EPE 619: Survey Research Methods in Education

Exploratory research questions are designed to help you understand more about a particular topic of interest.

They can help you connect ideas to understand the groundwork of your analysis without adding any preconceived notions or assumptions yet.

Here are some examples:

• What effect does using a digital notebook have on the attention span of middle schoolers?
• What factors influence mental health in undergraduates?
• What outcomes are associated with an authoritative parenting style?
• In what ways does the presence of a non-native accent affect intelligibility?
• How can the use of a grocery delivery service reduce food waste in single-person households?

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Descriptive research is an appropriate choice when the research aim is to identify characteristics, frequencies, trends, and categories.

It is useful when not much is known yet about the topic or problem. Before you can research why something happens, you need to understand how, when and where it happens.

Descriptive research question examples:

• How has the Amsterdam housing market changed over the past 20 years?
• Do customers of company X prefer product X or product Y?
• What are the main genetic, behavioral and morphological differences between European wildcats and domestic cats?
• What are the most popular online news sources among under-18s?
• How prevalent is disease A in population B?

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Explanatory research answers “why” and “how” questions.

They often lead to an improved understanding of a previously unresolved problem or provide clarity for related future research initiatives.

Here are a few examples:

• Why do undergraduate students obtain higher average grades in the first semester than in the second semester?
• How does marital status affect labor market participation?
• Why do multilingual individuals show more risky behavior during business negotiations than monolingual individuals?
• How does a child’s ability to delay immediate gratification predict success later in life?
• Why are teens more likely to litter in a highly littered area than in a clean area?

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