Simon et al. (2015) used a qualitative descriptive design to identify the perspectives of seriously ill, older patients and their families on the barriers and facilitators to advance care planning. The authors provided a rationale for using a descriptive design, which was to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Data were gathered through nine open-ended questions on a researcher-administered questionnaire. Three categories were developed that identified personal beliefs, access to doctors and interaction with doctors as the central barriers and facilitators to advance care planning. The use of a qualitative descriptive design facilitated the development of a schematic based on these three themes, which provides a framework for use by clinicians to guide improvement in advance care planning. As previously identified, a further challenge with the use of qualitative descriptive methods is that as a research design it has limited visibility in research texts and methodological papers (Kim et al., 2017).
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Descriptive research focuses on providing a detailed and accurate account of a specific situation, group, or phenomenon. It aims to describe the characteristics, behaviors, or relationships within the given context. Descriptive research typically involves collecting data through surveys, observations, or existing records and analyzing the data to generate descriptive statistics or narratives.
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This design is particularly useful when the differences in exposure between individuals within a group are much smaller than the differences in exposure between groups. For instance, the intake of particular food items is likely to vary less between people in a particular group but can vary widely across groups, for example, people living in different countries. A descriptive study is one that is designed to describe the distribution of one or more variables, without regard to any causal or other hypothesis.
Data Analysis Methods
The descriptive-analysis method of research describes a subject by further analyzing it, which in this case involves dividing it into 2 parts. For example, the HR personnel of a company that wishes to analyze the job role of each employee of the company may divide the employees into the people that work at the Headquarters in the US and those that work from Oslo, Norway office. Descriptive research is a type of research that describes a population, situation, or phenomenon that is being studied. It focuses on answering the how, what, when, and where questions If a research problem, rather than the why. This research method takes a problem with little to no relevant information and gives it a befitting description using qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Examples of Descriptive Research
Similarly, lacking encouragement in professional development, nurses are unable to cultivate pride or confidence, or envision their future. Sandelowski (2010) argues that although descriptive research produces findings that are ‘data-near’, they are nevertheless interpretative. Although it is important to ensure those familiar with the topic under investigation can recognise their experiences in the description of it (Kim et al., 2017), this is not to say that there should be no transformation of data. Researchers using a qualitative descriptive design need to, through data analysis, move from un-interpreted participant quotations to interpreted research findings, which can still remain ‘data-near’ (Sandeklwoski, 2010). Willis et al. (2016) suggest that researchers using the qualitative descriptive method might report a comprehensive thematic summary as findings, which moves beyond individual participant reports by developing an interpretation of a common theme.
In cross-sectional studies, the validity of results is highly dependent on whether the study sample is well representative of the population proposed to be studied, and whether all the individual measurements were made using an accurate and identical tool, or not. If the information on a variable cannot be obtained accurately, for instance in a study where the participants are asked about socially unacceptable (e.g., promiscuity) or illegal (e.g., substance use) behavior, the results are unlikely to be reliable. If these data are analyzed only to determine the distribution of one or more variables, these are “descriptive.” However, often, in a cross-sectional study, the investigator also assesses the relationship between the presence of an exposure and that of an outcome. Such cross-sectional studies are referred to as “analytical” and will be discussed in the next article in this series. The main purpose of descriptive research design is to describe and measure the characteristics of a population or phenomenon in a systematic and objective manner. It involves collecting data that describe the current status or condition of the population or phenomenon of interest, without manipulating or altering any variables.
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If the research problem isn’t formulated well, then the data collected may not be entirely reliable. Researchers aiming to conduct market research using this research design should leverage integrated market research software. It will enable them to conduct product, customer, brand, and market research using suitable channels. Descriptive research involves the collection of quantifiable and systematic data that can be used for the statistical analysis of the research problem. You don't need our permission to copy the article; just include a link/reference back to this page.
Throughout the interviews, the author demonstrated respect and empathy toward the participants by openly sharing her own feelings. Additionally, she skilfully guided the discussions to extract the participants’ experiences, concurrently undergoing a process of reintegration in tandem with them. Conversely, the dynamic between the interviewer and participants could be impacted by the assumptions and biases inherent in the interviewer’s background. To mitigate this potential influence, data analysis was performed independently by two researchers (refer to the Data Analysis section). The qualitative descriptive approach produces “findings closer to the data as given, or data-near” [38, p. 78], without commitment to any theoretical views and without being bounded by preconceptions [38].
Applications of Descriptive Research Design
Nevertheless, the participants in this study successfully overcame numerous challenges and navigated the journey of reintegration. This experience of triumph and the acquisition of new knowledge and skills enabled them to regain the confidence they had in their previous career. Reflecting on their hard work and learning trajectory also instilled a sense of professional growth. Possessing confidence and a sense of self-worth has enhanced their self-efficacy, which, in turn, has promoted affective organizational commitment [56] and work engagement [57].
In fact, only a limited number of studies have endeavored to identify factors that facilitate the retention of inactive nurses. The key findings facilitating their retention were preceptors fulfilling their learning needs [28, 31], support on nursing units [31], flexible working atmosphere [28], and re-building a new family life [28] or re-negotiation with both work and home life [36]. Nevertheless, these studies are based on a relatively small sample of five to eight nurses who have returned to practice, thus leaving the possibility that some factors remain undiscovered. Face-to-face or online semi-structured interviews were conducted, and qualitative inductive analysis was employed to analyze the collected data.
Instead, it focuses on providing a detailed and accurate representation of the data collected, which can be useful for generating hypotheses, exploring trends, and identifying patterns in the data. Because of the exploratory nature of descriptive design, the triangulation of multiple sources of data are often used for additional insight into the phenomenon. Sources of data that can be used in descriptive studies are similar to those that may be used in other qualitative designs and include interviews, focus groups, documents, artifacts, and observations. Arguments supporting the flexible nature of descriptive designs describe it as being preferable to forcing a research approach into a design that is not quite appropriate for the nature of the intended study. However, descriptive design has also been criticized for this mixing of methods as well as for the limited literature describing it.
A cross-sectional study is a type of observational study that involves gathering information on various variables at the individual level at a given point in time. Annemarie Brady (PhD, MSc, BNS, RNT, RPN) is Chair of Nursing and Chronic Illness and Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin. Her research work has focused on the development of healthcare systems and workforce solutions to respond to increased chronic illness demands within healthcare. This paper provides an overview of qualitative descriptive research, orientates to the underlying philosophical perspectives and key characteristics that define this approach and identifies the implications for healthcare practice and policy. A descriptive study design’s statistical capabilities allow researchers to track data trends over time.
Choosing the appropriate research design for a study is crucial to the success of the study. Moreover, researchers should choose a design that best fits the research question and the type of data needed to answer it. Descriptive research often requires a large amount of data collection and analysis, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. The primary purpose of descriptive research is to describe the characteristics, behaviors, and attributes of a particular population or phenomenon. The research will provide a more accurate picture of a population’s demographic makeup and help to understand changes over time in areas like population age, health and education level.
You need to have answers to the “what,” “when,” “how,” and “where” before you can understand the “why.” This is where descriptive research comes in. Surveys help create better policies and cross-sectional studies help us understand problems affecting different populations including diseases. Used in the right context, descriptive research can advance knowledge and inform decision making¹. Margaret McCann (PhD, MSc, BNS, RNT, RGN) is an Assistant Professor in General Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin.
This means that novice qualitative researchers have little guidance on how to design and implement a descriptive study as there is a lack of a ‘methodological rulebook’ to guide researchers (Kahlke, 2014). Despite the widespread use of descriptive approaches within nursing research, there is limited methodological guidance about this type of design in research texts or papers. This suggests there is a need to have more discussion about how and why descriptive approaches to qualitative research are used.
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