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Home / IAS Preparation / Descriptive Research

Descriptive Research: Understanding its Purpose, Methods, and Applications

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Descriptive research involves collecting data to answer questions on the current status of the subject of the study. It describes "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. Descriptive research helps create an accurate profile of groups, events, or situations. It can help identify problems, justify current conditions, make strategic decisions, and establish behavioral patterns.

This article will serve as a comprehensive guide to help you grasp the significance of descriptive research. This article on Descriptive Research will help you prepare for the Prelims and the Mains stage of the UPSC IAS/IPS exam.

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What is Descriptive Research?

Descriptive research is a quantitative or qualitative research method. It aims to provide an accurate and detailed description of an individual or phenomenon. 

  • Researchers conducting descriptive studies use the following techniques to gather data:
    • surveys, 
    • observations, and 
    • Interviews
  • The researchers then organize the data to present a clear picture of what is being studied.
  • The final research report provides descriptive statistics. The report will summarize key features of the data. It will also have textual descriptions based on observations and theme analysis. The purpose is to portray an accurate profile of individuals, events, or situations.

Know more about the Meaning of Research!

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Objectives of Descriptive Research

The main objectives of descriptive research are to:

  • Provide an accurate profile of a phenomenon. This is done by systematically describing the characteristics of a group or situation.
  • Identify and assess current conditions to determine the present reality without trying to find causes.
  • Establish patterns of behaviors and attributes. This is done by identifying trends that exist within the study population.
  • Generate hypotheses for future experimental research. Descriptive studies often act as a precursor to causal research.
  • Determine needs and set goals. Accurate needs assessments lay the groundwork for goal setting and planning.
  • Justify or change existing norms, ideas, or practices by providing an objective view of the current reality.

Know more about the Research Characteristics!

Key Features of Descriptive Research

The key features of descriptive research are:

  • It involves collecting descriptive information about the population or phenomenon of interest. The researcher gathers facts without trying to control or manipulate variables.
  • It focuses on answering the what, when, where, and how questions rather than explaining why something occurs. It describes what is or what exists.
  • It usually involves large samples to make the results more representative of the population. Probability sampling techniques are commonly used.
  • Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods can be used. This includes surveys, questionnaires, observations, and interviews.
  • The results are presented using graphic representations like tables, charts, and graphs. These are used to highlight patterns, distributions, and relationships among variables.
  • The main goal is to provide an accurate and detailed description of the variables, situations, or phenomena of interest. It does not aim to establish causal relationships.
  • The findings from descriptive research serve as a basis for future explanatory research.

Know more about Research Ethics!

Types of Descriptive Research

There are two main types of descriptive research:

Cross-sectional Studies

This describes the characteristics and attitudes of a population at a specific point in time. Researchers collect data just once using surveys or interviews.

Longitudinal Studies

This seeks to describe changes in characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals over a long period of time. Researchers collect data at different time points.

Some of the other types include:

Normative studies

These determine what "norms" exist in a situation. It also finds out how variables deviate from these norms.

Case studies 

These provide an in-depth examination of a small sample. This helps gain insights into a complex issue or object of study.

Ethnographic studies 

This uses fieldwork methods like participant observation. This describes the cultural characteristics of a group.

Correlational studies 

They seek to determine relationships between two or more variables within a population.

Know more about Historical Research!

Advantages of Descriptive Research

The following are some of the advantages of descriptive research:

  • It provides an accurate snapshot of a situation based on real data.
  • Results are easy to understand due to clear descriptions and statistics.
  • Design and execution is relatively simple and inexpensive.
  • Useful as a preliminary study before conducting exploratory research.
  • Helps clarify concepts by describing how people interpret them.
  • Potential to identify new variables or gaps for further research.
  • Allows reviewing many units of data through surveys and experiments.

Know more about the Area of Proposed Research!

Disadvantages of Descriptive Research

Some of the disadvantages of descriptive research are:

  • Descriptive research only involves describing the characteristics of a phenomenon. It cannot determine whether one variable causes changes in another. It lacks explanatory power.
  • The results of descriptive research are often specific to the particular sample studied. It cannot be generalized to the wider population with certainty.
  • Variables are not manipulated in descriptive research. Hence, there is no control over their influence on outcomes. This limits the conclusiveness of findings.
  • There is a possibility of bias creeping in due to researcher influence used in descriptive research. This affects the accuracy of results.
  • Descriptive research involves gathering facts and providing an overview of the current scenario. It cannot prove hypotheses regarding the relationship between variables.
  • Conducting descriptive research on a large scale involving huge samples can be time-consuming.

Know more about the Features of Research!

Conclusion

Descriptive research has limitations in determining causal relationships. Yet, it serves an important role in scientific studies. It provides a foundational understanding of phenomena. Experimental research provides more conclusive results. Yet, descriptive research forms an important step in building knowledge by simply describing 'what is'.

We hope all your doubts related to the topic are addressed after going through this article. Testbook provides comprehensive notes for Civil services and various other competitive examinations. It has always assured the quality of its product like content pages, live tests, GK and current affairs, mocks, and so on. Ace your UPSC preparation with Testbook. Download the Testbook App now!

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Descriptive Research FAQs

The main limitations are:

What are the advantages of descriptive research?

What are the key features of descriptive research?

it uses large samples, employs various data collection methods, and presents results graphically.

Descriptive research studies nominal, ordinal, and interval variables. These describe attributes, rankings, and measurements of populations or phenomena.

Experimental research manipulates variables to determine cause-effect relationships. Descriptive research only describes characteristics without manipulation or control.
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