Discriptive research

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH - NOTES

Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.  For example, over time the periodic table’s description of the elements allowed scientists to explain chemical reaction and make sound prediction when elements were combined. Hence, descriptive research cannot describe what caused a situation. Thus, descriptive research cannot be used as the basis of a causal relationship, where one variable affects another. In other words, descriptive research can be said to have a low requirement for internal validity.

Characteristics of Descriptive Research

The term descriptive research then, refers to research questions, design of the research and data analysis that would be conducted on that topic. It is called an observational research method because none of the variables that are part of the research study are influenced in any capacity.

Some distinctive characteristics of descriptive research are:

Quantitative research: Descriptive research is a quantitative research method that attempts to collect quantifiable information to be used for statistical analysis of the population sample. It is an popular market research tool that allows to collect and describe the nature of the demographic segment.

Uncontrolled variables: In descriptive research, none of the variables are influenced in any way. This uses observational methods to conduct the research. Hence, the nature of the variables or their behavior is not in the hands of the researcher.

Cross-sectional studies: Descriptive research is generally a cross-sectional study where different sections belonging to the same group are studied.

Basis for further research: The data collected and analyzed from descriptive research can then be further researched using different research techniques. The data also can help point towards the types of research methods are to be used for the subsequent research.

Descriptive Research Methods

There are 3 distinctive methods to conduct descriptive research. They are:

Observational Method

The observational method is the most effective method to conduct descriptive research and both quantitative observation and qualitative observation are used in this research method.

Quantitative observation is the objective collection of data which is primarily focused on numbers and values –  it suggests “associated to, of or depicted in terms of a quantity”. For example, the researcher can track if current customers will refer the brand by using a simple Net Promoter Score question.

Qualitative observation doesn’t involve measurements or numbers but instead just monitoring characteristics. In this case the researcher observes the respondents from a distance. Since the respondents are in a comfortable environment, the characteristics observed are natural and effective For example, in a supermarket, a researcher can from afar monitor and track the selection and purchasing trends of the customers. This offers a deeper insight into the purchasing experience of the customer.

Case Study Method

Case studies involve in-depth research and study of individuals or groups. Case studies lead to a hypothesis and widen a further scope of studying a phenomenon. However, case studies should not be used to determine cause and effect as they don’t have the capacity to make accurate predictions because there could be a bias on the part of the researcher. The other reason why case studies are not an accurate way of conducting descriptive research is because there could be an atypical respondent in the research and describing them leads to poor generalizations and move away from external validity.

Survey Research

In survey research, respondents answer through surveys or questionnaires, or polls. They are a popular market research tool to collect feedback from respondents. In order for a survey to gather good quality data, it should have good survey questions, which should be a balanced mix of open-ended questions and close ended-questions. The survey method can be conducting online or offline which is makes it the go-to option for descriptive research where the sample size is very large.

Examples of Descriptive Research

An example of where descriptive research can be used is if a school district that wishes to evaluate teachers attitudes about using technology in the classroom. By conducting surveys and observing their comfortableness using technology through observational methods, the researcher can gauge what they can help understand if a full-fledged implementation can face an issues. This also helps in understanding if the students are impacted in any way with this change.

Advantages of Descriptive Research

Some of the major advantages of descriptive research are:

Data collection: Descriptive research can be conducted by using specific methods like observational method, case study method and survey method. Between these 3, all major methods of data collection are covered which provides a lot of information. This can be used for future research or even developing hypothesis of your research object.

Varied: Since the data collected is both qualitative and quantitative, it gives a holistic understanding of a research topic. This causes data that was not planned to be collected gets tracked and the data is varied, diverse and thorough.

Natural environment: Descriptive research allows for the research to be conducted in the natural environment of the respondent and this ensures that high-quality and honest data is collected.

Quick to conduct and cheap: As the sample size is generally large in descriptive research, the data collection is quick to conduct and is cheap.

Forms basis for decision-making: As the data collected in descriptive research represents a larger population and is robust, it is easy to make decisions on the basis of the statistical analysis of that data.

Disadvantages of Descriptive Research

Some of the major disadvantages of descriptive research are:

Confidentiality: Respondents aren’t always truthful if questions are too personal or they feel that they are being “watched”. This may negate the validity of the data.

Halo effect: If the research observer has a potential bias towards the research topic or some respondents in the research, the observations then maybe considered as invalid or untrue.

Sample isn’t representative: Due to the randomness of the sample, it is very tough to validate that the sample is an accurate representation of the whole population.

No scope to learn cause: Since descriptive research only focuses on the “what” of an objective or phenomenon, it does not delve into the “why or how” and that is a limitation in learning specific causes.

CONCLUSION :

Descriptive research is used extensively in social science, psychology and educational research. It can provide a rich data set that often brings to light new knowledge or awareness that may have otherwise gone unnoticed or encountered.  It is particularly useful when it is important to gather information with disruption of the subjects or when it is not possible to test and measure large numbers of samples.  It allows researchers to observe natural behaviors without affecting them in any way.