Research Steps

Exploratory research is much more open-ended than many alternatives, but that does not mean marketers should dive

in without a game plan. The following steps are not necessarily written in stone and can be altered as needed, but

working to determine a structured process can make a difference in reaching the best possible outcomes.
Define the Problem

All research problems generally start in the same place: identifying the issue at hand. This information is often known

prior to starting the planning process, but what questions you want to address in the course of your research may need

to be clarified. For example, if you are seeking information about a new approach to marketing your products,

determining what you would like to learn – like implementation strategies, value, or long-term goals – is an important

part of ensuring research is conducted efficiently and effectively.

Choose a Method

Exploratory research, by nature, frequently involves talking with others who may have more information about what

you would like to learn. Alternately, exploratory research can be used to vet new ideas and concepts with an unbiased,

unaware market in order to judge neutral third party perceptions. As such, surveys and questionnaires are often the

most popular tools in this kind of approach to exploration. By soliciting opinions, both novice and expert, marketers are

better poised to receive a range of information that can then be enhanced.

Create Research Procedures

Procedures in exploratory research can take numerous forms. In some cases, depending on timeline, budget, selected

objectives, and the topic at hand, more than one approach may be employed. However, there is no right or wrong way

to undertake research procedures, as long as an educated and well-reasoned plan is at the root of all objectives.

Options for research procedures vary, but can include:

 focus groups
 Secondary research based on previous studies
 Expert surveys
 Open ended questions
Collect Data

After deciding how to employ research procedures, marketers must then move forward with collecting data. How this

is done will, of course, depend on the methods chosen. Focus groups can be compiled with unrelated third party

individuals, perhaps from other local companies or community organizations willing to volunteer time. Expert surveys

can be offered to educational and professional organizations, while open-ended questions can be posed both online

and in person to individuals who meet your study’s needs. Secondary research can vary greatly by topic, but often

comes in the form of academic papers, case studies, and industry newsletters and publications.
Determine Results

Exploratory research may not lead to a formal conclusion, but that doesn’t mean results aren’t of value. Feedback from

focus groups, surveys, and previously available research can be reviewed for accuracy, viability, and topically relevant

information in order to be incorporated into existing bodies of knowledge. For example, if focus groups assembled for

the purpose of evaluating a new marketing campaign all remark on a perceived flaw, additional research or revamping

may be necessary before moving forward. How results are interpreted is often based on the specific topic at hand, but

when utilized and evaluated properly can lead to developments within a department and new ways to approach

industry principles and ideas.

1) Focus Groups: A focus group most commonly contains 8 to 12 people fitting the description of the target sample
group and asks them specific questions on the issues and subjects being researched. Sometimes, focus groups will also
host interactive exercises during the session and request feedback on what was given. This depends on what is being
researched, like a food sampling for a fast food chain or maybe a presentation of potential advertisements for an anti-
smoking campaign.

Focus groups continue to be one of the most common uses of exploratory research, providing researchers with a great
foundation on where people stand on an issue. The open and natural discussion format of a focus groups allows for a
wider variety of perspectives in a shorter period of time.

2) Secondary Research: It is almost impossible to come up with a research topic that hasn’t been conducted before.
Beyond this, when it comes to designing your survey and research plan, it is usually not best to reinvent the wheel. All
research strategies can benefit from reviewing similar studies taken and learning from their results. Consider your
organization’s previous research as free direction on how you should design your present research goals. For example,
if you are running your second annual customer feedback survey, look at the questions that were provided the most
useful information and reuse them in your new survey.

External secondary research can also help you perfect your research design. Beyond reviewing other organizations’
research projects, social media like blogs and forums can give you a better sense of the issues, opinions and behaviours
that go along with your research’s subject matter.

3) Expert Surveys: Expert surveys allow us to gain information from specialists in a field that we are less qualified or
knowledgeable in. For example, if I was tasked with surveying the public’s stance and awareness on environmental
issues, I could create a preliminary expert survey for a selected group of environmental authorities. It would ask broad
open-ended questions that are designed to receive large amounts of content, providing the freedom for the experts to
demonstrate their knowledge. With their input, I would be able to create a survey covering all sides of the issues.

4) Open-Ended Questions: All open-ended questions in your survey are exploratory in nature. The mere fact that you
allow respondents to provide any feedback they please, gives you the opportunity to gain insights on topics you haven’t
previously thought of. Adding a few open-ended questions in surveys with large amounts of respondents can be
somewhat difficult and time-consuming to sort through, but it can indicate important trends and opinions for further
research.

For example, let’s say we own a news website and asked our visitors the open-ended question, ‘What would you like to
see improved most on our website?’ After analysing the responses, we identify the top three discussed areas: 1)
Navigation, 2) Quality of Information 3) Visual Displays. We can then use these three topics as our main focus or
research objectives for a new survey that will look to statistically quantify people’s issues with the website with closed-
ended questions.
 Advantages of Exploratory research

 The researcher has a lot of flexibility and can adapt to changes as the research progresses.
 It is usually low cost.
 It helps lay the foundation of a research, which can lead to further research.
 It enables the researcher understand at an early stage, if the topic is worth investing the time and resources and if it
is worth pursuing.
 It can assist other researchers to find out possible causes for the problem, which can be further studied in detail to
find out, which of them is the most likely cause for the problem.

Disadvantages of Exploratory research

 Even though it can point you in the right direction towards what is the answer, it is usually inconclusive.
 The main disadvantage of exploratory research is that they provide qualitative data. Interpretation of such
information can be judgmental and biased.
 Most of the times, exploratory research involves a smaller sample, hence the results cannot be accurately
interpreted for a generalized population.
 Many a times, if the data is being collected through secondary research, then there is a chance of that data being old
and is not updated.