Casula, MattiaRangarajan, NandhiniShields, Patricia M.2020-12-092020-12-092020-12Casula, M., Rangarajan, N., & Shields, P. M. (2020). The potential of working hypotheses for deductive exploratory research. Quality and Quantity.https://hdl.handle.net/10877/13054While hypotheses frame explanatory studies and provide guidance for measurement and statistical tests, deductive, exploratory research does not have a framing device like the hypothesis. To this purpose, this article examines the landscape of deductive, exploratory research and offers the working hypothesis as a flexible, useful framework that can guide and bring coherence across the steps in the research process. The working hypothesis conceptual framework is introduced, placed in a philosophical context, defined, and applied to public administration and comparative public policy. Doing so, this article explains: the philosophical underpinning of exploratory, deductive research; how the working hypothesis informs the methodologies and evidence collection of deductive, explorative research; the nature of micro-conceptual frameworks for deductive exploratory research; and, how the working hypothesis informs data analysis when exploratory research is deductive.Text23 pages1 file (.pdf)enexploratory researchworking hypothesisdeductive qualitative researchpragmatismPolitical ScienceArticle© The Author(s).https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-020-01072-9This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.