Exploratory Methods - Research Paper Example

? Exploratory methods Table of Contents Exploratory Research 3 Case Study 3 Psychobiography 4 Archival research 4 Content analysis 5 References 7 Exploratory Research Exploratory research involves developing an initial insight of the situation and provides feedback for the research. The preliminary investigation of the research problems is called exploratory research. The aim of exploratory research is to shed light on the situations and find out specific need and objectives which is required in the research. It is very useful when a researcher wants to understand the situations and identify the alternatives before conducting the research. Exploratory research is also known as unstructured or informal form of research. This is generally done for conducting a background study of the research. The nature of the research keeps changing as the researcher uncovers the different aspects of the research area. In exploratory method of research no well-defined objective, sampling plan or questionnaire is prepared for collecting data. Generally secondary sources of data are concluded in this form of research (Parasuraman, Grewal & Krishnan, 2007, p. 57). The exploratory research method is applicable in: a) Gaining the information regarding the background of the study. It is used when the researcher has very little information about the problem and the problem statement of the research could not be appropriately formulated. It becomes necessary for the reader to develop a background analysis to see the larger picture of the situation, b) It is used to measure the terms and concepts to be used in the research, and c) The hypothesis and the problem areas can be clarified through exploratory research (Burns, & Bush, 2007, p. 57). Case Study The intensive analysis of any individual unit is called case study. It mainly stresses the developmental factors in relation to the given context. It may be descriptive or exploratory. Case study is used in exploratory research to find the causes so as to find relevant answers for the stated principles. The case study may be prospective one or a retrospective one. The case is the subject, which is discussed on the basis of a particular organization, issue or problem. Case study is also denoted as research study as it gives us an empirical analysis of the phenomenon in real-life situations. Case study is generally formulated to answer the research questions. The research problem is first carefully formulated and then answers are found based on the research conducted by the researcher. The answers derived from the research is explained or interpreted by the researcher with the help of a real-life situation. The theories used while deriving the solution are utilized and a case is formulated to present the practical problem situations and strategies that were used to solve them. The type of research question defines the type of case study to be formed. Case studies help to find the bottle necks and ways to reach the solutions. It also enables the researcher to monitor the changes. Psychobiography The term psychobiography means analyzing the importance of lives by using the psychological theories and conducting research. The aim of this type of research is to unearth the public motives behind a particular activity or behavior. Psychobiographical research does not involve any form of standardized format. It generally depends on the subject, the researcher and various other aspects. It is actually considered as a qualitative form of research technique. This method of conducting research is generally used for celebrities, outstanding personalities or leaders. Psychobiographical research provides an in-depth analysis to the researcher regarding the behavior of the person and the reason behind such behavior. This methodology was actually invented by Sigmund Freud. It deals with unfolding the personality and psychology of an individual. This method is use in form of qualitative research technique because it deals with human behavior, psychology and emotions. It is also used to explore psychology of creativity and personality development tool for the psychology students (Robins, Fraley &Krueger, 2009, p. 100). Archival research The method of sorting and organizing old documents are called archive. It may be in any form, such as digital file, papers, journals or folders. The archival data means that information which has been already gathered by the researcher for some purpose, but it would not be utilized for the research. It is gathered and kept aside for future exigencies. These data includes public information such as the census report of a country, court record, legal notices or annual reports. The term archive means not only recording but also storing data. Archive is located in Universities, libraries, computer databases, or government offices. The major disadvantage of archival research is the amount of information. The available information is huge or unlimited in this case. It may sometimes happen that though a researcher gets the huge resource of the archival data but he/ she may not find the available information regarding the topic he/ she is searching about. This might be a disadvantage on the part of the archival research. The second problem with archival research is experimental bias (Goodwin, 2009, 388) Content analysis The method used in social science to study the communication content is called content analysis. It includes functions like summarizing and analyzing the message that is depended on the scientific measurement. The major attention is paid to intersubjectivity, reliability and quantitative analysis of the message. It includes understanding textual data and deducing it to manageable information that can be utilized for research work. The social scientists utilize this for making newspaper stories, diplomatic messages, official publications, etc. It is a research method that is used to draw inferences from text matter. This information consists of the message from the sender. (Weber, 1990, p. 9-10). Content analysis is used for various functions such as understanding the differences between the different forms of communication contents, compare the various levels of media communication, determine the psychology of the person, reflect the cultural differences through behavioral patterns, etc. The qualitative content analysis involves interview, speeches, written data, etc. The content analysis is used for answering the major six questions such as: Which data has to be analyzed? How can it be done? What is the size of the population from which the inference is drawn? What is the context to which the data has been collected? What are the boundaries of analysis? What are the targets of the inferences? References Burns, A. C., & Bush, R. F. (2007). Marketing Research. New Delhi: Pearson Education. Goodwin, C. J. (2009). Research in Psychology: Methods and Design. (6th ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D., & Krishnan, R. (2007). Marketing Research. (4th ed.). Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Robins, R. W., Fraley, R. C. & Krueger, R. F. (2009). Handbook of Research Methods in Personality Psychology. New York: Guilford Press. Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis. (2nd ed.). London: SAGE Publisher. Read More