurnal to increasingly nocturnal behaviour.

Despite abundant examples of juvenile migrants making large-scale movements away from their natal territories long before onset of autumn migration [ 43 , 44 , 105 , 106 , 121 ], further concrete evidence of true pre-migratory flights is lacking. Typically, observations of juvenile relocation prompts speculation that an individual moved to gain access to better food resources [ 43 , 106 , 122 ], avoid predators [ 123 ], prospect future breeding sites [ 124 ], gain familiarity with landmarks [ 121 ], or even to begin migration. We do not dispute any of these hypotheses, but suggest alternatively interpretations that some relocations may reflect side effect of pre-migratory flights. For example, a juvenile moves a noticeable distance (e.g., 1 km within 24 h), and a researcher assumes that between detections on two days, this individual relocated diurnally. However, this bird instead might have performed a nocturnal pre-migratory flight, terminating close to but not directly at its starting location. Unaware of this nocturnal activity, the researcher may incorrectly interpret the purpose of the movement based on a false assumption of when it occurred. Such scenarios will result in pre-migratory flights going undetected, and may be the reason that, to date, true documentation of pre-migratory flights is sparse.

Hypotheses as to why pre-migratory flights are undertaken

We propose the following hypotheses for pre-migratory flights [ 55 , 112 ], and apply them to our current knowledge of pre-migratory flights. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive and not ordered in terms of importance, and we distinguish them from hypotheses pertaining exclusively to post-fledging movements (i.e., in [ 43 ]) or ones that address larger-scale diurnal movements (i.e., in [ 121 ]).

To practice flying at night

To practice assessing meteorological conditions aloft

To assess orientation cues and practice orientation skills

To create magnetic and/or landscape maps

To practice selecting suitable habitat in darkness

Many long-distance migrant songbirds migrate exclusively during the night [ 125 , 126 ]. As they forage during the day and live a sheltered life during the night, juveniles have no experience of flying at night. We therefore hypothesise that pre-migratory flights offer the function of practicing nocturnal flights before embarking on migration.

Migrant birds also assess environmental conditions in the air and time their migratory flights to coincide with favourable conditions aloft (reviewed in [ 127 – 130 ]. It seems plausible that migration-inexperienced juveniles may have to practice their skills to discriminate between favourable and unfavourable environmental conditions. We therefore suggest practicing assessing meteorological conditions aloft as another hypothesis for pre-migratory flights. There is some correlative evidence supporting this hypothesis, because adult, but not juvenile, migrant songbirds avoided headwinds, rain, and low-visibility conditions when initiating autumn migration from the breeding area [ 131 ]. That juveniles chose to fly in suboptimal and hence more energetically demanding conditions suggests inexperience regarding how to optimally time their flights to favourable environmental conditions [ 131 ] and may explain why juveniles migrate slower with more frequent and longer stopovers than adults [ 132 ]. Although quantitative results are currently lacking, we assume that individuals, especially juveniles, practice flying at night prior to the onset of migration and start improving their skills to better assess when favourable meteorological conditions occur. Moreover, we expect that these skills improve over time in juveniles and eventually match those of experienced birds, though we cannot ignore the effect of selective disappearance [ 133 ]. Notably, migrants also perform nocturnal exploratory flights at a stopover site during migration hours to days prior to departure [ 51 ], perhaps to assess meteorological conditions before deciding whether to depart [ 127 ]. Such a flight may also be conducted during the pre-migratory phase, enabling individuals to learn under what conditions movement is optimised. In order to know whether conditions are favourable or unfavourable, a bird requires experience flying in both, which could be explored during pre-migratory flights. However, if a bird either opts not to fly in inclement weather or such weather is not experienced, it may still gain this experience later, while already on migration, and would presumably adjust its tactics after having gained this knowledge.

To arrive at the wintering grounds, naïve juveniles follow a genetically encoded migration program, which tells birds how long [ 134 ] and in which direction [ 135 ] to migrate, cf. clock-and-compass orientation [ 116 , 136 ]. Celestial (stars, sun, skylight polarization pattern) and magnetic (the Earth’s magnetic field) compass cues provide directional information [ 137 , 138 ]. Although the magnetic compass is innate, the celestial compass needs to be learned. Juveniles do so during ontogeny, probably within about 15–35 days after fledging [ 139 – 141 ]. This overlaps with the period when juveniles have been observed performing pre-migratory flights [ 54 , 55 ]. Although nocturnal flights are not mandatory to calibrate the magnetic compass relative to the star pattern [ 139 ], it would be favourable for juveniles to practice and assess the different compass courses in free-flight and to familiarize themselves with their orientation skills in a known environment before having to rely on those in a novel environment. Nocturnal flights therefore allow for both the development of the compass systems, and the opportunity to practice orienting using these.

During their first southbound migration, juvenile songbirds are expected to establish magnetic and landscape maps [ 137 ], which they use for true navigation during subsequent migrations to find their migratory destination again even if displaced during migration, e.g., [ 142 – 144 ], but see [ 145 ]. It is reasonable to assume that juveniles gain experience with the magnetic and landscape features of their natal area prior to leaving it in order to be able return to it in subsequent years, and that they do so at least partly via nocturnal flights. As nocturnal migrants, they therefore must recognize these cues at night. Gaining familiarity with a landscape, and the subsequent formation of a migratory target, has been posited as a primary reason for exploratory movements made by juveniles in reed warblers [ 54 , 55 ], blackpoll warblers [ 112 , 121 , 146 ], hermit thrushes Catharus guttatus [ 1 ], and “Ipswich” savannah sparrows Passerculus sandwichensis princeps [ 111 ]. Likewise, birds “imprint” on their natal site, e.g. on magnetic inclination [ 147 ]. Experimental work with collared flycatchers, pied flycatchers Ficedula hypocleuca , and juvenile chaffinches Fringilla coelebs suggests that when deprived of the ability to explore around the natal area prior to being released at the onset of migration, individuals fail to return in subsequent years [ 148 – 150 ]. Although these studies do not elucidate whether exploration would have occurred in the day or night, it seems probable that exploratory movements at the natal site function to generate or gather cues essential to return in subsequent years.

As many long-distance migratory songbirds migrate exclusively at night [ 125 ], they must identify suitable habitats in which to rest, recover, and fuel in between migratory endurance flights prior to sunrise (for a review of habitat selection by nocturnal migrants while on migration, see [ 151 ]). In the course of performing exploratory flights around their natal area, birds familiarise themselves with typical cues, as perceived while aloft at night, of favourable habitats (e.g., the currently used site) and novel habitats, which might be less favourable. In doing so, they could gain experience selecting their preferred habitat based on those cues. If migrants assess both favourable and unfavourable feeding habitats prior to beginning migration during pre-migratory flights, this likely improves an individual’s ability to select stopover sites between migratory flights, and therefore increases migration success. For example, habitat cover determines how much body mass can be gained in migrants [ 152 ], and as such, the cost of an individual being unable to identify adequate stopover habitat before landing may be the inability to effectively fuel, which in turn prolongs the time until sufficient fuel stores are accumulated for the next migratory flight. Indeed, nocturnal migrants appear to use habitat cover (e.g., extent of hardwood forest), as an indicator of habitat quality which directly informs the decision to end a migratory flight during the night [ 153 ]. As migrants use stopovers to maximise their direct or indirect fitness [ 154 ], the quality of the habitat they choose at which to stop over is critical, and the ability to select such habitat at night is therefore paramount.

Addressing movements that may be mistakenly identified as pre-migratory flights (“false positives”)

If the flight that would initiate autumn migration is aborted, it may be erroneously classified as a pre-migratory flight. However, as flights that begin or resume migration usually occur shortly after sunset in nocturnal migrants [ 126 , 155 ], most flights that are initiated later in the night are unlikely to be departure events. Similarly, nocturnal flights to escape a predator or in response to human-caused disturbances, such as fireworks [ 156 ] and helicopters [ 157 ], could potentially be misinterpreted as pre-migratory flights. Nevertheless, given clear evidence of birds performing nocturnal flights absent such disturbances [ 55 ] and prior to reaching a migratory state [ 54 ], it is plausible that most pre-migratory, nocturnal movements are indeed pre-migratory flights.

Extent of pre-migratory flights

Although we expect these hypotheses to operate in tandem, we argue that the extent and duration to fulfil the specific functions of a pre-migratory flight differ (Table 1 ). We expect that flights that serve to assess conditions and make first forays into nocturnal activity are relatively short, as too would flights made in response to a perceived threat be, e.g. on the scale of minutes. Flights whose purpose is to create maps and practice orientation are likely longer, perhaps on the scale of hours, and must occur on a much larger scale, e.g. several kilometres (Fig. 2 ). For habitat selection, the extent to which surrounding habitat is contiguous must play a role in how far a bird must fly to be able to distinguish between favourable and unfavourable places to land. It remains speculative whether birds necessarily return to the initial point of departure or land elsewhere in the broader natal/breeding area (Figs. 2 and 3 ). For one, depending on an individual’s broader familiarity with its starting location, it may land elsewhere from its starting point yet in an area still familiar to it. Furthermore, the scale of movement itself is likely species- and landscape-dependent, so a “small-scale” pre-migratory flight for one species may constitute a “large-scale” pre-migratory flight for another. To this end, we hesitate to speculate about the exact spatio-temporal extent of pre-migratory flights that we may observe, as the scope of these flights may be highly dependent on other intrinsic and extrinsic factors, which we discuss below.

Different extents of pre-migratory flights might serve different functions. For the case of our model, a woodland thrush, suitable habitat is shown in orange, and unsuitable habitat is shown in blue. The bird takes off from its starting point (solid white line) and the extent of its movement depends on the function of the flight. A Small-scale flights serve to practice flying at night, assessing meteorological conditions, or are a function of avoiding a perceived threat and likely terminate at or near the starting location. B Intermediate- and large-scale movements serve to practice and assess orientation skills and form landscape or magnetic maps; the scale to which they occur may depend on the surrounding landscape or the existing status of an individual’s internal maps. The scale of flights that serve to practice selecting suitable habitat in darkness may depend on the extent to which surrounding habitat is contiguous. For illustrative purposes, we show these larger-scale flights terminating far from the starting point, though an individual may instead circle back. Although the intermediate flight, B, shows the bird landing in unsuitable habitat, this does not suggest that all flights on this scale terminate in unfavourable landscapes, merely that landing in unsuitable habitat is a possible outcome in the context of pre-migratory flights

Physiological changes during the transitional period between breeding and migration

The extent to which pre-migratory flights occur within a population is unclear, and is probably subject to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For example, recently fledged, weak, injured, undernourished, or otherwise stressed individuals are unlikely to make pre-migratory flights, independent of when they depart on migration. Instead, only individuals capable of flight and in good body condition likely carry out these movements. Likewise, although we anticipate that inexperienced juveniles may conduct pre-migratory flights in unfavourable weather, it is also possible that individuals terminate pre-migratory flight attempts in such conditions, or opt not to embark at all. In contrast, good visibility of celestial cues, i.e., clear conditions, may instead trigger individuals to engage in these flights.

To date, as only juveniles have been studied within this context, the only evidence of pre-migratory flights is also currently limited to juveniles. While many of our hypotheses support the idea that pre-migratory flights allow juveniles to gain experience prior to departing on their first migration, we think it plausible that adults also embark on nocturnal movements before migration as they undergo the physiological and behavioural shifts from breeding to a state of migratory preparation. As migration in general is endogenously controlled [ 116 , 136 ], we assume the same for pre-migratory flights, and as Brown and Taylor noted [ 158 ], “perhaps when individuals are in a migratory state they simply have an instinctive urge to fly”.

Biological significance of pre-migratory flights

A full life-cycle approach will aid in our understanding of the life history of avian migrants [ 159 , 160 ]. Such an approach includes assessing the consequences of migration, a period during which migrants experience the highest mortality rates within their annual cycle [ 161 – 165 ].

We speculate that individuals that perform pre-migratory flights may have the experience necessary to contend with challenges that might otherwise negatively affect their migration timings, i.e., knowledge of how to respond to differing weather conditions or how to quickly course-correct if blown off course. These timings are noteworthy as they may have cascading effects throughout an individual’s life in the form of indirect fitness consequences. Individuals that arrive early to their wintering grounds may competitively exclude other individuals from high-quality habitat [ 166 ], and may settle first in lands where their return migration is shorter, setting themselves up for early returns to their breeding grounds [ 167 ]. Individuals that arrive earlier to their breeding grounds may reap the benefits of pairing earlier, laying larger clutches, and fledging more young than later-arriving individuals [ 168 , 169 ]. Taken together, optimal arrival timing at migratory destinations will result in delayed, albeit significant, fitness benefits (i.e., [ 93 ], but see also [ 170 , 171 ]).

We postulate that individuals performing pre-migratory flights have higher survival on migration, return earlier to their breeding grounds, and may ultimately have higher reproductive success over conspecifics that do not perform pre-migratory flights. Furthermore, flying is probably not as energetically costly as commonly assumed. Depending on conditions, it may be even less demanding to fly than to simply stay put and try to keep warm [ 172 ], and indeed, previously described large-scale, exploratory flights suggest that they are not costly [ 158 ]. We therefore assume that the fitness benefits conferred by pre-migratory flights outweigh their costs, and expect pre-migratory flights to be widespread among long-distance migrants.

Conclusions

Pre-migratory flights are a rarely detected form of exploratory movement that likely have an important biological significance. These flights serve as a means by which individuals can gain experience relevant to migration before departure, and individuals that perform them likely experience higher immediate and delayed fitness benefits than those that do not. Despite their assumed significant role for long-distance migratory songbirds, we know next to nothing about their prevalence among nocturnal migrants, and their spatiotemporal extent. We urge researchers to be aware of the potential for these flights, and to design studies in which they can be detected and interpreted within the framework of migratory movement.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

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We thank Thiemo Karwinkel and Miriam Liedvogel for their helpful comments during the writing process.

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Züst, Z., Mukhin, A., Taylor, P.D. et al. Pre-migratory flights in migrant songbirds: the ecological and evolutionary importance of understudied exploratory movements. Mov Ecol 11 , 78 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00440-y

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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 ...
Exploratory Research
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.
Exploratory research: Definition, Types and Methodologies
Exploratory research: Definition. Exploratory research is defined as a research used to investigate a problem which is not clearly defined. It is conducted to have a better understanding of the existing research problem, but will not provide conclusive results.For such a research, a researcher starts with a general idea and uses this research as a medium to identify issues, that can be the ...
Exploratory Research (Chapter 2)
Exploratory research is an attempt to discover something new and interesting by working through a research topic and is the soul of good research. Exploratory studies, a type of exploratory research, tend to fall into two categories: those that make a tentative first analysis of a new topic and those that propose new ideas or generate new ...
Exploratory Research: Definition, Types, Examples
Exploratory research empowers organizations and researchers with valuable insights that inform decision-making and shape future research directions. Conclusion. Exploratory research is a dynamic tool that opens doors to discovery. It helps us uncover hidden insights, generate fresh ideas, and better understand the world around us.
Exploratory Research
Exploratory Definition. Exploratory research (ER) is defined as research for the purpose of gaining insight into little-understood concepts to provide a foundation for future research. It is often ...
Grounded Theory: A Guide for Exploratory Studies in Management Research
This paper begins by providing an overview of different research strategies before focusing explicitly on exploratory studies and the GT approach. The study further provides a historical overview of the different approaches to GT, social constructionism as a methodological fit, data collection and analysis methods, and the recommended research ...
Exploratory Research: Definition, Types, Examples
Exploratory research (exploratory study) is a small-scale study of relatively short duration, undertaken when little is known about a situation or problem. An exploratory study helps a researcher to. Improve his final research design. The exploratory study helps to save time and money. If the problem appears not as important at first sight, a ...
Exploratory Research ~ Guide, Definition & Examples
Exploratory research is a study methodology that explores an issue that has not been extensively studied in the past or a new topic or subject. It explores specific elements of an existing phenomenon and gets more insight into it. Example. Your university library is considering adding an alternative medicine section to it.
Exploratory studies to decide whether and how to proceed with full
This paper presents a systematic review of the existing recommendations and guidance on exploratory studies relevant to public health, conducted as the first stage of a project to develop new MRC guidance on exploratory studies. ... Definition of exploratory study ... National Institute for Health Research. An exploratory trial to evaluate the ...
Exploratory Research
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 ...
3.2 Exploration, Description, Explanation
Exploratory research. Researchers conducting exploratory research are typically at the early stages of examining their topics. These sorts of projects are usually conducted when a researcher wants to test the feasibility of conducting a more extensive study; he or she wants to figure out the lay of the land with respect to the particular topic.
Exploratory Research
Exploratory research is a methodology approach that investigates topics and research questions that have not previously been studied in depth. Exploratory research is often qualitative 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 ...
Exploratory Research ~ Guide, Definition & Examples
Definition: Exploratory research. Exploratory research is a study methodology that explores an issue that has not been extensively studied in the past or a new topic or subject. It explores specific elements of an existing phenomenon and gets more insight into it. ... Run your paper through our online plagiarism checker to minimise risking ...
3.2 Exploration, Description, Explanation
Conducting exploratory research on a topic is often a necessary first step, both to satisfy researcher curiosity about the subject and to better understand the phenomenon and the research participants in order to design a larger, subsequent study. ... Explanatory Research: Degree of Problem. Definition: Key variables not define:
Exploratory Research: Purpose And Process
Exploratory research is when a study is undertaken with the objective either to explore an area where little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study. -Exploratory research (qualitative research) is employed to develop initial ideas and insights and to provide direction for any further research ...
An Introduction to Experimental and Exploratory Research
Exploratory research is a study that seeks to answer a question or address a phenomenon. The nature of the entity being studied does not allow a variable to be manipulated by the researcher, it ...
The potential of working hypotheses for deductive exploratory research
Dewey's definition suggests that working hypotheses would be useful toward the beginning of a research project (e.g., exploratory research). Mead ( 1899) used working hypothesis in a title of an article "The and Social Reform" (italics added). He notes that a scientist's foresight goes beyond testing a hypothesis.
Exploratory Data Analysis: Frequencies, Descriptive Statistics
Researchers must utilize exploratory data techniques to present findings to a target audience and create appropriate graphs and figures. Researchers can determine if outliers exist, data are missing, and statistical assumptions will be upheld by understanding data. Additionally, it is essential to comprehend these data when describing them in conclusions of a paper, in a meeting with ...
Exploratory Research ~ Guide, Definition & Examples
Exploratory research deals with undiscovered or unfamiliar issues, frequently making up the foundation for further structured research. Within research methodology, it can be identified by its open-ended and flexible approach with the goal to explore new horizons, create ideas, or bringing clarity to debatable topics.Exploratory research does not test hypotheses but rather asks questions and ...
Organizing an Exploratory Essay
An exploratory essay is, in essence, a retrospective of your writing and thinking process as you work through a problem. It describes when, how, and why you completed certain types of research. This kind of writing is about how you work through problems that require writing and research. You will have to be introspective and think about your ...
Special Paper: Exploratory analyses in aetiologic research and
Exploratory analyses in aetiologic research. The term exploratory analysis typically refers to analyses for which the hypothesis was not specified before the data analysis. 4 Considering exploratory analyses in a broader sense, however, is probably more relevant in aetiologic research, because of the observational data and clustering of ...
Pre-migratory flights in migrant songbirds: the ecological and
In order to be able to characterise, research, quantify, and compare exploratory movements between studies, species, populations and individuals, a cohesive definition is required. Applying this definition, we review the ecological and evolutionary importance of exploratory movements within the annual cycle in order to highlight the biological ...
[2404.09663] Quantum Computers, Quantum Computing and Quantum
Quantum thermodynamics aims at extending standard thermodynamics and non-equilibrium statistical physics to systems with sizes well below the thermodynamic limit. A rapidly evolving research field, which promises to change our understanding of the foundations of physics, while enabling the discovery of novel thermodynamic techniques and applications at the nanoscale. Thermal management turned ...

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Exploratory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Table of contents

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Primary research

Secondary research

Step 1: Identify your problem

Step 2: Hypothesize a solution

Step 3. Design your methodology

Step 4: Collect and analyze data

Step 5: Avenues for future research

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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

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

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Other categories

Exploratory Research: Definition, Types, Examples

What is Exploratory Research?

Importance of Exploratory Research

Types of Exploratory Research

Literature Review

Pilot Studies

Case Studies

Focus Groups

In-depth Interviews

Observational Research

Content Analysis

How to Plan and Design Exploratory Research?

1. Research Objectives

2. Data Collection Methods

3. Sampling Techniques

4. Data Analysis Approaches

5. Ethical Considerations

How to Conduct Exploratory Research?

Data Collection

1. Literature Review Process

2. Conducting Pilot Studies

3. Running Case Studies

4. Organizing Focus Groups