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Researchers should choose techniques that are appropriate for the data and the question being asked. Choosing the appropriate research design for a study is crucial to the success of the study. Moreover, researchers should choose a design that best fits the research question and the type of data needed to answer it. Descriptive research studies a particular population or sample that is representative of the larger population being studied. Furthermore, sampling methods can include convenience, stratified, or random sampling.
A qualitative quantitative mixed methods study of domestic violence against women - BMC Women's Health - BioMed Central
A qualitative quantitative mixed methods study of domestic violence against women - BMC Women's Health.
Posted: Tue, 20 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Descriptive research examples and applications
Of the 9884 children screened, 1297 (13.1%) had myopia (defined as spherical refractive error of −0.50 diopters (D) or worse in either or both eyes), and the mean myopic error was −1.86 ± 1.4 D. Furthermore, overall, 322 (3.3%), 247 (2.5%) and 3 children had mild, moderate, and severe visual impairment, respectively. These data would be helpful to a health planner to assess the need for a school eye health program, and to know the proportion of children in her jurisdiction who would need corrective glasses. Cross-sectional studies can be thought of as providing a “snapshot” of the frequency and characteristics of a disease in a population at a particular point in time. These are very good for measuring the prevalence of a disease or of a risk factor in a population. Thus, these are very helpful in assessing the disease burden and healthcare needs.
Frequently asked questions
Researchers can use tools like interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic studies to illustrate why things are what they are and help characterize the research problem. It gives meaning and context to the numbers supplied by quantitative descriptive research. Read on to understand the characteristics of descriptive research and explore its underlying techniques, processes, and procedures. In a commercial setting, retailers often use descriptive research to figure out trends in shopping and buying decisions. One of the biggest examples of descriptive research that is used in every democratic country, is during elections.
Methodology
Qualitative coding can be used to identify common themes, patterns, or categories within the data. This method involves analyzing data to summarize and describe the key features of a sample or population. Descriptive statistics can include measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, mode) and measures of variability (e.g., range, standard deviation). This involves an in-depth examination of a single individual, group, or situation to gain a detailed understanding of its characteristics or dynamics. Case studies are often used in psychology, sociology, and business to explore complex phenomena or to generate hypotheses for further research.
Use valid and reliable data collection methods
(PDF) A Descriptive study to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding basic life support among non-medical ... - ResearchGate
(PDF) A Descriptive study to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding basic life support among non-medical ....
Posted: Fri, 01 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Before you can develop testable hypotheses, models, or theories, it’s necessary to observe and systematically describe the subject under investigation. A descriptive research design can use a wide variety of research methods to investigate one or more variables. Unlike in experimental research, the researcher does not control or manipulate any of the variables, but only observes and measures them.
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More specifically, it helps answer the what, when, where, and how questions regarding the research problem rather than the why. The most well-known include cross-sectional studies, census surveys, sample surveys, case reports, and comparison studies. Your survey might be a brief interview or conversation with a set of prepared questions intended to obtain quick information from the primary source.
This involves gathering information from many people using a questionnaire and interview. Descriptive research aims to accurately and systematically describe a population, situation or phenomenon. An online survey or questionnaire can be used in descriptive studies to gather quantitative information about a particular problem.
Case reports and case series
Furthermore, these studies often do not face serious ethics scrutiny, except if the information sought to be collected is of confidential nature (e.g., sexual practices, substance use, etc.). However, this design does carry a risk of bias, i.e., the results of the study may not represent the true situation in the population. The measurement bias in this study would relate to the accuracy of measurement and the cutoff used. If the investigators had used a cutoff of −0.25 D (instead of −0.50 D) to define myopia, the prevalence would have been higher. Furthermore, if the measurements were not done accurately, some cases with myopia could have been missed, or vice versa, affecting the study results.
Explanatory Research – Types, Methods, Guide
This may help generate hypotheses regarding the cause of the disease, which can then be verified using another, more complex design. For instance, an ecological association between higher income level and greater cardiovascular mortality across countries may be related to a higher prevalence of obesity. Third, migration of people between regions with different exposure levels may also introduce an error. A fourth consideration may be the use of differing definitions for exposure, outcome or both in different populations. Visualization can help identify patterns or relationships between variables and make it easier to communicate findings to others. This method involves analyzing data by creating a table that shows the frequency of two or more variables together.
One of the first steps in planning a research study is the choice of study design. The available study designs are divided broadly into two types – observational and interventional. Of the various observational study designs, the descriptive design is the simplest. It allows the researcher to study and describe the distribution of one or more variables, without regard to any causal or other hypotheses. This article discusses the subtypes of descriptive study design, and their strengths and limitations.
The descriptive research design involves observing and collecting data on a given topic without attempting to infer cause-and-effect relationships. The goal of descriptive research is to provide a comprehensive and accurate picture of the population or phenomenon being studied and to describe the relationships, patterns, and trends that exist within the data. The importance of descriptive research lies in its ability to provide a glimpse of the current state of a phenomenon, offering valuable insights and establishing a basic understanding. Additionally, descriptive research can contribute to the development of hypotheses and guide the formulation of research questions for subsequent studies.
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