Which term describes research that aims to identify relationships and predict outcomes?

Which term describes research that aims to identify relationships and predict outcomes?

• A. Explanatory research
• B. Descriptive research
• C. Exploratory research
• D. Evaluation research

Answer: (A)

Explanatory research focuses on identifying relationships between variables and predicting outcomes. It goes beyond simply describing what exists to explaining why patterns occur, often by testing hypotheses about how one factor influences another. Researchers use methods like experiments or inferential analysis (such as regression) to see how changes in one variable are associated with changes in another and to forecast outcomes under different conditions. For example, studying whether more police patrols are linked to lower crime and using that relationship to predict crime levels at future patrol levels. Descriptive research would describe crime rates or patrol counts without linking them causally; exploratory research seeks new ideas when little is known; evaluation research assesses how well a program works.

Explanatory research focuses on identifying relationships between variables and predicting outcomes. It goes beyond simply describing what exists to explaining why patterns occur, often by testing hypotheses about how one factor influences another. Researchers use methods like experiments or inferential analysis (such as regression) to see how changes in one variable are associated with changes in another and to forecast outcomes under different conditions. For example, studying whether more police patrols are linked to lower crime and using that relationship to predict crime levels at future patrol levels. Descriptive research would describe crime rates or patrol counts without linking them causally; exploratory research seeks new ideas when little is known; evaluation research assesses how well a program works.