What is the difference between experimental and descriptive research in terms of data analysis?

What are the main types of qualitative approaches to research?

While there are many different investigations that can be done, a study with a qualitative approach generally can be described with the characteristics of one of the following three types:

Historical research describes past events, problems, issues and facts.  Data are gathered from written or oral descriptions of past events, artifacts, etc.  It describes “what was” in an attempt to recreate the past.  It is different from a report in that it involves interpretation of events and its influence on the present.  It answers the question: “What was the situation?” 

Examples of Historical Research:

  • A study of the factors leading to the historical development and growth of cooperative learning
  • A study of the effects of the historical decisions of the United States Supreme Court on American prisons
  • A study of the evolution of print journalism in the United States through a study of collections of newspapers
  • A study of the historical trends in public laws by looking recorded at a local courthouse

Ethnographic research develops in-depth analytical descriptions of current systems, processes, and phenomena and/or understandings of the shared beliefs and practices of a particular group or culture.  This type of design collects extensive narrative data (non-numerical data) based on many variables over an extended period of time in a natural setting within a specific context. The background, development, current conditions, and environmental interaction of one or more individuals, groups, communities, businesses or institutions is observed, recorded, and analyzed for patterns in relation to internal and external influences.  It is a complete description of present phenomena.

One specific form of ethnographic research is called a case study.  It is a detailed examination of a single group, individual, situation, or site. 

A meta-analysis is another specific form.  It is a statistical method which accumulates experimental and correlational results across independent studies.  It is an analysis of analyses.

Examples of Ethnographic Research:

  • A case study of parental involvement at a specific magnet school
  • A multi-case study of children of drug addicts who excel despite early childhoods in poor environments
  • The study of the nature of problems teachers encounter when they begin to use a constructivist approach to instruction after having taught using a very traditional approach for ten years
  • A psychological case study with extensive notes based on observations of and interviews with immigrant workers
  • A study of primate behavior in the wild measuring the amount of time an animal engaged in a specific behavior

Narrative research focuses on studying a single person and gathering data through the collection of stories that are used to construct a narrative about the individual’s experience and the meanings he/she attributes to them.

Examples of Narrative Research:

  • A study of the experiences of an autistic student who has moved from a self-contained program to an inclusion setting
  • A study of the experiences of a high school track star who has been moved on to a championship-winning university track team

What is the difference between experimental and descriptive research in terms of data analysis?
Exploratory research is one which aims at providing insights into and an understanding of the problem faced by the researcher. Descriptive research, on the other hand, aims at describing something, mainly functions and characteristics.

The research design is defined as a framework for carrying out research activities in different fields of study. The research design is classified into two important categories i.e. exploratory and conclusive research. Conclusive research is further subdivided into descriptive and casual research. The people often juxtapose exploratory research and descriptive research, but the fact is that they are different.

Take a read of this article to understand the differences between exploratory and descriptive research.

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for ComparisonExploratory ResearchDescriptive Research
Meaning Explorartory research means a research conducted for formulating a problem for more clear investigation. Descriptive research is a research that explore and explain an individual, group or a situation.
Objective Discovery of ideas and thoughts. Describe characteristics and functions.
Overall Design Flexible Rigid
Research process Unstructured Structured
Sampling Non-probability sampling Probability sampling
Statistical Design No pre-planned design for analysis. Pre-planned design for analysis.

Definition of Exploratory Research

As the name implies, the primary objective of exploratory research is to explore a problem to provide insights into and comprehension for more precise investigation. It focuses on the discovery of ideas and thoughts. The exploratory research design is suitable for studies which are flexible enough to provide an opportunity for considering all the aspects of the problem.

At this point, the required information is loosely defined, and the research process is flexible and unstructured. It is used in the situation when you must define the problem correctly, identify alternative courses of actions, develop a hypothesis, gain additional insights before the development of an approach, set priorities for further examination. The following methods are used for conducting exploratory research

  • Survey of concerning literature
  • Experience survey
  • Analysis of insights stimulating

Definition of Descriptive Research

By the term descriptive research, we mean a type of conclusive research study which is concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or group. It includes research related to specific predictions, features or functions of person or group, the narration of facts, etc.

The descriptive research aims at obtaining complete and accurate information for the study, the method adopted must be carefully planned. The researcher should precisely define what he wants to measure? How does he want to measure? He should clearly define the population under study. It uses methods like quantitative analysis of secondary data, surveys, panels, observations, interviews, questionnaires, etc.

Descriptive Research concentrates on formulating the research objective, designing methods for the collection of data, selection of the sample, data collection, processing, and analysis, reporting the results.

Key Differences Between Exploratory and Descriptive Research

The difference between exploratory and descriptive research can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:

  1. Research conducted for formulating a problem for more clear investigation is called exploratory research. Research that explore and explains an individual, group or a situation, is called descriptive research.
  2. The exploratory research aims at the discovery of ideas and thoughts whereas the primary purpose of descriptive research is to describe the characteristics and functions.
  3. The overall design of the exploratory research should be flexible enough so that it provides an opportunity to consider various aspects of the problem. On the contrary, in descriptive research, the overall design should be rigid which protects against bias and also maximise reliability.
  4. The research process is unstructured in exploratory research. However, it is structured in the case of descriptive research.
  5. Non-probability sampling i.e. judgment or purposive sampling design is used in exploratory research. As opposed to descriptive research where probability (random) sampling design is used.
  6. When it comes to statistical design, exploratory research has no pre-planned design for analysis. Unlike, descriptive research that has the pre-planned design for analysis.

Conclusion

Therefore exploratory research results in insights or hypothesis, regardless of the method adopted, the most important thing is that it should remain flexible so that all the facets of the problem can be studied, as and when they arise. Conversely, descriptive research is a comparative design which is prepared according to the study and resources available. Such study minimises bias and maximises reliability.

What is the difference between experimental and non experimental descriptive research in terms of data analysis?

The data used during experimental research is collected through observational study, simulations, and surveys while non-experimental data is collected through observations, surveys, and case studies. The main distinction between these data collection tools is case studies and simulations.

Which statement is a key difference between experimental and descriptive research?

The main difference between descriptive and experimental research is that descriptive research describes the characteristics of the research subject while the experimental research manipulates the research subject or the variables to come to a conclusion.

What is the major difference between descriptive and experimental research quizlet?

Descriptive research is a type of research that simply describes behavior or data through observation research methods whereas experimental research attempt to seek and explain cause and effect relationships by manipulating data.

What is the difference between descriptive research and quasi experimental research?

First are experimental designs with an intervention, control group, and randomization of participants into groups. Next are quasi-experimental designs with an intervention but no randomization. Descriptive designs do not have an intervention or treatment and are considered nonexperimental.