Descriptive Research Flashcards
Said that descriptive research involves the description, recording, analysis, and interpretation of the present nature. The focus is on prevailing conditions or how a person or group behaves. It often involves some types of comparison or contrast.
Manuel and Medel
Who said “It is fact-finding with adequate interpretation. It is something more and beyond than data gathering. Data must be subjected to the thinking process in terms of ordered reasoning.
Descriptive research describes and interprets what is. It is concerned with conditions or relationships that exists. The process of descriptive research goes beyond mere gathering and tabulation of data.”
Aquino
Said that “Description is often combined with comparison and contrast involving measurements, classifications, interpretation, and evaluation.”
Best (Cited by Sanchez)
May be defined as a purposive process of gathering, analyzing, classifying, and tabulating data about practices or beliefs and cause-effect relationships and then making adequate interpretation about data with or without statistical methods.
Descriptive Research
Give the characteristics of Descriptive Research (8)
- Descriptive research ASCERTAINS PREVAILING CONDITIONS OF FACTS in a group or case under study.
- It GIVES QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTION of the general characteristics of the group or case under study.
- PREVAILING CONDITIONS ARE NOT EMPHASIZED
- STUDY OF CONDITIONS at different periods of time may be made and the change or progress that took place between periods may be noted or evaluated for any value.
- COMPARISONS of the characteristics of two groups or cases may be made to determine their similarities and differences.
6.The VARIABLES are NOT usually CONTROLLED. - Descriptive studies, except in case studies, are generally CROSS-SECTIONAL, that is, it studies the different sections belonging to the same group.
8.Studies on prevailing conditions may or CAN BE REPEATED for purposes of verification and comparison.’
Value, Importance, and Advantages of Descriptive Research (Good and Scates) (7)
1.Descriptive research contributes much to the FORMULATION OF PRINCIPLES AND GENERALIZATIONS in behavioral sciences. This is especially true in causal-comparative and correlation studies.
2.Descriptive research contributes much to the ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARD NORMS OF CONDUCT, behavior, or performance. This is especially true in psychological testing, as for instance, norms in an intelligence test. Normative standards are based on what are prevalent.
3.Descriptive research REVEALS PROBLEMS OR ABNORMAL CONDITIONS so that remedial measures may be instituted. It reveals to us what we do not want, what we want, and how to acquire what we want.
4.Descriptive research makes POSSIBLE the PREDICTION OF FUTURE on the basis of findings on prevailing conditions, correlations, and on the basis of reactions of people toward certain issues.
5.Descriptive research gives a BETTER AND DEEPER UNDERSTANDING ON A PHENOMENON on the basis of an in-depth study of the phenomenon.
6.Descriptive research provides a BASIS FOR DECISION MAKING.
7.Descriptive research helps FASHION TOOLS with which we do research, such as, instruments for the measurement of many things, instruments that are employed in all types of quantitative research. These instruments include schedules, checklists, score cards, and rating scales.
What are the techniques under the descriptive method of research?
Survey, Case Study, Content Analysis
Is a fact-finding study with adequate and accurate interpretation. It is used to collect demographic data about people’s behavior, practices, intentions, beliefs, attitudes, opinions, judgments, interests, perceptions, and the like and then such data are analyzed, organized, and interpreted.
Survey
Is a comprehensive, complete, detailed, and in-depth study and analysis of an individual, institution, group, or community.
Case Study
Is a research technique deals with documentary materials that are already existing and available. “____________ is a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description manifest content of communication.” Bereleson
Content Analysis
Give the advantages of survey over case study. (6)
1.Survey reveals what is typical, average, or normal against which the behavior or performance of an individual can be judged or evaluated.
2.The results of a survey may be used for prediction. This is especially true in correlation studies or even in status studies.
3.Survey makes possible the formulation of generalizations because the sample has a high degree of representativeness.
4.Survey reveals problems for which timely remedial measures may be instituted.
5.It is easy to get respondents for a survey.
6.The instruments for gathering data are easy to determine, construct, validate, and administer.
Disadvantages of the Survey over Case Study (1-3 Simon; 4-5 Treece & Treece Jr.) (5)
1.Lack of manipulation over independent variables.
2.One cannot progressively investigate one aspect after another of the independent variable to get closer to the real cause.
3.Statistical devices are not always able to separate the effects of several independent variables when there is multivariable causation, especially when two independent variables are themselves highly associated.
4.Survey approach yields a low degree of control or there is no control at all over extraneous variables.
The instrument for gathering data may lack validity, reliability, or adequacy.
The entire population is involved in the survey.
Total Population Survey
The investigator researches on the attitudes and behaviors of different groups of people.
Social Survey
This is used to gather data for and about schools and to assess educational achievement and education itself.
School Survey
This is used to gauge the reactions of people towards certain issues or persons.
Public Opinion Survey
This is a survey in which the respondents are asked if they are voting for a certain candidate in an election.
Poll Survey
This is aimed at finding out what kinds of people purchase which products, and how packaging, advertising, and displaying affect prices, and so on.
Market Survey
The researcher looks back to see what has been accomplished and, with a critical eye, evaluates the results whether they are satisfactory or not, with the end in view of making improvements.
Evaluation Survey
9.In this survey, the results from two different groups, techniques, or procedures are compared. This may be used also to compare the effectiveness of a new procedure with an old one or with a standard, or two new procedures may be compared.
Comparative Survey
In this survey, data are collected over a period of weeks, months, or even years but the period should be less than five years.
Short-term Survey