Descriptive Research

Three main purposes of research are to describe, explain, and validate findings. Description emerges following creative exploration, and serves to organize the findings in order to fit them with explanations, and then test or validate those explanations (Krathwohl, 1993). Many research studies call for the description of natural or man-made phenomena such as their form, structure, activity, change over time, relation to other phenomena, and so on. The description often illuminates knowledge that we might not otherwise notice or even encounter. Several important scientific discoveries as well as anthropological information about events outside of our common experiences have resulted from making such descriptions. For example, astronomers use their telescopes to develop descriptions of different parts of the universe, anthropologists describe life events of socially atypical situations or cultures uniquely different from our own, and educational researchers describe activities within classrooms concerning the implementation of technology. This process sometimes results in the discovery of stars and stellar events, new knowledge about value systems or practices of other cultures, or even the reality of classroom life as new technologies are implemented within schools.

Descriptive research is the type of research that explores and describes the data or characteristics needed for the research. It has several advantages. Some of them are as given below: Advantages:

The people being studied are unaware so they act naturally or as they normally do in everyday situation; It is less expensive and time consuming than quantitative experiments; Collects a large amount of data for detailed studying; As it is used to describe and not make any conclusions it is easier to start the research with it; and It can identify further area of study

Why Would I Use Exploratory Research?

Because exploratory research can be less useful than other forms in aiding marketing decisions, dismissing can be an easy mistake to make. The research allows the marketer to gain information on a subject that they may have previously known little about and furthermore, can also provide a platform upon which a formalised research project can be built. For example, if exploratory research identifies the key decision makers in a marketplace, descriptive research can then be used to target them thus allowing for greater efficiency with the research.

Used in the early stages of the decision-making process, exploratory research is used to assess the situation in hand with the minimum cost and time possible. Versatility and a wide-ranged approach to the preliminary investigation are the main benefits of this genre of research. The exploratory research can draw on interviews, observations, group interviews, secondary data sources and case histories.