Title: Guidelines: Descriptive Investigations - Human-Animal Interaction
Headings: Guidelines: Descriptive Investigations
Guidelines: Descriptive Investigations
Specific Reviewer Guidelines for Descriptive Investigations:

Content: Guidelines: Descriptive Investigations - Human-Animal Interaction
Guidelines: Descriptive Investigations
The goal of descriptive investigation is to describe. It should provide factual, accurate and systematic descriptions of phenomena without attempting to infer causal relationships. It does not answer questions about the how, when, or why a particular phenomenon occurred. It should serve to provide a foundation for building new knowledge and theory (such studies should be directed at providing novel data on important and unknown phenomena, e.g., dynamics of affect, performance, or other behaviors; discovery and documentation of new, important, and meaningful phenomena); and provide rigorously conducted qualitative information on phenomena that are difficult to capture with quantitative methods. Descriptive Investigations will be evaluated generally on: The originality, clarity and importance of the research question
The appropriateness of the study design to the research question
The size and representativeness of the sample chosen
The robustness of the data collection process, including choice of instruments or tools
The rigor and transparency of the analysis (including the coherence of the theoretical framework)
The logic and coherence of the links made between findings
The researchers awareness of the possibility of error and the steps taken to minimize or the potential for error throughout the research process
Specific Reviewer Guidelines for Descriptive Investigations: