What is the purpose of framing a research question in the exploration steps?

Framing a research question in the exploration steps is essential because it helps to clarify the research objectives. A well-defined research question serves as a guide for the entire research process, outlining the specific areas that need to be investigated. This clarity ensures that researchers focus on relevant information, align their efforts with the goals of the investigation, and develop a roadmap for collecting and analyzing data. By establishing precise objectives, researchers can more effectively communicate the purpose of their work and can help ensure that the research findings will answer the questions posed at the outset.

While the other options touch on important aspects of research, they do not directly address the foundational role of framing the research question at the exploratory stage. Evaluating future research methods is a potential outcome of having defined objectives but is not the primary purpose of framing the question. Gathering competitor analysis is an aspect of market research but does not inherently relate to the framing of a research question. Validating the research hypothesis is a step that occurs later in the research process, following the initial framing and data collection phases.