THE CONVERSATION

With Jann and Shai

DESCRIPTIVE
RESEARCH
By: Group 1 - ABM 1203
What is Descriptive
Research?
■ According to creswell (1994) the
descriptive method of research is to
gather information about the present
existing conditions.
■ Descriptive research answers the
question what, where, when and how
but not why questions.
Characteristics of a Descriptive
Research
It consist with statistical outcomes
Does not manipulate variables or environment
Descriptive research investigates the phenomena
in natural things
■ Descriptive research is employed to validate
existing conditions.
 Ways to Conduct Descriptive
Research
Observations
■ Allow you to gather data on behaviours and
phenomena without having to rely on the honesty
and accuracy of respondents.
■ This method is often used by psychological, social
and market researchers to understand how people act
in real-life situations
Survey
■ Allow u to gather large volumes of data that can be
analyzed for frequencies, averages and pattern,
■ Common uses of surveys include
■ •Describing the demographics of a country or region
■ •Gauging public opinion on political and social
topics
•Evaluating satisfaction with a company’s products or
an organization’s services
Case Study
■ Can be used to describe the characteristics of a
specific subject (such as a person, group,
event or organization).
■ Instead of gathering a large volume of data to
identify patterns across time or location, case
studies gather detailed data to identify the
characteristics of a narrowly defined subject.
TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE
RESEARCH
Descriptive studies can be of several types,
namely, case reports, case series, cross-
sectional studies, and ecological studies. In
the first three of these, data are collected on
individuals, whereas the last one uses
aggregated data for groups.
CASE REPORTS and CASE
SERIES
■ Case reports refers to the description of a
patient with an unusual disease or with
simultaneous occurrence of more than one
condition.
■ A case series is similar, except that it is an
aggregation of multiple (often only a few)
similar cases.
CROSS SECTIONAL STUDIES
■ Cross-sectional studies can be thought of as
providing a “snapshot” of the frequency and
characteristics of a disease in a population
at a particular point in time.
■ These are very good for measuring the
prevalence of a disease or of a risk factor in
a population.
ECONOLOGICAL
STUDIES
■Ecological (also sometimes called as
correlational) study design involves
looking for association between an
exposure and an outcome across
populations rather than in
individuals.
Some Examples of Descriptive
Research
■ A specialty food group
launching a new range of
barbecue rubs would like
to understand what flavors
of rubs are favored by
different people.
To understand the preferred flavor palette,
they conduct this type of research study using
various methods like observational methods
in supermarkets. By also surveying while
collecting in-depth demographic information,
offers insights about the preference of
different markets.
QUIZ!!!
1. What is an in-depth investigation of an individual subject?
2. Subjects in a study who do not receive the special
treatment given to the experimental group?
3. In descriptive research, what is a method of viewing and
recording participants?
4. What is the most common way of descriptive research
questions?
■ 5. What is the most common way of describing research
questions?
6-8.What are the types of a Descriptive
Research?
9. Give one of the characteristics of a
Descriptive Research should have
■ 10. aims to accurately and systematically
describe a population, situation or
phenomenon.