解释性研究 | 定义、指南和示例

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于 2024-08-25 00:30:32 发布

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Explanatory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Published on December 3, 2021

by Tegan George and Julia Merkus

Revised on November 20, 2023

Explanatory research is a research method that explores why something occurs when limitedinformation is available. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic, ascertain how or why a particular phenomenon isoccurring, and predict future occurrences.
解释性研究是一种研究方法，它探索在可用信息有限的情况下为什么会发生某事。它可以帮助您增加对给定主题的理解，确定特定现象如何或为何发生，并预测未来的发生。

Explanatory research can also be explained as a “cause and effect” model,investigating patterns and trends in existing data that haven’t beenpreviously investigated. For this reason, it is often considered a typeof causal research.
解释性研究也可以解释为“因果”模型，调查以前未调查过的现有数据中的模式和趋势。出于这个原因，它通常被认为是一种因果研究。

Note: Be careful not to confuse explanatory research with exploratory research, which is also preliminary in nature but instead explores a subject that hasn’t been studied in depth yet.

When to use explanatory research 何时使用解释性研究

Explanatory research is used to investigate how or why a phenomenon takes place.Therefore, this type of research is often one of the first stages in the research process, serving as a jumping-off point for future research.While there is often data available about your topic, it’s possible theparticular causal relationship you are interested in has not been robustly studied.
解释性研究用于调查现象如何或为什么发生。因此，这种类型的研究往往是研究过程的第一阶段之一，是未来研究的起点。虽然经常有关于您的主题的数据，但您感兴趣的特定因果关系可能还没有得到深入的研究。

Explanatory research helps you analyze these patterns, formulating hypotheses that can guide future endeavors. If you are seeking a more completeunderstanding of a relationship between variables, explanatory researchis a great place to start. However, keep in mind that it will likely not yield conclusive results.
解释性研究可以帮助您分析这些模式，制定可以指导未来努力的假设。如果您想更全面地了解变量之间的关系，解释性研究是一个很好的起点。但是，请记住，它可能不会产生决定性的结果。

Example: Explanatory research
示例:解释性研究

You have been teaching statistics to undergraduate students during both the first and second semesters for several years in a row.
您连续几年在本科第一学期和第二学期教授统计学。

You analyzed their final grades and noticed that the students who take your course in the first semester always obtain higher grades than studentswho take the same course in the second semester.
您分析了他们的最终成绩，并注意到在第一学期参加您的课程的学生总是比在第二学期参加同一课程的学生获得更高的成绩。

You are interested in discovering what causes this pattern.
您有兴趣发现导致此模式的原因。

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting 接收有关语言、结构和格式的反馈

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:
专业编辑通过关注以下方面来校对和编辑您的论文：

Academic style 学术风采
Vague sentences 含糊不清的句子
Grammar 语法
Style consistency 风格一致性

See an example
查看示例

Explanatory research questions 解释性研究问题

Explanatory research answers “why” and “how” questions, leading to an improvedunderstanding of a previously unresolved problem or providing clarityfor related future research initiatives.
解释性研究回答了“为什么”和“如何”的问题，从而提高了对以前未解决的问题的理解，或为相关的未来研究计划提供了清晰度。

Here are a few examples:
以下是一些示例：

Why do undergraduate students obtain higher average grades in the first semester than in the second semester?
为什么本科生在第一学期的平均成绩比第二学期高？
How does marital status affect labor market participation?
婚姻状况如何影响劳动力市场参与？
Why do multilingual individuals show more risky behavior during business negotiations than monolingual individuals?
为什么会说多种语言的人在商务谈判中比说单语的人表现出更多的冒险行为？
How does a child’s ability to delay immediate gratification predict success later in life?
孩子延迟即时满足的能力如何预测以后生活中的成功？
Why are teens more likely to litter in a highly littered area than in a clean area?
为什么青少年在垃圾频繁的地区比在干净的地方更容易乱扔垃圾？

Note

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can be useful at various stages of the writingand research process and can help you to formulate explanatory researchquestions. However, we strongly advise against trying to passAI-generated text off as your own work.

ChatGPT outputs are not always original and may be detected by your university’s plagiarism checker or AI detector.
ChatGPT 输出并不总是原创的，可能会被您大学的抄袭检查器或 AI 检测器检测到。

Explanatory research data collection 解释性研究数据收集

After choosing your research question, there is a variety of options for research and data collection methods to choose from.
选择您的研究问题后，有多种研究和数据收集方法可供选择。

A few of the most common research methods include:
一些最常见的研究方法包括：

Literature reviews 文献综述
Interviews and focus groups 访谈和焦点小组
Pilot studies 试点研究
Observations 观察
Experiments 实验

The method you choose depends on several factors, including your timeline,budget, and the structure of your question. If there is already a bodyof research on your topic, a literature review is a great place tostart. If you are interested in opinions and behavior, consider an interview or focus group format. If you have more time or funding available, an experiment or pilot study may be a good fit for you.
您选择的方法取决于几个因素，包括您的时间表、预算和问题的结构。如果已经有关于您的主题的大量研究，文献综述是一个很好的起点。如果您对观点和行为感兴趣，可以考虑面试或焦点小组形式。如果您有更多的时间或资金可用，实验或试点研究可能适合您。

Explanatory research data analysis 解释性研究数据分析

In order to ensure you are conducting your explanatory research correctly, be sure your analysis is definitively causal in nature, and not justcorrelated.
为了确保您正确地进行解释性研究，请确保您的分析在本质上是明确的因果关系，而不仅仅是相关的。

Always remember the phrase “correlation doesn’t mean causation.” Correlatedvariables are merely associated with one another: when one variablechanges, so does the other. However, this isn’t necessarily due to adirect or indirect causal link.
永远记住“相关性并不意味着因果关系”这句话。相关变量只是相互关联：当一个变量发生变化时，另一个变量也会发生变化。然而，这并不一定是由于直接或间接的因果关系造成的。

Causation means that changes in the independent variable bring about changes in the dependent variable. In other words, there is a direct cause-and-effect relationship between variables.
因果关系意味着自变量的变化会导致因变量的变化。换句话说，变量之间存在直接的因果关系。

Causal evidence must meet three criteria:
因果证据必须满足三个标准：

Temporal: What you define as the “cause” must precede what you define as the “effect.”
时间性：您所定义的“原因”必须先于您所定义的“结果”。
Variation: Intervention must be systematic between your independent variable and dependent variable.
变异：干预必须在自变量和因变量之间是系统的。
Non-spurious: Be careful that there are no mitigating factors or hidden third variables that confound your results.
非虚假：请注意，没有缓解因素或隐藏的第三个变量会混淆您的结果。

Correlation doesn’t imply causation, but causation always implies correlation. Inorder to get conclusive causal results, you’ll need to conduct a full experimental design.
相关性并不意味着因果关系，但因果关系总是意味着相关性。为了获得确凿的因果结果，您需要进行完整的实验设计。

Step-by-step example of explanatory research 解释性研究的分步示例

Your explanatory research design depends on the research method you choose to collect your data. In most cases, you’ll use an experiment to investigate potential causal relationships. We’ll walk you through the steps using an example.
您的解释性研究设计取决于您选择收集数据的研究方法。在大多数情况下，您将使用实验来调查可能的因果关系。我们将通过示例向您介绍这些步骤。

Step 1: Develop the research question 第 1 步：提出研究问题

The first step in conducting explanatory research is getting familiar withthe topic you’re interested in, so that you can develop a research question.
进行解释性研究的第一步是熟悉您感兴趣的主题，这样您就可以提出一个研究问题。

Let’s say you’re interested in language retention rates in adults.
假设您对成人的语言保留率感兴趣。

Example: Explanatory research question
示例：解释性研究问题

You have previously studied language retention in adults who were adoptedfrom abroad as children. You discovered that adults who were exposed to a foreign language as infants were better able to relearn the languagethan adults who were never exposed.
您之前研究过从小被国外收养的成年人的语言保持能力。您发现，在婴儿时期接触过外语的成年人比从未接触过外语的成年人更能重新学习这门语言。

You are interested in finding out how the duration of exposure to language influences language retention ability later in life.
您有兴趣了解接触语言的持续时间如何影响以后生活中的语言保留能力。

You want to set up an experiment to answer the following research question: How does the duration of exposure to a language in infancy influencelanguage retention in adults who were adopted from abroad as children?
您想要设置一个实验来回答以下研究问题：婴儿期接触某种语言的持续时间如何影响儿童时期从国外收养的成年人的语言保留？

Step 2: Formulate a hypothesis 第 2 步：制定假设

The next step is to address your expectations. In some cases, there isliterature available on your subject or on a closely related topic thatyou can use as a foundation for your hypothesis. In other cases, the topic isn’t well studied, and you’ll have todevelop your hypothesis based on your instincts or on existingliterature on more distant topics.
下一步是满足您的期望。在某些情况下，有关于您的主题或密切相关主题的可用文献，您可以将其用作假设的基础。在其他情况下，这个话题没有得到很好的研究，您必须根据您的直觉或关于更遥远主题的现有文献来发展您的假设。

Example: Explanatory research hypothesis
示例：解释性研究假设

You expect that adults who have been exposed to a language in infancy for a shorter time are less likely to retain aspects of this language thanadults who have been exposed for a longer period of time.
您会认为，在婴儿期接触一门语言时间较短的成年人比接触一门语言时间较长的成年人更不可能记住这门语言的某些方面。

You phrase your expectations in terms of a null (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1):
您用原假设（H0）和备择假设（H1）来表达您的期望：

H0: The duration of exposure to a language in infancy does not influencelanguage retention in adults who were adopted from abroad as children.
H0：婴儿期接触某种语言的时间不会影响儿童时期从国外收养的成年人的语言保留。
H1: The duration of exposure to a language in infancy has a positive effect on language retention in adults who were adopted from abroad aschildren.
H1：婴儿期接触某种语言的时间对儿童时期从国外收养的成年人的语言保留有积极影响。

Note: It is possible to add multiple hypotheses, but for this example we’ll continue with just one.
注意：可以添加多个假设，但对于此示例，我们将仅继续使用一个假设。

Step 3: Design your methodology and collect your data 第 3 步：设计方法并收集数据

Next, decide what data collection and data analysis methods you will use and write them up. Aftercarefully designing your research, you can begin to collect your data.
接下来，确定您将使用哪些数据收集和数据分析方法，并将它们写下来。在仔细设计您的研究之后，您可以开始收集您的数据。

Example: Data collection and data analysis methods
示例:数据收集和数据分析方法

You decide to conduct an experiment, since you’re interested in testing acausal relationship. You gather a group of adults who were adopted fromColombia but have lived in the United States since the time of theiradoption.
您决定做一个实验，因为您对检验因果关系感兴趣。您收集了一群从哥伦比亚被收养的成年人，但自从他们被收养后就一直住在美国。

You compare: 您比较：

Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 0 and 6 months of age.
从 0 到 6 个月大之间从哥伦比亚收养的成年人。
Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 6 and 12 months of age.
6 至 12 个月大从哥伦比亚收养的成年人。
Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 12 and 18 months of age.
在 12 至 18 个月大之间从哥伦比亚收养的成年人。
Monolingual adults who have not been exposed to a different language.
没有接触过不同语言的单语成年人。

During the study, you test their Spanish language proficiency twice in a research design that has three stages:
在学习过程中，您将在有三个阶段的研究设计中测试他们的西班牙语熟练程度两次：

Pre-test: You conduct several language proficiency tests to establish any differences between groups pre-intervention.
预测试：您进行多项语言能力测试，以确定干预前组之间的任何差异。
Intervention: You provide all groups with 8 hours of Spanish class.
干预：您为所有小组提供 8 小时的西班牙语课程。
Post-test: You again conduct several language proficiency tests to establish any differences between groups post-intervention.
测试后：您再次进行几次语言能力测试，以确定干预后各组之间的任何差异。

You made sure to control for any confounding variables, such as age, gender, proficiency in other languages, etc.
您确保控制任何混杂的变量，如年龄、性别、对其他语言的熟练程度等。

Since you have chosen a between-subjects variable (different exposure duration) and a within-subjects variable (pre-test vs. post-test), you decide to conduct a mixed ANOVA.
由于您选择了受试者间变量（不同的暴露持续时间）和受试者内变量（测试前与测试后），因此您决定进行混合方差分析。

Step 4: Analyze your data and report results 第 4 步：分析数据并报告结果

After data collection is complete, proceed to analyze your data and report the results.
数据收集完成后，继续分析数据并报告结果。

Example: Results

After conducting the experiment, you explore the data. 在进行实验之后，您将探索数据。

You notice that: 您注意到：

The pre-exposed adults showed higher language proficiency in Spanish thanthose who had not been pre-exposed. The difference is even greater forthe post-test.
暴露前的成年人比未暴露的成年人表现出更高的西班牙语语言熟练度。对于后测，差异甚至更大。
The adults who were adopted between 12 and 18 months of age had a higherSpanish language proficiency level than those who were adopted between 0 and 6 months or 6 and 12 months of age, but there was no differencefound between the latter two groups.
在12至18个月大之间被收养的成年人的西班牙语熟练程度高于在0至6个月或6至12个月之间被收养的成年人，但后两组之间没有发现差异。

To determine whether these differences are significant, you conduct amixed ANOVA. The ANOVA shows that all differences are not significantfor the pre-test, but they are significant for the post-test.
要确定这些差异是否显著，您需要进行混合方差分析。方差分析表明，所有差异对于前测都不显著，但对于后检验而言却显著。

You report your results in accordance with the guidelines from the citation style you use (e.g., APA).
您根据您使用的引文样式（例如，APA）的准则报告您的结果。

Step 5: Interpret your results and provide suggestions for future research 第 5 步：解释您的结果并为未来的研究提供建议

As you interpret the results, try to come up with explanations for theresults that you did not expect. In most cases, you want to providesuggestions for future research.
在解释结果时，请尝试对结果做出您意想不到的解释。在大多数情况下，您希望为未来的研究提供建议。

Example: Interpretation and future research ideas
示例：解释和未来的研究思路

Your results were in line with your expectations. Adopted adults who werepre-exposed to a language in infancy for a longer period of time haveretained more of this knowledge than adopted adults who were pre-exposed for a shorter duration and adults who weren’t pre-exposed at all.
您的结果符合您的预期。被收养的成年人在婴儿期被预先接触一种语言的时间较长，他们比被收养的成年人预先接触一种语言的时间较短，或者根本没有预先接触过这种语言的成年人掌握了更多的知识。

However, this difference is only significant after the intervention (the Spanish class.)
然而，这种差异仅在干预后（西班牙语类）才显着。

You decide it’s worth it to further research the matter, and propose a few additional research ideas:
您认为进一步研究这个问题是值得的，并提出了一些额外的研究思路：

Replicate the study with a larger sample
使用更大的样本复制研究
Replicate the study for other maternal languages (e.g. Korean, Lingala, Arabic)
将研究复制到其他母语（例如韩语、林加拉语、阿拉伯语）
Replicate the study for other language aspects, such as nativeness of the accent
将研究复制到其他语言方面，例如口音的母语性

Explanatory vs. exploratory research 解释性研究与探索性研究

It can be easy to confuse explanatory research with exploratory research. If you’re in doubt about the relationship between exploratory and explanatory research, just remember that exploratory research laysthe groundwork for later explanatory research.
很容易将解释性研究与探索性研究混淆。如果您对探索性研究和解释性研究之间的关系有疑问，请记住，探索性研究为后来的解释性研究奠定了基础。

Exploratory research questions often begin with “what”. They are designed to guidefuture research and do not usually have conclusive results. Exploratoryresearch is often utilized as a first step in your research process, tohelp you focus your research question and fine-tune your hypotheses.
探索性研究问题通常以“什么”开始。它们旨在指导未来的研究，通常不会有决定性的结果。探索性研究通常被用作研究过程的第一步，以帮助您专注于研究问题并微调您的假设。

Explanatory research questions often start with “why” or “how”. They help you study why and how a previously studied phenomenon takes place.
解释性研究问题通常以“为什么”或“如何”开始。它们可以帮助您研究以前研究过的现象发生的原因和方式。

在这里插入图片描述

Advantages and disadvantages of explanatory research 解释性研究的优点和缺点

Like any other research design, explanatory research has its trade-offs: while it provides a unique set of benefits, it also has significant downsides:
像任何其他研究设计一样，解释性研究有其权衡取舍：虽然它提供了一系列独特的好处，但它也有明显的缺点：

Advantages 优势

It gives more meaning to previous research. It helps fill in the gaps inexisting analyses and provides information on the reasons behindphenomena.
它为以前的研究赋予了更多的意义。它有助于填补现有分析中的空白，并提供有关现象背后原因的信息。
It is very flexible and often replicable, since the internal validity tends to be high when done correctly.
它非常灵活并且通常是可复制的，因为如果操作得当，内部有效性往往很高。
As you can often use secondary research, explanatory research is oftenvery cost- and time-effective, allowing you to utilize pre-existingresources to guide your research prior to committing to heavieranalyses.
由于您通常可以使用二次研究，因此解释性研究通常非常具有成本效益和时间效率，使您能够在进行更深入的分析之前利用预先存在的资源来指导您的研究。

Disadvantages 弊

While explanatory research does help you solidify your theories and hypotheses, it usually lacks conclusive results.
虽然解释性研究确实可以帮助您巩固您的理论和假设，但它通常缺乏决定性的结果。
Results can be biased or inadmissible to a larger body of work and are not generally externally valid. You will likely have to conduct more robust (often quantitative) research later to bolster any possible findings gleaned from explanatory research.
对于更大的工作范围，结果可能是有偏见的或不可接受的，并且通常在外部无效。您以后可能不得不进行更稳健的（通常是定量的）研究，以支持从解释性研究中收集到的任何可能发现。
Coincidences can be mistaken for causal relationships, and it can sometimes be challenging to ascertain which is the causal variable and which is the effect.
巧合可能会被误认为是因果关系，有时很难确定哪个是因果变量，哪个是效应。

Frequently asked questions about explanatory research 关于解释性研究的常见问题

What is explanatory research? 什么是解释性研究?

Explanatory research is a research method used to investigate how or why something occurs when only a small amount of information is available pertaining to that topic. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic.
解释性研究是一种研究方法，用于调查当只有少量与该主题相关的信息可用时，某事如何发生或为什么发生。它可以帮助您增加对给定主题的理解。

What’s the difference between exploratory and explanatory research?探索性研究和解释性研究的区别是什么?

Exploratory research aims to explore the main aspects of an under-researched problem, while explanatory research aims to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem.
探索性研究旨在探索研究不足的问题的主要方面，而解释性研究旨在解释一个定义明确的问题的原因和后果。

When should I use explanatory research? 什么时候应该使用解释性研究?

Explanatory research is used to investigate how or why a phenomenon occurs. Therefore, this type of research is often one of the first stages in the research process, serving as a jumping-off point for future research.
解释性研究用于调查现象如何发生或为何发生。因此，这种类型的研究往往是研究过程的第一阶段之一，是未来研究的起点。

What’s the difference between quantitative and qualitative methods? 定量方法和定性方法有什么区别?

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.
定量研究处理数字和统计，而定性研究处理单词和含义。

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses. Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.
定量方法使您能够系统地测量变量并检验假设。定性方法使您可以更详细地探索概念和经验。

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