Understanding Exploratory Research Design

Understanding Exploratory Research Design

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  UNDERSTANDING THE EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN By Dr.Shaloo Saini Assistant Professor, MKCE (CT Group of Institutions, Jalandhar, Punjab)
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  EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN Explorationis particularly useful when the researcher does not have any clarity about the problems that they might encounter while conducting the research study. Through exploration researcher develops the concept clarity, establish priorities, develops operational definition and improve the final research design (Cooper, Schindler and Sharma,2012). Exploration is useful when the researcher have a vague idea about the research study and after exploration if the researcher finds that the problem is not as significant as it seemed to be initially then the further conduct of the research may be terminated.
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  OBJECTIVES OF EXPLORATORYRESEARCH DESIGN An exploratory research is conducted to develop an insight about the problem to be studied(Gupta and Rangi,2017) Its objectives are:  Evaluate the feasibility of a research project.  Formulate a problem statement.  Provide theoretical basis to a hypothesis.  Provide alternative options/approaches to a problem.  Establish priorities or possibilities for further research.
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  TECHNIQUES OF EXPLORATORY RESEARCHDESIGN The researchers use a variety of methods to conduct the exploratory research. According to Bajpai (2015) these methods are: Exploratory Research Methods Secondary Data Analysis Expert Survey Focus Group Interview Depth Interview Case Study Projective Techniques
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  SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS Itrefers to the review of available literature that can help In linking the known structures, processes and relationships with the study currently planned(Gupta and Rangi,2017). Secondary data already exists in the environment and are mainly collected for some other purposes (Bajpai,2015). In the contemporary internet dominated environment, the access to secondary data have become convenient and approachable.
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  SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS Sourcesof Secondary Data Analysis are:  Published and Unpublished Research Work.  Journals and Magazines  Books and Periodicals  Reports and Publications from government sources.  Computerized Commercial and Open Data sources  Media Resources etc
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  SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS Data already exists therefore the time and money is saved in comparison to the studies which collects the primary data.  When collecting the primary data is difficult in that case the secondary data is quiet helpful to the researcher.  Data provided by Government sources and Reputed organisations is available for the general public and is reliable for research purposes.  The selection, quality and method to collect are not under the control of the researcher therefore it is sometimes impossible to validate(Sorensen, Sabroe and Olsen,1996)  The accuracy of secondary data is the doubtful sometimes. And identifying the reliable sources of secondary data quiet important.  The data becomes outdated quickly . Advantages Disadvantages
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  EXPERT SURVEY It refersto Interaction with the people who are expert in the area under study, their expertise become a valuable source of information. Their expert opinion develops the clarity about the problem under study(Gupta and Rangi,2017). The opinion provided by experts is considered relevant and reliable and proves to be quiet useful in the research(Bajpai,2015). These people by the virtue of their placement as an authority, official, social worker etc come across situations which enrich their knowledge about their field and can become a valuable source of information to the researchers. Since the exploratory researcher is dealing with the new ideas about which rare is known, it is very important the selection of the experts should be precisely done (Gupta and Rangi,2017) The researcher must select the experts precisely and prepare an interview schedule covering the important aspects about the research problem. This schedule should be sent in advance to the experts so that they get time to think about the probable answers and contribute in developing an insight about the research study( Kothari and Garg, 2019).
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  FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS In a focus group, a small number of individuals are brought together in a room to sit and talk about some topic of interest to the focus group sponsor (Churchill and Lacobucci,2004).  Focus group interview is a qualitative research technique in which a trained moderator leads a small group of participants in an unstructured discussion about the topic of interest. It generally involves eight to ten individuals who discuss a particular topic under the direction of a moderator, who promotes the interaction and guides the discussion on the topic of interest (Richter, Bottenberg and Roberto,2007).  Focus group interviews are widely used in the investigation of applied research problems and are recognized as distinct research methods (Bender and Ewbank,1994).  The Focus group provides an opportunity for the researchers to probe the people’s emotional reaction to issues that offers further understanding of the target individuals reaction to the issues, thereby assisting in better understanding of the research findings (Zuckerman-parker and Shank, 2008).
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  FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS The natural reactions, facial gestures, and voice modulations of the respondents can be examined.  All the important dimensions of the problem under study can be explored through varied ideas and thoughts of the focus group members.  It is flexible and fruitful method if the participants are carefully selected.  Spontaneous responses by the participants are available. It makes the execution fast.  Experienced and effective moderator can control the discussion and generate the relevant information.  The scientific and statistical validity of this method is under doubt because its findings are qualitative and subjective in nature.  The focus group interviews are sometimes either biased by moderators or dominated by conversation of some participants only.  The information retrieved out of the discussion is quiet informative but can not be considered as conclusive. Advantages Disadvantages
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  DEPTH INTERVIEW  ADepth Interview is a probing between a highly skilled interviewer and a respondent from the target population to unfold the underlying opinions, motivation, emotions, or feelings of an individual respondent, on a topic generally coined by the researcher( Bajpai, 2015).  Unstructured and Qualitative information is collected through one to one interaction, the respondents freely expresses their views and there is no peer pressure as in case of Focus group interview.  The quality of information retrieved depends upon the expertise of the skilled and qualified interviewer.
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  DEPTH INTERVIEW  Thismethod is suitable to retrieve personal and sensitive information.  This method provides flexibility to respondent and the interviewer.  Much revealing and authentic information can be obtained from the depth interview.  These interviews can be scheduled any time and complex topics can be covered through it.  Lack of experienced and skilled interviews to conduct depth interviews.  Probing the questions by the interviewer may sometimes make the respondent uncomfortable and he may become non cooperative in providing the information.  The scientific and statistical validity of this method is under doubt because its findings are qualitative and subjective in nature. Advantages Disadvantages
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  CASE ANALYSIS  Acase study research method actually combines the record analysis and observations from individual and group interviews.  The case studies are useful when one needs to understand some particular problem or situation in great depth and when one can identify the cases rich in information(Noor, 2008)  In the case study research method, the researcher collects the information from various existing sources like students report cards, portfolios etc. This information is combined with the interview data obtained from the participant(Bajpai,2015)
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  CASE ANALYSIS  Themajor advantage of case analysis is its appropriateness to research, an area where few studies have been carried out.  The case studies are being conducted to address a real problem, hence it provides a sound knowledge base to the existing body of knowledge (Bajpai,2015)  Weakness of the case study research includes difficulties in generalizing research result and the subjectivity of the data collection and analysis process(Drake, Shanks and Broadbent,1998)  It is time consuming and requires expert interviewers. Advantages Disadvantages
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  PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES  TheProjective Technique is used to generate the information when the researcher believes that the respondent can not or will not reveal the desired meaningful information by direct questioning.  This method is useful when the respondent is unwilling to share his feelings because of the requirement of exhibiting socially desirable behaviour(Bajpai,2015)  Projective technique is achieved by presenting the respondents with ambiguous verbal or visual stimulus materials, such as bubble cartoons, which they need to make sense of by drawing from their own experiences, thoughts, feelings and imagination before they can offer a response (Catterall and Ibbotson,2000)  In this technique the respondent is asked to explain the behaviour of other person in a given situation rather than to explain his or her own behaviour. In this process of explaining the behaviour of other person the respondent indirectly projects his own behaviour in terms of their inner motivation, feelings, beliefs and attitude in given situation.
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  TYPES OF PROJECTIVETECHNIQUES • The respondent responds to some presentation by indicating the first word that comes to his mind on viewing it. Word Association • The respondent is required to complete the incomplete sentence, story, argument or conversation Completion Task • The respondent is provided with initial construction of some image and the respondent is to construct it further. Construction Task • The respondent is required to role play, paint or act in response to some given situation Expressive Task
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  PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES  Theresearcher gains insight about important psychological information of which the respondents are not consciously aware of(Boddy,2005)  Projective techniques extract the deep rooted inner feelings of the respondents in indirect manner, it reduces the chances of misleading information being provided by the respondents.  The interpretation of the results are highly subjective in nature.  The technique requires high precision, skill and expertise by the interviewer and well designed techniques to be projected to the respondents. Advantages Disadvantages
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  SUMMARY Exploration is particularlyuseful when the researcher does not have any clarity about the problems that they might encounter while conducting the research study. Through exploration researcher develops the concept clarity, establish priorities, develops operational definition and improve the final research design (Cooper, Schindler and Sharma,2012). The techniques used in Exploratory Research Design are Secondary Data Analysis, Expert Survey, Focus Group Interview, Depth Interview, Case Study and Projective Techniques.
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  REFERENCES Bajpai N. (2015).Research design formulations. In Business research methods (pp. 49). Nodia: Pearson Education. Bender D.E. & Ewbank D.(1994). The focus group as the tool for health research: issues in design and analysis, Health Transition Review, Vol. 4(1), 63-79. Boddy C. (2005). Projective Techniques in market research: valueless subjectivity or insightful reality, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 47(3),239-254. Catterall M. & Ibbotson P. (2000). Using projective techniques in education research, British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 26(2), 245-256. Churchill, G. A. & Lacobucci, D.(2004). Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations (8th ed., pp.98), Singapore: Thompson Asia Pvt Ltd. Cooper D. R., Schindler P. S., & Sharma,J. K. (2012). Measurement scales. In Business Research Methods (8th ed., pp. 341). New Delhi: Mc. Graw Hill Education (India). Drake P.,Shanks, G. & Broadbent M. (1998): Successfully completing case study research: combining rigour, relevance and pragmatism, Information Systems Journal ,Vol. 8, 273-289.
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  REFERENCES Gupta S.K. &Rangi P.(2017). Research Designs In Research Methodology (4th ed., pp3.5).Punjab: Kalyani Publishers(India). Kothari C. R. & Garg G.(2019). Research Designs. In Research Methodology Methods and Techniques( 4th ed., pp.29-38) New Delhi: New Age International Publishers(India). Noor K. B.(2008) Case Study: A strategic research methodology, American Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol. 5(11), 1602-1604. Richter J. M., Bottenberg D. J. & Roberto K. A. (2007). Focus Group: Implication for programme evaluation of the mental health services, The Journal of Behavioural Health Services and Research, Vol, 18(2), 148-153. Sorensen H. T., Sabroe S. & Olsen J.(1996). A framework for evolution of secondary data sources for epidemiological research, International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 25(2), 435-442. Zuckerman- Parker M. & Shank G. (2008). The town hall focus group : a new format for qualitative research methods, The Qualitative Report, Vol. 13(4),630-635.
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  THANK YOU This PowerPoint Presentation has been made while referring to the research books written by eminent, renowned and expert authors as mentioned in the references section. The purpose of this Presentation is to help the research students in developing an insight about The Exploratory Research Design. I hope the students will find this presentation useful for them. All the Best Dr. Shaloo Saini