Exploratory research is the process of investigating a problem that has not been studied or thoroughly investigated in the past. It is a preliminary study of an unfamiliar problem about which the researcher has little or no knowledge. It is similar to a doctor‟s initial investigation of a patient suffering from an unfamiliar malady for getting some clues for identifying it. “It is ill-structured and much less focused on pre-determined objectives. It usually takes the form of a pilot study. Though it is a separate type of research, it is appropriate to consider it as the first stage of a three-stage process of exploration, description and experimentation. The purpose of an exploratory study may be:
1) To generate new ideas.
2) To increase the researcher's familiarity with the problem.
3) To make a precise formulation of the problem.
4) To gather information for clarifying concepts.
5) To determine whether it is feasible to attempt the study.
Exploratory type of research is usually conducted to have a better understanding of the existing problem, but usually doesn't lead to a conclusive result. An exploratory study does not aim at testing hypothesis. According to Daniel Katz, it just attempts “to see what is there rather than to predict the relationships that will be founded. But it should be so designed as to provide as definite information as possible for a set of research objectives.
(Source: Reference Text in Research Methodology and search engines)
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