Dosing directions and measuring devices included with topselling pediatric overthecounter liquid medications were highly inconsistent as of november 2009, when the food and drug administration issued voluntary industry guidelines in response to numerous reports of unintentional overdoses among children, according to a descriptive study of 200 such medications. The practice of breastfeeding has been recommended for reinforcing the health of babies and mothers and promoting motherchild bonding. The aim of this study was to assess the beliefs, and associated behaviours, regarding the healthrisk of smoking the waterpipe. The term descriptive research refers to the type of research question, design, and data analysis that will be applied to a given topic. Many scientific disciplines, especially social science and psychology, use this method to obtain a general overview of the subject. The purpose of the descriptive study is to describe the finding in natural situations 12. Difference between descriptive and analytic epidemiology. It allows the researcher to study and describe the distribution of one or more variables, without regard to any causal or other hypotheses. Descriptive statistics is a branch of statistics that aims at describing a number of features of data usually involved in a study.
More simply put, descriptive research is all about describing people who take part in the study. Data is collected over time, place and person to look for trends and changes. A crosssectional descriptive study was conducted with a sample of first year students at a historically black university in the western cape, south africa. Moreover, descriptive studies may be characterised as simply the attempt to determine, describe or identify what is, while analytical research attempts to establish why it is that way or how it came to be1. Descriptive research can be explained as a statement of affairs as they are at present with the researcher having no control over variable. A survey of marketingresearch textbooks shows there is no single definition of descriptive research. Descriptive definition is presenting observations about the characteristics of someone or something. Descriptive research generates data, both qualitative and quantitative, that define the state of nature at a point in time.
Descriptive definition of descriptive by merriamwebster. Supplement for chapter 14 qualitative descriptive studies. Inferential statistics, power estimates, and study design formalities continue to suppress biomedical innovation scott e. Holcombmccoy and mitchell present the results of a descriptive study that explored urban school counselors roles and functions within the context of comprehensive and developmental school counseling models e.
For studies that combine descriptive analysis quantitative and other. In general, there are three primary reasons to conduct descriptive studies. Description and explanation social researchers ask two fundamental types of research questions. Pdf on may 20, 2019, sohil sharma and others published descriptive research designs find, read and cite all the research you need on. Descriptive research means observing and measuring without manipulating variables. The present chapter discusses the descriptive data analysis used by the researcher for her study. Pdf malnutrition has become an urgent global health issue, with under nutrition killing or disabling millions of children each year.
Data collection techniques using a method of interview, observation and research documentation. This article discusses the subtypes of descriptive study design, and their strengths and limitations. Descriptive research and qualitative research springerlink. Descriptive epidemiology generates hypotheses whereas analytic epidemiology test for hypotheses to deduce conclusions. In this qualitative descriptive study, the intention was to add to the. Methods of sampling, data collection and data analysis. Crosssectional study objective to estimate the magnitude and patterns of violence against pregnant women study populationbased, household, crosssectional study in mbeya and dar es salaam, tanzania, 20012002 result violence experienced by 7% in dar es salaam and 12% in mbeya. Descriptive research design definition, methods and examples. In most cases, a case study method selects a small geographical area or a very limited number of individuals as the subjects of study. Descriptive studies can be of several types, namely, case reports, case series, crosssectional studies, and ecological studies. Descriptive research does not fit neatly into the definition of either quantitative or. Descriptive research encompasses much government sponsored research including the population census, the collection of a wide range of social indicators and economic information such as household expenditure patterns, time use studies, employment and crime statistics and the like. Tupou a dissertation presented to the department of educational methodology, policy, and leadership and the graduate school of the university of oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of.
Descriptive study article about descriptive study by the. First of all, you need to understand for yourself what, how and why you need to study. A descriptive, crosssectional study was conducted using a mailed pencil and paper survey, sent to 300 primary pediatric providers in montana selected from 900 child health insurance plan chip providers. Descriptive statistics tell what is, while inferential statistics try to determine cause and effect. Timetrend analysis is a longitudinal descriptive study that can provide a dynamic view of a populations health status. This methodology focuses more on the what of the research subject rather than the why of the research subject. Descriptive research design descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. These types of research have also begun to be increasingly used in the field of. Crosssectional means that you conduct the survey at just one point in time.
Of the various observational study designs, the descriptive design is the simplest. Qualitative and descriptive data analysis hossein nassaji university of victoria, canada qualitative and descriptive research methods have been very common procedures for conducting research in many disciplines, including education, psychology, and social sciences. A descriptive study, involving observation and analysis, shows that insufficient problem definition relates to high percentages of time. The independent variables are the experimenter manipulates or controls in his or her attempt to ascertain their relationship to observed phenomena. Given the range in the intent, approach, and findings of descriptive studies, the guidelines are not expected to pertain in full to each study. Some authors, for instance, argue that only crosssectional. Inferential statistics, power estimates, and study design. There are three main types of descriptive research commonly used in the. Aggarwal 2008 descriptive research is devoted to the gathering of information about prevailing conditions or situations for the purpose of description and interpretation. The three main ways to collect this information are. A qualitative descriptive study examining the current state of the.
Qualitative and descriptive research methods have been very common procedures for. Case reports describe the experience of a single patient or a group of patients with a similar diagnosis. Definition of descriptive research in the dictionary. A quantitative, descriptive study was conducted to determine.
A descriptive study answers questions such as who, what, where, and when. Descriptive research is a study designed to depict the participants in an accurate way. Kern the sidney kimmel comprehensive cancer center at johns hopkins, dept. Polit and beck, in a paper that won an award from sigma theta tau international in 2011, analyzed more. The key difference between descriptive and analytic epidemiology is the approach taken to address the particular health issue. A descriptive study design is one in which your primary goal is to assess a sample at one specific point in time without trying to make inferences or causal statements. Hence, the descriptive survey research method was adopted. Consider the example of a descriptive epidemiologic study of children who were exclusively breastfed. Descriptive case study a descriptive case study is a story about a real world situation facing people or groups and how they addressed it. Descriptive research design 9 is a valid method for researching specific subjects and as a precursor to more quantitative studies.
Once a researcher has a definition of the construct to be described that he or she. Experimental research definition, types of designs and advantages. It is the thing which is widely used in science and psychology, where they usually make overviews about their subject. These are descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistical analysis. An overview of descriptive studies in relation to a general design. Definition and usage of descriptive statistics a research. The present study is an exploratory, descriptive and contextual qualitative study in reproductive health. This first article is one that can be said to have adopted a descriptive research design.
Descriptive study definition of descriptive study by. It includes a concise but thorough account of the facts of the situation and expert commentary to help the audience understand the causes of the problem, the forces. Pdf on feb 26, 2015, hossein nassaji and others published qualitative and descriptive research. The main purpose of descriptive statistics is to provide a brief summary of the samples and the measures done on a particular study. Assumptions in this study were discussed in detail in chapter 1, section 1. A descriptive study of the perceptions and behaviors of.
A crosssectional survey is a specific method you could use in a descriptive research study. Descriptive study definition of descriptive study by the. Descriptive research can be used to increase understanding and knowledge about the behavior and thought processes of people. Pdf ways to study descriptive research researchgate. The term descriptive research refers to the type of research question, design, and data. Pdf a lot of knowledge is needed for a good design.
Variables are the conditions or characteristics that the experimenter manipulates, control, or observes. Descriptive analysis characterizes the world or a phenomenonanswering. In the first three of these, data are collected on individuals, whereas the last one uses aggregated data for groups. Descriptive research is defined as a research method that describes the characteristics of the population or phenomenon that is being studied. This is accomplished using four different types of studies. Three main purposes of descriptive studies can be explained as describing, explaining and validating research findings. Nakatsukasa and loewen conducted a study to understand how a language. Now, lets figure out what are steps by step to effective descriptive research. Whilst there are some valid concerns about the statistical validity 10, as long as the limitations are understood by the researcher, this type of study is an invaluable scientific tool.
Information and translations of descriptive research in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. An important characteristic of descriptive research relates to the fact that while descriptive research can employ a number of variables, only one variable is required to conduct a descriptive study. Descriptive research design observing a phenomenon. Descriptive research does not fit neatly into the definition of either quantitative or qualitative research. Descriptive research does not fit neatly into the definition of either quantitative or qualitative research methodologies, but instead it can utilize elements of both, often within the same study. Definition of case study case study method enables a researcher to closely examine the data within a specific context.
1134 80 622 509 800 562 1159 608 448 688 237 1285 264 824 361 563 1476 1540 794 662 10 515 1066 16 1062 1227 370 566 344 1039 280 128 1217 1487 110 408 464