Descriptive Research
Definition
A design that profiles the scale, pattern or distribution of a phenomenon, for example who is affected, where and how often, without testing why it occurs.
Related terms
- Doctrinal Research
- Legal research that analyses primary sources, statutes, judgments and authoritative commentary, to state what the law currently is and how courts have...
- Evaluation Research
- A form of applied research that measures whether an existing programme, policy or intervention achieved its intended outcome, often using a before-and-after...
- Experimental Research
- A design in which the researcher deliberately manipulates one variable, ideally with random assignment to treatment and control conditions, to isolate its...
- Explanatory Research
- Also called analytical research, a design that tests a proposed relationship between variables to establish why a phenomenon occurs, usually through statistical...
- Exploratory Research
- A design used when a topic is poorly understood, aimed at generating hypotheses and mapping the scope of a problem rather than...
- Applied Research
- Research commissioned to answer a specific practical question for an agency or policymaker.
- Basic Research
- Research that tests or extends a theoretical claim without an immediate practical client in mind.
Explained in these topics
- Types and Purposes of Criminological Research
- Types of Criminological Research (UGC-NET Unit VI)A design that profiles the scale and pattern of an already-defined phenomenon: who, what, where, how much.