Chapter 4 – Exploratory Research
I. Learning Objectives:
Upon completing this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Describe the basic uses of exploratory research.
• Formulate the manager’s decision problem
2. Specify the key characteristics of exploratory research.
Small scale and very flexible studies used to generate ideas and insights.
3. Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each.
• Literature searches – involve reviewing conceptual and trade literature or
published statistics.
• Depth interviews – attempt to tap the knowledge and experience of those
4. Identify the key person in a focus group.
1. Researchers and managers must consciously work to remain as objective
2. It is important to not use exploratory research to obtain answers and
decisions rather than the ideas, insights, and hypotheses that these
techniques were designed to deliver.
II. Chapter Outline:
A. Introduction
Small Scale
Flexibility
Exhibit 4.1: Types of Exploratory Studies
1. Literature Search
3. Focus Groups
a. Characteristics of Focus Groups
Manager’s Focus
Exhibit 4.2: Tips for Running and Online Focus Group
b. The Role of the Moderator
c. The Dark Side of Focus Groups
Exhibit 4.3: Nine Characteristics of Good Focus Group
Moderators
Manager’s Focus
d. Nominal Groups
4. Data Mining
5. Case Analyses
6. Projective Methods
a. Word Association
b. Sentence Completion
B. Summary
C. Key Terms
D. Review Questions
III. Answers to Review Questions:
1. The basic use of exploratory research is to help formulate the manager’s decision
problem. It is also useful for developing hypotheses, gaining familiarity with a
phenomenon, and /or clarifying concepts. In general, exploratory research is
appropriate for any problem about which little is known. The output from this
research is ideas and insights, not answers.
3. A literature search is a search of statistics, trade journal articles, magazines,
4. A depth interview attempts to tap the knowledge and experience of those familiar
5. A focus group interview with 8 to 12 people is conducted simultaneously and relies
6. A good focus group should be small, last 1½ to 2 hours, and be relatively
7. A focus group might be misused if the researcher uses his or her results to provide
8. Data mining is useful when businesses are looking to boost sales and profits by
9. Common approaches to the use of case analyses include observing a phenomenon
10. Projective methods encourage respondents to reveal their own feelings, thoughts,
and behaviors by shifting the focus away from the individual through the use of
IV. Instruction Suggestions:
1. Begin with the many uses of exploratory research. An example illustrating each of
2. The discussion can then be profitably directed at the types of efforts that have
3. For those instructors who wish to give focus groups special emphasis, this is a good
place to do so. There are several ways to structure the class discussion. One of the
best ways is by allowing students to see a focus group in operation. One way of
doing so is to select 8-10 students from class to serve as the focus group panel. The
instructor or one of the other students can then serve as the moderator. As
4. Discussion questions 5-8 are excellent in-class or out–of–class exercises to allow