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Definitions

• Descriptive research: is a study designed to depict the participants in

an accurate way.

Descriptive Research • More simply: descriptive research is all about describing people who
take part in the study

Types of Descriptive Research Descriptive Research: Observational

• Observational: defined as a method of viewing and recording the
participants
• Correlational: defined as a study of the relation between two or
more characteristics
• Developmental Research: defined as a study of how a particular
characteristics changes as people grow older.
• Survey: defined as a brief interview or discussion with an individual
about a specific topic
• Observes the situation as it is without changing or modifying the
situation
• Involves planning, attention to detail, time consuming, & requires
multiple researches (assistants)
• Two types: Quantitative & Qualitative

Quantitative Vs Qualitative Stay Objective

• Qualitative: record observations in details (using notes, videotapes)
 construct a complex picture of the studied environment
• Quantitative: Only certain aspects of the elements studied are being
recorded (certain human behaviors)  rated for accuracy, intensity,
maturity, etc.
• Always stay objective
• Define the behavior being studied precisely
• Divide the observation period into measurable segments (to observe
the behavior occurrences)
• Use a rating scale to evaluate the behavior in specific dimensions
• Include multiple people to observe the the behavior occurrences
• Train the raters to use specific criteria while observing the the
behavior occurrences

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Descriptive Research: Correlation Research Developmental Research Design

• Examines the extent to which differences in one characteristics or
variable are related to differences in one or more other
characteristics or variables
• It exists if one variable increases, the other variable increases or
decreases in (somehow) predictable fashion
• Researchers collect two or more characteristics for a particular unit
of study
• Note: Correlation doesn’t infer a causation relationship between the
characteristics
• A study of how a particular characteristics changes as people grow
older.
• Cross-Sectional Study: People from several different age-groups are
sampled and compared (correlational study)
• Different environment conditions
• Can’t compute correlation between characteristics at different ages
• Longitude Study: A single group of people is followed over the
course of several months or years, and data related to the
characteristics studied are collected over time.
• Losing participants over time
• Better performance: practice

Developmental Research Design Descriptive Research: Survey

• Overcome the problems by: Cohort-Sequential Design
• Researcher begins with two or more age groups and follow each age-
group over a period of time
• Disadvantages:
• Require long time
• Finding same age groups with similar characteristics is hard
• Involves acquiring information about one or more groups of people
by asking them questions and documenting their answers
• A list of questions is created
• Questions are answered by participants
• A summery of responses is created (in percentages)
• Statistical analysis is performed
• Inferences are made based on the analysis

Interviews Vs Questionnaires Planning for Data Collection

• Structured or Semi Structured • Interested in measuring one or more variables

• Face-to-Face Interviews • Simple variables (length, weight, etc.)
• Make a list and meet them • Complex variables (people’s opinion, people’s reaction, etc.)
• Expensive & time consuming • Practical Applications:
• Telephone Interviews • Using Checklists & Rating Scales
• Literally call anyone on earth • Computerizing Observations
• Less expensive & time consuming • Planning & Conducting Interviews in Quantitative Study
• Less response rate • Constructing & Administrating a Questionnaire
• Using the Internet to Collect Data for a Descriptive Study
• Questionnaires
• Sent to massive number of people
• Cheaper but low response rate

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Practical Applications:
Using Checklists & Rating Scales
• Checklist: list of behaviors or characteristics for which a researcher is
looking to study.
• Usually documented in yes/no or observed/not observed during the period
of the study
• Rating Scales: developed by Rensis Likert, and sometimes called the
Likert Scales
• Usually used to evaluate the feeling/behavior of people on a continuum (like:
“Never” or “Always”, “Strongly Disagree” or “Strongly Agree”)
Practical Applications:
Computerizing Observations
• Using Computer Applications to record the answers
• Spreadsheet or template in a document
• Simple checklists with participant ID and X for the checked items
• Use tablets or mobile scanning devices to record the responses
instead of pencil & paper
• Google docs or Surveymonkey.com are good examples
Practical Applications:
Constructing & Administrating a Questionnaire
• Not as easy as it seems, can be tricky
• Majority of the cases deal with low return rates
• Tips on how to construct a successful questionnaire:
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Practical Applications:
Using Checklists & Rating Scales
Practical Applications: Planning & Conducting
Interviews in Quantitative Study
• More than just asking questions
• Should be carefully planned and worded
• Setup the interview questions in advance
• Send the agenda of questions to the interviewee
• Ask for permission to record the interview (sound or video)
• Confirm the date and time at the begging of the interview
• Send a reminder of the questions 10 days before the interview
• Be prompt, follow the agenda, be prepared with extra copies
• Offer acknowledgment after the interview/obtain confirmation
• Get written permission from interviewees prior to publishing
Practical Applications:
Constructing & Administrating a Questionnaire
• Keep it short
• Keep the respondent’s task simple & concrete
• Provide straightforward, specific instructions
• Use simple, clear, unambiguous language
• Give a rationale for any items whose purpose maybe unclear
• Check for unwarranted assumptions implicit in your questions
• Word your questions in ways that don’t give clues about a desired response
• Determine in advance how you will code the responses
• Check for consistency
• Conduct at least 1 pilot study to validate your questions
• Scrutinize the almost final product one more time
• Make the questionnaire attractive and professional looking
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Practical Applications: Practical Applications:

Constructing & Administrating a Questionnaire Constructing & Administrating a Questionnaire

• Using technology to facilitate Questionnaires: • Maximizing the return rate for a questionnaire:
• Use e-mail to request participation and obtain participants’ responses • Consider the timing
• If you use paper mail delivery rather than email, use a processing program to • Make a good first impression
personalize your correspondence • Motivate potential respondents
• Use a computer database to keep track of who has responded and who has • If mailing the questionnaire, include pre-paid return envelope
not • Offer the results of your study
• Use a scanner to facilitate data tabulation • Be gently persistent
• When participants are in the same location that you are, administer the
questionnaire directly on a computer

Practical Applications: Using the Internet to Collect

Data for Descriptive Study Choosing a Sample in a Descriptive Research

• Using custom made websites or commercial “survey-ready” websites
• Ready templates with variety of questions types
• Accepting Terms & Conditions “Virtual Consent”
• Sampling is a problem:
• Collect some personal information (Age group, educational level, gender,
etc.)
• Sampling: The process of selecting units (e.g., people, organizations)
from a population of interest for a study.
• Sample: A sample is made up of individuals, events, or items selected
from the population
• Generalization about the entire population?
• Stating the problem must carefully qualifying words as:
selected – representative – typical – certain – a random
sample of.
• Example:
• The purpose of this research is to survey …. Of the population.
• The purpose of this research is to survey the representative …. Of a
random sample of the population.

Defining a Population Probability Sampling Approaches

• Population may be any size and cover large These techniques permit the researcher to specify the
geographical distance. probability that each member of the population has being
selected for the sample

• The entire population is rarely available. • Simple random sampling

• Stratified random sampling
• Target population: population to which the • Proportional stratified sampling
researcher would ideally like to generalize results. • Cluster sampling
• Systematic sampling
• Accessible population: population from which
researcher can realistically select participants.

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Stratified random sampling Proportional stratified sampling

Cluster sampling Systematic sampling

Non-probability Sampling Approaches

• Convenience sampling

• Quota sampling

• Purposive sampling

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Sampling in Surveys of Very Large Population
• The survey research center of the university of Michigan’s institute
for social research (1976) has used what it calls multistage sampling
of areas:
• Primary area selection
• Sample location selection
• Chunk selection
• Segment selection
• Housing unit selection
Identifying a Sufficient sample size
• For smaller population (N ≤ 100)
• Survey the entire population
• If the population size about N = 500 (give or take 100)
• 50 % should be sampled
• If the population size is around 1500
• 20 % should be sampled
• Beyond a certain point ( about N = 5000)
• Sample size of 400 will be adequate
• If the population is markedly heterogeneous, a large sample will be
necessary than if the population is fairly homogeneous.
Interpreting Data in Descriptive Research
• Basic principles of research:
1. The purpose of research is to seek the answer to a problem in
the light of data that relate to the problem.
2. Although collecting data for study and organizing it for inspection
require care and precision, extracting meaning from the data –
the interpretation of the data – is all important.
• The researcher must decide on population; choose a
technique for sampling; develop a valid means of
collecting the desired information; minimize the potential
entrance of bias into the study; then actually collect,
record, organize, and analyze all of the necessary data.
CSC 426 - Descriptive Research
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• Bias in research sampling
• Acknowledging the probable presence of Bias
• Identify possible bias in questionnaire research:
• Carefully scrutinize the questionnaire for that might be influenced by one’s education
level, interest in the topic, or other factors that frequently distinguish respondents
from non-respondents.
• Compare the responses on questionnaires that were returned quickly with responses
on those that were returned later
• The late ones may, to some extent, reflect the kinds of responses that non-respondents
would have given.
• Significant difference between the early and late questionnaire probably indicate bias in
your results.
• Randomly select small number of non-respondents and try to contact them by other
way.
Final Suggestion
• Consider the following questions:
• Why is a description of this population and/or phenomenon valuable?
• What specific data will I need to solve my research problem and its sub
problems?
• What procedures should I follow to obtain the necessary information? How
should I implement those procedures?
• How do I get a sample that will truly be reflective of the entire population
about which I am concerned?
• How can I collect my data in a way that minimize misrepresentations and
misunderstanding?
• How can I control for possible bias in the collection and description of the
data?
• What do I do with the data once I have collected them? How I organize and
prepare them for analysis?
• In what way might I reasonably interpret the data? What conclusion might I
reach from my investigation?