descriptive research (collegelevel)

1. DESCRIPTIV
E RESEARCH

2. Definition
■ Descriptive research can be explained as a
statement of affairs as they are at present with
the researcher having no control over variable.
Moreover, “descriptive studies may be
characterised as simply the attempt to
determine, describe or identify what is.

3. The purpose of descriptive research
is to
■ observe
■ describe
■ document

4. Research questions in descriptive studies
typically start with ‘What is…”.
Examples:
■ What are the most effective intangible employee
motivation tools in hospitality industry in the
21stcentury?
■ What is the impact of viral marketing on
consumer behaviour in consumer amongst
university students in Canada?

5. ■ • Case study: this approach is used to analyze a particular trend,
event or condition. Here the researcher is supposed to narrow down
a general subject of research and concentrate on a strategically
chosen ‘case’ instead of randomly chosen participants. Case studies
are a great way to develop a hypothesis.
■ • Observation based: this method of descriptive study is
characterized by active participation of the researcher in the event of
phenomenon that is being studied. The data collected through
observation is descriptive and is in the form of notes, assimilated
over a long duration, or recordings of behavior and communication of
the group members. An essential factor to be remembered is that the
researcher must not influence the behavior of the participants in any
way.
■ • Survey: surveys are popular amongst management students,
especially in the field of marketing. Even government authorities use
surveys at the local as well as national level to accumulate important
demographic information. These are easy to design and the cost
involved varies according to the scale of research.
■ The presetation of results and conclusions in such studies is in
narrative form and critical analysis of subjective information can be
done.
■ Survey Research
■ Survey research is one of the most commonly used research
methods in social sciences. Researchers randomly selects
respondents from a population to answer a standardized
questionnaire, or conduct a face-to-face interview or telephone
interview to collect data to assess people's behavior, beliefs and
attitudes.

7. ■ Focus
■ Descriptive Research: Descriptive research describes the
population through identifying the characteristics.
■ Causation:
■ Descriptive Research: Descriptive research does not
stress on causality.
■ Outcome:
■ Descriptive Research: Descriptive research answers the
question what.