Explain with examples, the explanatory and exploratory designs of social research. (UPSC CSE Mains 2018 - Sociology, Paper 1)
The research process typically begins with a question that needs an answer or a problem that must be solved. Social research projects can be classified into three categories: exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research. An individual study can have multiple purposes or may be part of a program of research that spans two or all three purposes.
Exploratory Research
Researchers conducting exploratory research are typically in 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 and 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 subjects, or even what sorts of questions are reasonable to ask. A researcher wanting to simply satisfy their curiosity about a topic could also conduct exploratory research.
Exploratory studies are also appropriate for some persistent phenomena, like deficiencies in the functioning of educational systems, corruption among the political elite, harassment by police, rural poverty, etc. Exploratory studies are quite valuable in the social sciences. They are essential for a researcher breaking new ground.
Explanatory Research
Explanatory research explains the causes of social phenomena. It aims to establish a relationship between variables, i.e., how one is the cause of the other, or how when one variable occurs the other will also occur. For instance, explaining the relationship between broken families and juvenile delinquency, or between drug abuse and the lack of family control, or between a students‟ strike in a college and the apathy to solving students‟ grievances. Explanatory (or causal) research is mainly concerned with causes, or the „why‟ factor, about a phenomenon. Research that answers “why” questions is referred to as explanatory research. In this case, the researcher is trying to identify the causes and effects of whatever phenomenon they are studying.
For instance, research on violence against women would like to answer the question why men commit violence. Then, it is an example of explanatory research.
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