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	Explanatorisk forskning	Explorativ kvantitativ forskning
Ämnesområde	Forskningsdesign	Forskningsdesign
Familj	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Ursprungsår	1960s–1980s (codified in behavioral and social science methodology)	Mid-20th century (codified in social research methods texts c. 1950s–1970s)
Upphovsperson	Formalized by Earl Babbie and Fred Kerlinger among others	Earl Babbie; John Creswell (systematic codification in social science methods)
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	Babbie, E. (2021). The Practice of Social Research (15th ed.). Cengage Learning. ISBN: 978-0357360767
Alias	analytical research, causal research, explanatory study, explanatory quantitative research	quantitative exploratory design, exploratory survey research, initial quantitative investigation, preliminary quantitative study
Närliggande	5	4
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.	Exploratory quantitative research is a non-experimental design used when a phenomenon is insufficiently understood to support formal hypothesis testing. The researcher collects numerical data — typically through surveys, structured observation, or existing records — to describe distributions, detect patterns, and generate hypotheses that more targeted confirmatory studies can subsequently test. It occupies the first stage of a cumulative quantitative research programme.