It discussed descriptive research design

1. Descriptive Research
Dr. Biswajit Acharjya

2. Introduction
• It is the most widely-used research design as indicated by the theses,
dissertations and research reports of institutions.
• Its common means of obtaining information include the use of the
questionnaire, personal interviews with the aid of study guide or
interview schedule, and observation, either participatory or not.
• It basically identifies the information about a group of person, a
number of objects, a set of conditions, a class of events, a system of
thoughts or any other kind of phenomenon or experience which one
may wish to study.

3. Introduction
• Fact-finding with adequate interpretation.
• Something more and beyond just data-gathering
• Data collected should be reported from the point of view of the
objectives and the basic assumption of the project
• Report is not considered as research unless discussion of those data is
not carried up to the level of adequate interpretation.

4. Uses
• Describe characteristics of certain groups e.g profile users of a brand
with respect to income, gender, age, education etc. Ex. Smart phone
average age, income, education.
• Estimate the proportion of people who behave in a certain way e.g.
the proportion of target customer who live or work within a specified
radius of a proposed shopping complex who would shop there.
Example- I expect this much population will visit next month.
• Make specific prediction e.g. purchase intention for a new or
established product.
• Purchase intention in a scale of 0-10

5. Nature of Descriptive Research
• Descriptive research is designed for the investigator to gather
information about present existing conditions.
• Descriptive research involves collection of data in order to test the
hypothesis or to answer questions concerning the current status of the
subject of the study.
• Descriptive study determines and reports the way things are. It has no
control over what is, and it can only measure what already exist.
• Descriptive research has been criticized for its inability to control
variables, for being a post-hoc study and for more frequently yielding
only descriptive rather than predictive, findings.

6. AIM of Descriptive Research
• The principal aims in employing descriptive research are to describe
the nature of a situation as it exists at the time of the study and to
explore the causes of particular phenomena. (Travers, 1978)
• Descriptive Research seeks to tell “what exists” or “what is” about a
certain educational phenomenon. Accurate observations and
assessments arise from data that ascertain the nature and incidence of
prevailing conditions, practices or description of object, process, and
person who are all objects of the study.

7. AIM of Descriptive Research
– contribute in the formation of principles and generalization in
behavioural sciences
– contribute in the establishment of standard norms of conduct,
behaviour, or performance.
– reveal problems or abnormal conditions ;
– make possible prediction of future on the basis of findings on prevailing
conditions, corrections, and on the basis of reactions of people toward
certain issues;
– give better and deeper understanding of phenomenon on the basis of an
in-depth study of the phenomenon.
– provide basis for decision-making.

8. Introduction
Exploratory
Research
Descriptive
Research
Causal
Research
Develop
Hypothesis
• Hypothesis is a statement that
specifies how two or more
measurable variable are related

9. Descriptive
Studies
Longitudinal
True Panel
Omnibus
Panel
Cross
sectional
Sample
Survey
• Longitudinal- Over a period of
time
• Cross-sectional- At a given time

10. Longitudinal vs Cross sectional
• Longitudinal
• Know about customer who are there
or not
• Allow turnover analysis if a panel is a
true panel.
• Allow collection of a great deal more
classification information from
respondents. Allows longer and more
exacting interviews
• Produces fewer errors in reporting
past behavior because of natural
forgetting
• Produces fewer interviewer
interviewee interaction error
• Cross Sectional
• Know about customer who are there
presently
• Tends to produce more representative
samples of the population of interest.
• Produces fewer errors due to
respondents behavior being affected
by the measurement task.
• Allows the investigation of a great
many relationship