Descriptive Research and Qualitative Research
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- Eunsook T. Koh 2 &
- Willis L. Owen 2
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Descriptive research is a study of status and is widely used in education, nutrition, epidemiology, and the behavioral sciences. Its value is based on the premise that problems can be solved and practices improved through observation, analysis, and description. The most common descriptive research method is the survey, which includes questionnaires, personal interviews, phone surveys, and normative surveys. Developmental research is also descriptive. Through cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, researchers investigate the interaction of diet (e.g., fat and its sources, fiber and its sources, etc.) and life styles (e.g., smoking, alcohol drinking, etc.) and of disease (e.g., cancer, coronary heart disease) development. Observational research and correlational studies constitute other forms of descriptive research. Correlational studies determine and analyze relationships between variables as well as generate predictions. Descriptive research generates data, both qualitative and quantitative, that define the state of nature at a point in time. This chapter discusses some characteristics and basic procedures of the various types of descriptive research.
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Koh, E.T., Owen, W.L. (2000). Descriptive Research and Qualitative Research. In: Introduction to Nutrition and Health Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1401-5_12
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