Descriptive Research | Definition, Types & Examples
Descriptive research involves studying an individual, population, or other phenomenon as it appears in nature. In other words, the researcher describes the subject of interest without attempting to change or manipulate it.
Descriptive research is commonly used in fields like marketing, health studies, psychology, and other sciences.
- What study strategies do students use when studying for their exams?
- What are the demographic characteristics of shoppers at X company?
- How many people in New York City own versus rent their homes?
- How has the average age of homebuyers changed in the past 20 years?
What is descriptive research?
As its name suggests, descriptive research describes a person, group, or other topic of interest. Descriptive research is observational. The goal is to capture how something is in its natural setting without any interference from the researcher. Data collected for descriptive research may include questionnaires, observations, and interviews.
When conducting descriptive research, researchers collect data to answer “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” or “how much” questions. Descriptive research cannot answer “why” questions related to cause-and-effect. Descriptive research is helpful when researchers want to explore a new research topic and generate hypotheses.
Descriptive vs experimental research
Descriptive research is often contrasted with experimental research. In experimental research, the researcher manipulates an independent variable to see how it impacts a dependent variable.
Whereas descriptive research captures the details of a phenomenon, experimental research investigates why something occurs. Unlike descriptive research, experimental research can be used to test hypotheses and explore cause-and-effect relationships.
Descriptive research question
Consider the following example of a descriptive research question: “What are typical sleep duration and quality of young adults?”
To answer this question, researchers might use sleep tracking devices to record the duration and stages of sleep in a sample of 18–35-year-olds.
Experimental research question
The following is an example of an experimental research question: “Does reducing screen time before bed improve sleep duration and quality in young adults?”
This question could be answered by dividing a sample of young adults into a control group that is allowed to use their phones before bed and a treatment group that must turn off their phones 60 minutes before they go to sleep. Data from sleep tracking devices could be compared between groups to determine whether there is a causal relationship between screen time and sleep quality.
Types of descriptive research methods
Common descriptive research methods include case studies, cross-sectional studies, and ecological studies.
Case studies
A case study is an in-depth exploration of a single subject, which could be a person, place, or other phenomenon. The purpose of a case study is to gain a better understanding of this subject.
Case studies often collect data from multiple sources and may include both qualitative and quantitative data.
Cross-sectional studies
A cross-sectional study collects data from multiple participants at a single point in time. Cross-sectional studies can be categorized as descriptive or analytical. Descriptive cross-sectional studies are often used to study prevalence—how often a condition occurs in a given population.
Analytical cross-sectional studies are not classified as descriptive research. Instead, they use descriptive data to explore relationships between risk factors and outcomes.
An organizational psychology researcher is hired by a company to determine how many employees are suffering from burnout. The researcher distributes questionnaires to a sample of employees and uses this information to determine the prevalence of burnout.
This descriptive study could be extended into an analytical cross-sectional study by making the following changes.
The researcher adjusts their questionnaire to include questions about stressors in employees’ lives, such as workload, autonomy, and work-life balance. The researcher uses this information to determine which factors place employees at risk of burnout.
Ecological studies
Ecological studies are similar to cross-sectional studies, but they focus on data from groups of people rather than individuals. For example, a descriptive cross-sectional study might examine the prevalence of lung cancer in residents of the state of Michigan, whereas a descriptive ecological study could explore average rates of lung cancer across each of the 50 states.
As with cross-sectional studies, ecological studies can be descriptive or analytical. For example, the descriptive ecological study above could be extended into a cross-sectional study. Researchers could also collect data on average air quality across each of the 50 states and explore how this measure correlated with rates of lung cancer.
Pros and cons of descriptive research
While descriptive research offers some key benefits, it is important to also consider its limitations.
- Descriptive research is generally fast and inexpensive.
- Because they minimize researcher interference, descriptive designs have limited research ethics concerns.
- Descriptive research is good for exploring new research topics and generating hypotheses.
- Descriptive research cannot be used to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
- Researchers cannot control for confounding variables that may impact their findings.
Researchers must carefully consider reliability and validity and forms of bias when conducting descriptive research.
Commonly asked questions about descriptive research
- What is the difference between descriptive and experimental research?
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Descriptive research describes something as it naturally occurs. Because researchers do not manipulate any variables, descriptive research cannot be used to characterize “cause-and-effect” relationships.
In contrast, experimental research involves manipulating an independent variable to see how it impacts a dependent variable. Experimental research can be used to investigate “why” questions and establish cause-and-effect relationships.
- What are the types of descriptive research?
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Consider the following common descriptive research methods.
- Case studies are detailed explorations of a single subject. The purpose of case studies is to gain a deep understanding of a person, place, or thing. Case studies on several subjects are called case series studies.
- Cross-sectional studies capture the characteristics of multiple subjects at a single point in time. Descriptive cross-sectional studies, which describe the prevalence of a trait or a condition (how frequently it occurs) are descriptive; analytical studies, which explore associations between risk factors and outcomes, are not.
- Ecological studies are similar to cross-sectional studies but describe groups of people. For example, a cross-sectional study might assess the prevalence of insomnia in American adults, whereas an ecological study would describe the prevalence of insomnia in each of the 50 American states.
- What is the goal of descriptive research?
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As its name suggests, descriptive research describes something. A researcher conducting descriptive research does not attempt to manipulate any variables; they measure a phenomenon of interest as it naturally occurs.
Descriptive research cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships, but it can be useful for generating hypotheses or learning more about an unfamiliar topic.
- What are common research methods in psychology?
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Most research methods in psychology are quantitative: numerical data are used to address a research question. Quantitative approaches include the following:
- Experimental research
- Quasi-experimental research
- Survey research
Some psychology research is qualitative (i.e., uses nonnumerical data to explore a research question). Qualitative research approaches include the following:
- Interviews and focus groups
- Case studies
- Survey research
- Observational research
Mixed-methods research combines qualitative and quantitative approaches.
- What are some descriptive research examples?
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Descriptive research is used to describe a person, place, or phenomenon as it naturally occurs. Descriptive research can answer “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” or “how much” questions but not “why” questions.
Consider the following examples of descriptive research questions:
- Who are the primary caregivers for adults with dementia?
- What are the main barriers to public transit use in Toronto, Canada?
- When do students feel most engaged during online lectures?
- Where do young adults shop for groceries?
- How much sleep do undergraduate students get during final exams?
