PERFORMING

EXPLORATORY
RESEARCH

HOW-TO GUIDE

1 PERFORMING EXPLORATORY RESEARCH HOW-TO GUIDE

 Performing Exploratory Research
HOW-TO GUIDE

Among many other reasons, market research problems may arise due to an ongoing problem
in your business or a new development in the market. Exploratory research is the ideal way to
begin any market research effort by clarifying your market research problem and hypothesizing the
potential causes for a marketing problem.

This guide is designed to help you understand the purpose of exploratory research, define the key
types of exploratory research methods, and suggest an action plan for a successful exploratory
research study.

Download the Demand Metric Exploratory Research Plan Template to help you create
a plan for your upcoming exploratory research initiative.

What is Exploratory Research?

Exploratory research is used when a problem has been identified, but the root cause of that problem
is still unclear. For example, sales on your new product, Software A, dropped 50% in the 3rd quarter.
In this case, you could use exploratory research to determine possible causes for the drop in sales.

The purpose of exploratory research is to get insights into the problem, not to discover a conclu-
sive solution. For this reason, it is done at the beginning of the research process. Exploratory
research is small scale and flexible because this portion of the research process is mainly based
on discovery, which can lead to a potentially larger scale investigation into the perceived problem.

What Does Exploratory Research Attempt To Do?

Clarify Research Problem(s) – refine and define the identified research problem in more detail.
Educate Researcher(s) – learn more about the problem and its potential causes.
Develop a Research Plan – lead the researcher to research methods that may yield a solution
to the problem.
Formulate One or More Hypotheses – allow researchers to theorize and predict possible
explanations for the problem.

2 PERFORMING EXPLORATORY RESEARCH HOW-TO GUIDE

Key Exploratory Research Methods
Exploratory research is often done based on the intuition of the researcher(s). Since the premise
of this type of research is to explore possibilities and discover information, the consensus among
researchers is to implement any and all research methods that will lead to a possible explanation
of the identified problem.

Although creativity is characteristic of this stage of the research process, below are a handful of
research methods commonly used for exploratory research:

Literature Search – review previous writings related to your problem to discover earlier data
findings and gain further insight into the market research problem. Almost all market research
studies begin with this method.
Pro: This is the easiest and most cost-effective way to gather information on your problem.
Con: Delving too deep into previous records could create biases on later research.

In-Depth Interview – conduct one-on-one sessions with individuals close to the problem at
hand to gain detailed, individual opinions on the research problem.
Pro: The individual perspectives of these respondents will provide you with primary data
sources to the suggested problem.
Con: A series of interviews can become expensive as you calculate preparation, employee
time, location space, and interviewer costs.

Focus Group – organize a small group discussion with a facilitator (moderator) to obtain perspec-
tives on your problem. This is the most commonly used method in market research.
Pro: The group discussion allows respondents to bounce ideas off each other and build off
of each other’s responses, which can sometimes lead to grander ideas on a topic.
Con: The group environment could lead respondents to answer differently than they would
in a one-on-one discussion based on the “peer pressure” nature of this method.

Case Analysis – study each instance of the problem individually to learn if the problem is actually
recurring or unique. This is the most general and applicable method of analytical thinking.
Pro: By analyzing each case, you may be able to resolve the problem without any additional
investigation.
Con: This method cannot solve the potential problem. It can simply analyze the instances of
the problem on a case-by-case basis.

Bottom Line
If you are planning a market research initiative, begin with an exploratory research study. At a
minimum, you will gain insight into your identified problem that will be beneficial for further research.
You may even be able to resolve a market research problem without investing too much time or
funding into a large-scale research project. In short, exploratory research will keep you from chasing
and investing in a research problem that may have a simple answer and/or solution.

3 PERFORMING EXPLORATORY RESEARCH HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 1 - Identify your Research Problem

Identify your Use the Market Research

1 Research
Problem Problem Template

Identify your research problem.

2 Download

Conduct a
3 Literature Review
Market Research Problem Template

VIEW RESOURCE
Conduct
4 Additional
Research

Formulate
5 One or More
Hypotheses

Conclude
6 your Formal
Research Effort

4 PERFORMING EXPLORATORY RESEARCH HOW-TO GUIDE

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