Title: Descriptive Research Design - Observing a Phenomenon
Headings: Descriptive Research Design
Descriptive Research Design
Advantages
Disadvantages
Summary

Content: The results from a descriptive research can in no way be used as a definitive answer or to disprove a hypothesis but, if the limitations are understood, they can still be a useful tool in many areas of scientific research. Advantages
The subject is being observed in a completely natural and unchanged natural environment. A good example of this would be an anthropologist who wanted to study a tribe without affecting their normal behavior in any way. True experiments, whilst giving analyzable data, often adversely influence the normal behavior of the subject. Descriptive research is often used as a pre-cursor to quantitative research designs, the general overview giving some valuable pointers as to what variables are worth testing quantitatively. Quantitative experiments are often expensive and time-consuming so it is often good sense to get an idea of what hypotheses are worth testing. Disadvantages
Because there are no variables manipulated, there is no way to statistically analyze the results. Many scientists regard this type of study as very unreliable and ‘unscientific’. In addition, the results of observational studies are not repeatable, and so there can be no replication of the experiment and reviewing of the results. Summary
Descriptive research design is a valid method for researching specific subjects and as a precursor to more quantitative studies.