Descriptive Research

Descriptive research is used to describe the characteristics of a subject under study, and attempts to answer four of the questions of the "five W's": who, what, when, where, but not the why[]. It results in a descriptive profile, using either quantitative statistics, qualitative descriptors, or both. It is usually used in early stages of research to familiarize the researcher with the general situation within which further research is to be conducted. Sometimes the information collected at this level is all that is required to satisfy the needs of the researchers. The profile of Canadians developed by Stats-Can is a good example of descriptive research.

Some Internet Resources on Descriptive Research

• A good brief set of notes on Educational use of descriptive research
• n evaluation grid for different types of research
• An outline of this type of research from Fullerton
• A collection of good brief definitions
• A Google search fordescriptive research definition has a large resource list as well.