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Descriptive research

Descriptive research is a study designed to depict the participants in an accurate way.More simply put descriptive research is all about describing people who take part in the study.

A descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied.It does not as about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.

Descriptive research is  conclusive in nature as opposed to exploratory, this means that descriptive research gathers quantifiable information that can be used for statistical inference on your target audience through data analysis.

Descriptive research uses quantitative method to describe what is describing,recording, analysing and interpreting conditions that exist It involves some type of comparison or contrast and attempts to discover relationships between existing non manipulated variables.

Nature of descriptive research

Descriptive research studies are designed to obtain pertinent and precise information concerning the current status of phenomena and, whenever possible, to draw valid general conclusions from the fact discovered.They are restricted not only two factor finding but may often result in the formulation of important principles of knowledge and solution of significant problems concerning local state national and international issues.

Descriptive studies provide three types of informations,

Of what exist with respect to variables or conditions in a situations.

 of what we want by identifying standard or norms with which to compare the present conditions or what consider to be desirable

Of how to achieve goals by exploring possible ways and means on the basis of the experience of others or the opinions of experts.

The activities of descriptive studies researchers are not different from those of the Other researchers.As in any study they identify and define their problem, state  their objectives and hypothesis, list the assumptions upon which their hypothesis and procedures are based, choose appropriate subject and source materials, select or construct tools for collecting data, specify categories of data that are relevant for the purpose of study and capable of bringing out significance similarities,differences or relationships,describe analyse and interpret their data in clear and precise terms and draw significant and meaningful conclusions.At times descriptive researcher  is not directed towards hypothesis testing.

Descriptive research differs from other types of research in purpose and scope.A clear cut distinction can be drawn between descriptive studies and historical studies on the basis of time.The latter deals with the past and the former with the present.The limitations of descriptive descriptive investigations are very similar to those of the historical inquiry in that cause and effect relationship are  difficult to establish and the time at which study is conducted is a critical factor in the interpretation of the data.

Descriptive studies involved events that have already taken place and are selected to a present conditions.The method of descriptive research is relatively less scientifically sophisticated.

Steps in descriptive research.

The process of descriptive study is not different from other forms of research. Since such studies describe and interpret what conditions or relationships exist at present the researcher may adopt  the following steps.

Selection of the problem.

A researcher may be concerned with conditions or relationships that exist, practices that prevail, beliefs, point of view or attitudes that are held, the process that are going on, effects that are being felt or trends that are developing and may select  the problem accordingly from the area of field in which he is interested.

Statement and definition of the problem.

The researcher must state the problem clearly as it is done in case of other types of research. The statement must identify the variables involved in this study. It should specify clearly whether the study is mearly seeking to determine the present status of these variables or whether it will also explore relationship between the variables.

Identification of data

After stating and defining the problem the next step for the researcher is to list the data to be collected for the study. He has to specify whether the data are qualitative or quantitative nature and whether the data will be collected in the form of counts, test scores, responses to questionnaires, interviews and so on.

Selection or development of tool.

The nature of the data to be collected helps the researcher to select the appropriate tools for the study. If the readymade tools are not available the researcher has to develop his own tools. Questionnaires, interviews, Psychology test, rating scales, schedules and attitude scales are the most frequently used tools for descriptive research.If the researcher uses  ready made tools he should satisfy himself about their reliability and validity.

Importance  of descriptive research in education

A descriptive research method has undoubtedly been the most popular and the most widely used result method in education it helps to explain educational phenomena in terms of the condition sir relationships that exist opinion that are held by the students teachers parents and experts.Because of the apparent ease and directness of this method, a researcher can gather information in terms of individuals' opinion about some issue by a simple questionnaire.

The descriptive investigations  are of immense value in solving problems about  children, school organisation,supervision and administration, curriculam, teaching method and evaluation.

The descriptive type of research is useful in the development of data gathering instruments and tools like checklist, schedules, questionnaires and rating scales.

Types of descriptive research

Descriptive studies have been classified variously by various writers. some have classified them on the basis of the purpose they achieve,some on the basis of the geographical areas they cover, and some on the basis of the techniques they employ. These classifications mostly range from the survey,which describes the status of educational variables, to the correlational study,which investigates the relationship between variables.For the sake of convenience and descriptive studies may be classified in the following three categories.

·         Survey studies

·          Interrelationship studies

·         Developmental studies

Survey method

The survey is a non experimental descriptive research method. surveys can be useful when a researcher wants to collect data on phenomena that cannot be directly observed. Surveys are used extensively in library and information science to assess  attitudes and characteristics of a wide range of subjects from the quality of user system interfaces to library user reading habits.Busha and Harter(1988 )state that "a population is any set of persons or objects that possesses at least one common characteristic".

Definition

The survey method is the technique of gathering data by asking questions to people who are told to have desired information.A formal list of questionnaire is prepared.  Generally a non disguised approach is used. The respondents are asked questions on their demographic interest opinion.

Types of Survey method

That are usually collected through the use of questionnaires although sometimes researches Dell interview subjects service can use qualitative or quantitative measures there are two basic types of surveys.

1.       Cross sectional surveys

2.       Longitudinal surveys

Cross sectional surveys

Cross sectional surveys are used to gather information on a population at a single point in time.

Longitudinal surveys

Longitudinal surveys gather data over a period of time. The researcher may then analyse changes in the population and attempt to describe and explain them. The three main types of longitudinal surveys are trend , cohort , and  panel studies .

Characteristics of survey method.

·         Sampling from a population

·         Collecting data through questionnaires or  interviews

·         Designing instruments for data collection

·         Obtaining a high response rate

Survey studies may take  different forms depending upon the scope natural and purpose of the problem under investigation.They may be broad or narrow in scope. some surveys encompass several countries, States Or regions or maybe limited to one country ,region, state ,district ,city ,school system or some other unit.Survey data may be collected from every unit of a population or from a representative Sample.Survey studies describe and specify the purpose of educational phenomena.They include,

1.       School surveys

2.       Job analysis

3.       Public opinion survey

4.       Social survey

School survey

The school survey its not new. The school survey generally is a comprehensive study of existing conditions.Its main purpose is to determine the overall effectiveness of the school programme and suggest improvement where necessary.

According to Good the comprehensive School survey usually covers the following aspects of the school system.

·         Aims,outcomes,Pupile achievement,curriculum, method and instructional aids.

·         Administrative problems and procedures of the schools

·         Financial policies and procedures

·         Operation and maintenance of the physical plant

·         Pupil transportation

·         Staff and personnel

·         School plant and related factors.

 

The scope of school survey is large and varied.A single comprehensive School survey may comprised of various parts or constituent surveys.These includes 1) survey testing 2) School appraisal3)status studies 4)financial studies5)Curriculum studies and6) building surveys.

Job analysis

The method of job analysis is generally used in business and industry.In education it is employed to gather information about  the general duties and responsibilities of the teaching,non teaching and administrative personnel, the specific duties that they perform, their working conditions,the nature and type of their facilities and their status and relationships in the administrative organisation.The data about the education, specialised training, experience, skills, habits, health standards and behavioural traits of these personnel are also collected.These data help researchers to get  knowledge about the existing practices and conditions of employment and the competencies and behavioural traits that the personal possess or should possess to carry out their work effectively and efficiently.Van Daleb has pointed out that an analytical knowledge of job components helps administrators an educationist to,

·         Detect weakness, duplications or inefficiency in the present work procedures.

·         Establish uniform classifications of a similar work.

·         Determine wage or salary schedule for jobs entailing various levels of skills or  responsibility.

·         Assign workers to jobs in a manner that will achieve the best utilisation of the available manpower.

·         Set up training programmes and prepare instructional materials for prospective or inservice employees.

·         Establish requirements for promotion.

·         Make decisions concerning the transfer or retaining of personnel and

·         Develop theoretical framework for studying administrative functions and structures.

The researchers make use of various tools and techniques to collect objective and reliable data while undertaking job analysis.They may interview workers to seek information concerning the nature of their duties, training or professional activities.They may make use of a checklist compiling the broad functions involved in administrative, supervisory or teaching positions.

Public opinion surveys

In order to make some important and crucial decisions industrial political educational and other seek knowledge of the public opinions, attitudes and preferences. Educationist for example conduct public opinion surveys to find out how people feel about school issues.

In public opinion surveys, the researchers usually make use of questionnaires,schedules or interviews to gather data from the selected group or groups following appropriate sampling procedures.

Public opinion surveys have several limitations.At times the data are collected from a readily available group of people which may not always reflect the opinion of the total population.

Social survey

Social surveys are also called communiry survey.The social surveys are of great benefit to the schools in clarifying the social setting in which they exist and function and the expectations of the community with respect to the education of its citizens. Social surveys are generally undertaken to study health services,employment conditions, causes of juvenile delinquency,housing problems or caste discriminations.

Researches who conduct social surveys usually make use of research tools like questionnaires,schedules,interviews, rating scales, direct observation as well as statistical,ecological and other techniques togather data  from government officials, social Agencies, community leaders, school and other educational institutions, students and teachers and various documents.

Advantages of Survey method

·         Surveys are relatively inexpensive.

·         Surveys are used in describing the characteristics of a large population.No other method of observation can provide this general capability.

·         They can be administered from remote locations using mail, email or telephone.

·         Consequently,very large samples are feasible,making the results statistically  significant even when analysing multiple variables.

·         Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving considerable flexibility to the analysis.

·         Standardized questions Make measurement more precise by enforcing uniform defenitions upon the participants.

·         Standardization ensures that  similar data can be collected from groups then interpreted comparatively (between group study).

·         Usually high reliability is easy to obtain by presenting all subjects with a standardized stimulus, observer subjectivity is generally eliminated.

·         As compared to other methods survey yield a broader range of information.

 Disadvantages of Survey method

·         A methodology relying on standardization forces the researcher to develop questions general enough to be minimally appropriate for all respondents,possibly missing what is most appropriate to many respondents.

·         Surveys are in flexible in that they require the initial study design (the tool and administration of the tool) to remain unchanged for the data collection.

·         The researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply

·         It may be hard for participants to record information or to tell the truth about a controversial question

·         As opposed to direct observation survey research(excluding some interview approaches )can seldom  deal with  "context".