A study designed to suggest ideas for future testing, not to confirm them.
A hypothesis-generating study explores patterns or associations in data—often from small samples, secondary analyses, or exploratory designs—to propose hypotheses worth testing rigorously. Its findings should not be treated as confirmatory evidence of an effect, since it typically lacks the pre-specified primary outcome, power, and control for multiple comparisons needed to establish causality. The term is sometimes used loosely (including by study authors themselves) to soften weak or unexpected findings, so it's worth checking whether the label reflects the actual design rather than post-hoc reframing.
This guide was auto-drafted and is pending editorial review.