Descriptive Method of Research

Descriptive
Methods of Research
Group 2
What is Descriptive Research?
 Can involve collecting quantitative
information
 Can describe categories of qualitative
information such as patterns of interaction

when using technology in the classroom.
 Does not fit neatly into either category

What is
Descriptive Research?
 Involves gathering data that describe events
and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and
describes the data.
 Uses description as a tool to organize data
into patterns that emerge during analysis.

 Often uses visual aids such as graphs and
charts to aid the reader

Descriptive Research
takes a “what is” approach
 What is the best way to provide access to

computer equipment in schools?
 Do teachers hold favorable attitudes toward
using computers in schools?

 What have been the reactions of school
administrators to technological innovations

in teaching?
 Refers to the nature of the research question
 The design of the research
 The way that data will be analyzed for the
topic that will be researched

The type of research question will determine
whether descriptive research approach is
appropriate to use.
Descriptive Research Advantages
 Educational research  Data collection may be
and experiences may spread over a large
contain many variables number of people over
that cannot be a large geographic area
realistically controlled.
 Educational research
may require
observations of life
experiences
Data Collection Methods
Surveys Interviews
Observations Portfolios
1. Surveys
 May be used to reveal  May be used to explore
summary statistics by relationships between
showing responses to 2 or more variables.
all possible
questionnaire items.
 Often provide leads in
identifying needed
changes
Survey Forms
 Written questionnaires Factors to be considered
 Sampling
 Type of population
 Personal interviews  Question Form
 Telephone interviews  Question Content
 Response rates
 Costs
 Available facilities
 Length of data collection
 Computer assisted
techniques for data
collection
2. Survey Form - Interviews
 More time efficient
 Allow the researcher to establish a rapport
with the respondent
 Allow the acquisition of more in-depth
information
 Allow for interviewer observation
 Allow the interviewer to obtain visual cues
 May be personal or telephone interviews
Survey Form – Personal Interviews
Disadvantages
 Require more staff time
 Require more travel time
Survey Form – Telephone Interview
Advantages Disadvantages
 Less expensive  Limited telephone
 Less time-consuming access

 Lack of interviewer’s
ability to observe the

respondent and obtain
visual cues
Survey Form – Mailed Questionnaires
Advantages Disadvantages
 Ability to reach large  Lower response rate
number of people across a  Need to design a
wide geographic area
 Ease and low cost of
survey instrument with
distribution a simple format
 Minimal amount of staff
required
 Allows respondents to
respond in their time frame
Survey Form – Mailed Questionnaires
 A letter of transmittal should accompany mailed
questionnaires.
 Should state purpose and importance of research
 Should state importance of responding
 Should give a time frame to respond
 Should include a confidentiality statement
 Should include an offer to share results
 Should include a thank-you note to the respondent
Characteristics of a Good Survey
 Good questioning techniques
 Use complete sentences
 Offer a limited set of answers
 Interesting
 Worded so that questions mean the same to
all
 Provide definitions for confusing terms
 Uses the “I don’t know” answer very carefully
3. Observational Research Methods
1. Naturally occurring behaviors observed in
natural contexts
2. Contexts that are contrived to be realistic
Observational Research Methods
 Require direct observation of behavior
 Data gathered without intermediary
instruments
 Can yield a wealth of invaluable information
 Can be a complicated process
 Can be employed productively to support
many purposes in educational technology
 Can be used to determine how people
interact with technology in various stages of

design and implementation
Observation Research Methods
 How do learners interact with a specific program?
 How do learners interact with a new hardware
system?
Observation makes it possible to explore the

implementation of a particular technological
innovation and assess the instructional outcomes.
 2 Forms of Observational Research
◦ Structured
◦ Unstructured
Structured Observations Unstructured
 Rigid and controlled Observations
 Predetermined  Used to determine
unselective, detailed,
methods continuous description of
behavior.
 Detects unintended effects
 More time consuming
because of time and labor

required to collect and
analyze sets of extensive
observations
4. Portfolios
 Provide a descriptive measure of student
work based on actual performance
 Consist of learner-created products that
reflect the processes of learning and

development over time
Impact and Future of
 Although descriptive studies are important,
most educational studies involve questions
about cause.
◦ What causes underachievement?
◦ Will multimedia cause students to be more
motivated or lead to high achievement levels?
Impact and Future of
 Not always easy to isolate variable that will
explain those causes, so descriptive research
can play an important role in providing
information from another perspective.
 By gathering descriptions of “what is” and
comparing them to “what we would like”

educators can see the area that needs to be
addressed.
Impact and Future
of Descriptive Research
 Descriptive Research methods have gained
acceptance
 Number of descriptive studies published in
research journals has increased

 Descriptive research leads to prescriptions
that instructional designers and educators

can heed as they consider future direction

Descriptive Method of Research

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Descriptive

information such as patterns of interaction

 Does not fit neatly into either category

into patterns that emerge during analysis.

charts to aid the reader

 What is the best way to provide access to

using computers in schools?

administrators to technological innovations

topic that will be researched

 Less time-consuming access

ability to observe the

interact with technology in various stages of

Observation makes it possible to explore the

 More time consuming

because of time and labor

reflect the processes of learning and

comparing them to “what we would like”

research journals has increased

that instructional designers and educators

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