Shelyna Lee

Descriptive research

Descriptive presents a picture of the specific details of a situation, social setting, or relationship. Much of
the social research found in scholarly journals or used for making policy decisions is descriptive A
descriptive research studystarts with a well-defined issue or question and tries to describe it accurately.
The study’s outcome is a detailed picture of the issue or answer to the research question.detailed
picture of the issue or answer to the research question. A descriptive study presents a picture of types of
people or of social activities and focuses on “how” and “who” questions. Exploring new issues or
explaining why something happens (e.g., why do heavy-drinking parents abuse their children) is less of a
concern than describing how things are. A great deal of social research is descriptive. Descriptive
researchers use most data-gathering techniques: surveys, field research, content analysis,amd historical
comparative research.

Experimental Study Pre and Quasi

An experiment is a study in which the researcher manipulates the level of some independent variable
and then measures the outcome. Experiments are powerful techniques for evaluating cause-and-effect
relationships. Many researchers consider experiments the "gold standard" against which all other
research designs should be judged. Experiments are conducted both in the laboratory and in real life
situations.

Pre-experimental designs are called such because they often happen before a true experiment is
conducted. Researchers want to see if their interventions will have some effect on a small group of
people before they seek funding and dedicate time to conduct a true experiment. Pre-experimental
designs, thus, are usually conducted as a first step towards establishing the evidence for or against an
intervention. In pre-experimental research design, either a group or various dependent groups are
observed for the effect of the application of an independent variable which is presumed to cause
change. It is the simplest form of experimental research design and is treated with no control group.
Although very practical, experimental research is lacking in several areas of the true-experimental
criteria.

The word "quasi" means partial, half, or pseudo. Therefore, the quasi-experimental research bearing a
resemblance to the true experimental research, but not the same. In quasi-experiments, the
participants are not randomly assigned, and as such, they are used in settings where randomization is
difficult or impossible.This is very common in educational research, where administrators are unwilling
to allow the random selection of students for experimental samples.
Case Study

Gall et al. (1996) defined a case study as, the in-depth study of instances of a phenomenon in its natural
context and from the perspective of the participants involved in the phenomenon. A case study is done
to shed light on a phenomenon, which is the processes, events, persons, or things of interest to the
researcher. Examples of phenomena are programs, curricula, roles, and events. Once the phenomenon
of interest is clarified, the researcher can select a case for intensive study. A case is a particular instance
of the phenomena. The focus of a case study is on a specific phenomenon

Action Research

Action research is a widely used approach to research, as evidenced in the numerous journals whose
titles bear the phrase ‘action research’. The main aim of action research, as one of its key proponents,
Elliott (1991), states, is ‘to improve practice’ (p. 49). It is a methodology for researchers (often teachers)
to understand and generate knowledge about educational practices and their complexity (McAteer,
2013, p. 21). In action research, typically teachers and other parties research their own institutions, staff
development facilitators bring about change and groups and communities undertake research.