Exploratory Study

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Business Research MethodsAssignment:-

Exploratory studyDescriptive studyCausal studyCase study

Submitted to:

Maam Sara Yaqoob

Submitted by:

Waseem Akram

(F-42012)

BBA-21(v)

Submission Date

October 10th

, 2011


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Exploratory Study

Exploratory study is a type of study conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined.

Exploratory study helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection

of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Given its

fundamental nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not

actually exist.

An exploratory study is undertaken when not much is known about the situation at hand or no

information is available on how similar problem or research issues have been solved in the past.

In such cases, extensive preliminary work needs to be done to gain familiarity with the

phenomenon in the situation and understand what is occurring before we develop a model and

set up a rigorous design for comprehensive investigation.

In essence exploratory studies are undertaken to better comprehend the nature of the problem

since very few studies might have been considered in that area. Extensive interviews with many

people might have been undertaken to get a handle on the situation and understand the

phenomena. More rigorous research could then proceed. Some qualitative studies where data are

collected through observation or interviews are exploratory in nature. When the data reveal some

pattern regarding the phenomena of interest theories are developed and hypothesis formulated for

subsequent testing. Exploratory studies are also necessary when some facts are known but more

information is needed for developing a viable theoretical framework.

When we want to get at the important factors that influence the advancement of women in

organizations previous studies might indicate that women are increasingly taking on qualities

such as assertiveness, competitiveness and independence.

Descriptive Study


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Descriptive epidemiologic studies examine differences in disease rates among populations in

relation to age, gender, race, and differences in temporal or environmental conditions. In general,

these studies can only identify patterns or trends in disease occurrence over time or in different

geographical locations but cannot ascertain the causal agent or degree of exposure. These studies

are often very useful for generating hypotheses for further research. Descriptive studies include

case reports or case series, surveillance systems, correlation (sometimes called ecologic studies),

cross-sectional studies, and cluster investigations.

Descriptive studies are observational studies which describe the patterns of disease occurrence in

relation to variables such as person, place and time. They are often the first step or initial enquiry

into a new topic, event, disease or condition. Descriptive studies can be divided into two roles -

those studies that emphasize features of a new condition and those which describe the health

status of communities or populations. Case reports, case-series reports, before-and-after studies,

cross-sectional studies and surveillance studies deal with individuals. Ecological Studies

examine populations. Common misuses of descriptive studies involve a lack of a clear, specific

and reproducible case definition and establishing a casual relationship which the data cannot

support. Whilst descriptive studies can highlight associations between variables or between

exposure and outcome variables, they cannot establish causality. Descriptive studies do not have

a comparison (control) group which means that they do not allow for inferences to be drawn

about associations, casual or otherwise. However, they can suggest hypotheses which can be

tested in analytical observational studies.

Uses of Descriptive Studies


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1. Health care planning: Descriptive studies provide knowledge about which populations or

subgroups are most or least affected by disease.

2. Hypothesis generation: Descriptive studies identify descriptive characteristics which

frequently constitutes an important first step in the search for determinants or risk factors that

can be altered or eliminated to reduce or prevent disease.

3. Trend Analysis

Types of Descriptive Studies

Case reports: Case reports describe the experience of a single patient or a group of patients with

a similar diagnosis. These types of studies typically depict an observant clinician identifying an

unusual feature of a disease or a patient's history.

Case Series: A case series is a report on a series of patients with an outcome of interest. No

control group is involved. Another way of defining a case series is that case series are collections

of individual case reports which may occur within a fairly short period of time and these are

aggregated into one publication.

Cross-sectional (Prevalence) Study: This is the observation of a defined population at a single

point in time or time interval. Exposure and outcome are determined simultaneously. This means

that costs are small and loss to follow up is not a problem.

Ecological Correlation Study: Ecological correlation studies look for associations between

exposures and outcomes in populations rather than in individuals. They use data that has already

been collected.

Causal study:-


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A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit (e.g., a person, group, or event)

stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social

sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used

to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. They may be prospective, in which

criteria are established and cases fitting the criteria are included as they become available, or

retrospective, in which criteria are established for selecting cases from historical records for

inclusion in the study.

Thomas offers the following definition of case study: "Case studies are analyses of persons,

events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied

holistically by one or more methods. The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an

instance of a class of phenomena that provides an analytical frame an object within which the

study is conducted and which the case illuminates and explicates."

Rather than using samples and following a rigid protocol (strict set of rules) to examine limited

number of variables, case study methods involve an in-depth, longitudinal (over a long period of

time) examination of a single instance or event: a case. They provide a systematic way of

looking at events, collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results. As a result the

researcher may gain a sharpened understanding of why the instance happened as it did, and what

might become important to look at more extensively in future research. Case studies lend

themselves to both generating and testing hypotheses.

Exploratory Study

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