Exploratory Research

Exploratory research (also known as qualitative research) is based on the discovery of new concepts and ideas that provide a better insight into a particular situation (Armstrong et al., n.d.). This type of research is used to gather ‘preliminary’ information to outline the problem and suggest a means as to satisfy it. This comes in the form of a ‘hypothesis’. Examples of these include literature searches, focus groups, depth interviews and case analyses. Although helpful, this type of research isn’t expected to solve a problem, but only to identify it. Even though qualitative research provides insightful data for various individuals, it cannot be used to represent an entire population unlike descriptive research. This is because qualitative research only encompasses a small number of individuals and the fact that these individuals are almost never randomly chosen (inclusive bias).

Descriptive research (also known as quantitative research) provides marketers with accurate information about events that are occurring currently. In other word words, it provides marketers with information about consumer’s demographics and attitudes (Armstrong et al., n.d.). For example, which brands are favourited by the Asian community, the number rivals a firm faces, etc. The purpose is to outline the characteristics of certain populous, determine which group of people act in a certain manner, and outline the relationship between variables as well as to make predictions (in minor cases). Certain types of this research include cross-sectional analysis, longitudinal studies, surveys, etc. (Malhotra, 2012). This differs from exploratory research because the questions asked are restricted in the ability of discovering new concepts. This due to its form of ‘the closed-ended’ question because the information it accumulates can be analysed at face value.

Causal research is where marketers test their hypotheses and use the outcome to create predictions. Unlike exploratory research, causal research is highly controlled due to the nature of causality. This is because causal research attempts to find and explain the ‘cause and effect’ relationship between distinct variables (Armstrong et al., n.d.). This mainly revolves around experiments such as testing market scenarios, like the change in sales if packaging were to differ, etc. It differs from exploratory research because it provides a solution to the situation.