Which of the following is a form of explanatory research in which the researcher develops a theoretical model and empirically tests how well the model fits the data?

Causal modelling develops a theoretical model and empirically tests how well it fits the observed data.

Predictive research forecasts future outcomes but does not centre on fitting a causal model.

Descriptive research portrays characteristics of a phenomenon without building an explanatory model.

Exploratory research probes a little-known problem to generate ideas rather than to test model fit.

Causal modelling often uses path analysis or structural equation modelling to represent relations.

It lets researchers estimate direct and indirect effects among several variables at once.