Exploratory research is used when the topic or issue is new and when data is difficult to collect. Exploratory research is flexible and can address research questions of all types (what, why, how). Exploratory research is often used to generate formal hypotheses.

When would you use explanatory research?

Explanatory Research is conducted in order to help us find the problem that was not studied before in-depth. The Explanatory research is not used to give us some conclusive evidence but helps us in understanding the problem more efficiently.

What is the purpose of the exploratory research?

Exploratory research studies have three main purpose: to fulfill the researcher's curiosity and need for greater understanding, to test the feasibility of starting a more in depth study, and also to develop the methods to be used in any following research projects.