A public re$$ations and marketing company got an account for a new CBD ointment that alleviates arthritis pain. The company started the investigation process to identify how prevalent arthritis is and how well$-$known CBD products are. The researdhers found that virtually no one had heard about CBD and its use in alleviating pain. This example best illustrates what type of research application?

exploratory research

explanatory research

descriptive research

applied research