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	Explanatorisk forskning	Kausal-komparativ forskning – Retrospektiv gruppjämförelsestudie
Ämnesområde	Forskningsdesign	Forskningsdesign
Familj	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Ursprungsår	1960s–1980s (codified in behavioral and social science methodology)	1964
Upphovsperson	Formalized by Earl Babbie and Fred Kerlinger among others	Fred N. Kerlinger
Typ	Non-experimental quantitative research design	Non-experimental quantitative research design
Ursprungskälla	Kerlinger, F. N. (1986). Foundations of Behavioral Research (3rd ed.). Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN: 978-0030417559	Kerlinger, F. N. (1964). Foundations of Behavioral Research. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Alias	analytical research, causal research, explanatory study, explanatory quantitative research	ex post facto research, causal-comparative design, retrospective causal study, CCR
Närliggande	5	3
Sammanfattning	Explanatory research is a non-experimental quantitative research design that goes beyond describing a phenomenon to identifying why it occurs — examining the relationships or mechanisms that account for observed patterns. Rooted in positivist social science methodology, it uses theory-driven hypotheses and statistical analysis to test whether specific variables explain variation in an outcome, without necessarily manipulating those variables.	Causal-comparative research is a non-experimental quantitative design in which the researcher compares two or more groups that already differ on an independent variable — one that was not manipulated — to investigate possible causes or consequences of that difference. Because group membership is pre-existing rather than randomly assigned, the design can suggest causal relationships but cannot establish them with the certainty of a true experiment. It is widely used in education, psychology, and social sciences when experimental manipulation is impractical or unethical.