~One of the goals of science is description (other goals include prediction and explanation). Descriptive research methods are pretty much as they sound — they describe situations. They do not make accurate predictions, and they do not determine cause and effect. There are three main types of descriptive methods: observational methods, case-study methods and survey methods. This article will briefly describe each of these methods, their advantages, and their drawbacks. This may help you better understand research findings, whether reported in the mainstream media, or when reading a research study on your own. ~Observational Method With the observational method (sometimes referred to as field observation) animal and human behavior …show more content…
These biases can lead to misrepresenting participants’ descriptions. Describing atypical individuals may lead to poor generalizations and detract from external validity. ~Survey Method In survey method research, participants answer questions administered through interviews or questionnaires. After participants answer the questions, researchers describe the responses given. In order for the survey to be both reliable and valid it is important that the questions are constructed properly. Questions should be written so they are clear and easy to comprehend. Another consideration when designing questions is whether to include open-ended, closed-ended, partially open-ended, or rating-scale questions (for a detailed discussion refer to Jackson, 2009). Advantages and disadvantages can be found with each type: Open-ended questions allow for a greater variety of responses from participants but are difficult to analyze statistically because the data must be coded or reduced in some manner. Closed-ended questions are easy to analyze statistically, but they seriously limit the responses that participants can give. Many researchers prefer to use a Likert-type scale because it’s very easy to analyze statistically. (Jackson, 2009, p. 89) In addition to the methods listed above some individuals also include qualitative (as a distinct method) and archival
4. What are the limitations of the survey method, and how would you overcome the limitations of this research method, or any research approach?
For this quantitative article, a descriptive study was used to survey methods to identify types
Open ended questions are used for many different purpose; the most common, to get the responder’s opinionated answer on a matter. Theses questions allow the responder to think and transmit as much of their opinion as they please. With these answers, those asking the questions gain insight into the feelings and opinions of the responder (cite). An example of open questioning would be, what was your favorite part of the day? This question allows the respondent to process the question and give a personal response.
I think we have all had to deal with open-ended question multiple times in our lives and I personally hate survey questions like that, especially if I’m being forced to take the survey. A number of people would rather select and answer from what has been provided or choose the option “other” then to have to elaborate on our own response. Also with open-ended questions there are never the exact same answer so when it comes down to collecting the data and calculating the answers it is a lot more difficult because the answers could be easily misinterpreted or difficult to categorize.
There is also 1 short-answer question which aims to encourage different ideas. Most questions are closed-ended, which could be easy to compare and summarize the quantitative data collection.
The questions posed during the study would include open-ended as well as closed-ended questions, these can include,” strongly agree, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or strongly disagree” (Babbie, 2015 p.276).
Pros: The use of open ended questions allows researchers to generate data to create narrative data results. The data can be used to understand more detailed information about the sample populations. Some of the data generated can give the researcher insight into how an individual think, as well as their opinions. Sometime the initial phase does not reveal information about the participants just pre-determined questions. This allows for a human perspective instead of numerical responses. The researcher can adjust the questions during a real time data collection. The deep dive into the proving the hypothesis can give more insight into the tends of the participants. This allows for the analysis of new trends with their research. Since
In conclusion, in this essay were described most popular research method types, which can be used almost by every chosen topic to investigate. Before choosing a topic it is important to consider what kind of data researcher wants to collect- quantitative or qualitative, because method aims differ. Surveys and questionnaires are used to collect quantitative and objective data, whereas interviews, experiments and observations are used to gather qualitative and subjective data.
This section provides an introduction to the different types of research paradigms and methods before concluding on the approach that this study will undertake.
Additionally, different types of questions were used to more fully understand what the participants thought. After directly asking the
descriptive research method is what I use most often and is the most appropriate for my everyday
With this method, a phenomenon is explained without much emphasis on what caused the event to occur. This process examines a situation as it exists in its current state (Bhawna & Gobind, 2015, p. 49). Then there is experimental research. This method is the opposite of descriptive research. The goal here is to explain a phenomenon. Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are described, and a causal statement is made (Newman, 2016). The experimental research employs the use of control groups and experimental groups; as well as independent and dependent variables. The control group is the baseline for the comparison while the experimental group serves to test the hypothesis (Newman, 2016). Independent variables are manipulated during an experiment, while the dependent variable is what is measured by the outcome of the independent variable (Newman, 2016). Then there is causal research. Bhawna and Gobind (2015) state, "In causal research, the researcher examines how the independent variables reflected by the dependent variables and involve cause and effect relationships between the variables (p. 50)."
This section is mainly about the study of the method that will be used to examine the research problem. Method acts as a tool or instrument for measuring variable stated in the objectives or the way of the study being conducted. Once researcher have chosen the scientific method as the means of inquiry, researcher must make some decisions about how researcher are going to gather all information (Kenneth & Bruce, 2005). There are two types of research method can be used to collect data either quantitative method or qualitative method.
Descriptive research benefits you when you believe some problems are impossible to solve. This requires observations because it's based on what you need to discover that interests you. The first step in solving a problem in descriptive language is the research objective. It is what you need to find out, or what question you would want to answer. Luis and Midori would have answer saying their research objective, was to find out how the sources of the cholera epidemic and E.coli epidemic were tracked. Also during a science investigation, data tables are often used for recording information. The data can be supported whether or not the prediction was supported and conclusions can be drawn to it. The second step for the descriptive research is describing the research design. In the textbook, it says "one important research design is safety.'' What it means when scientists eliminate bias which means avoid which ones help you with a good investigation. When a scientific problem is solved by observations which are important. Scientists use the materials that are available or up to date. Furthermore, with materials, you don't need the most expensive one all you need is your investigations to be successfully done. One part of an investigation plan is it might include scientific models. In science, models represent things that go too slowly or quickly. For example like Dr. John Snow's map of the cholera epidemic was a model that allowed him to predict possible sources to the
I will no doubt be employing many research techniques throughout the course of my work, however the three that I will describe in detail are: interviews, participant observation, and site mapping. Some of the additional methods include: household information survey, literature review, government policy analysis, and public discourse analysis.