The main difference between descriptive and experimental research is that the descriptive research describes the characteristics of the study group or a certain occurrence while the experimental research manipulates the variables to arrive at conclusions. Show
Descriptive research and experimental research are two types of research people use when doing varied research studies. Both these research types have their own methods that facilitate the researcher to gain maximum outcomes. Key Areas Covered1. What is Descriptive Research Key TermsDescriptive Research, Experimental Research, Research What is Descriptive ResearchDescriptive research is a type of research that studies the participants that take part in the research or a certain situation. Descriptive research does not limit to either of quantitative or qualitative research methodologies, but instead, it uses elements of both, often within the same study. Therefore, a descriptive researcher often uses three major ways to collect and analyse the data. They are observations, case studies and surveys. Descriptive studies are aimed at finding out “what is,” therefore, observational and survey methods are frequently used to collect descriptive data (Borg & Gall, 1989). Thus, the main focus of descriptive research is to answer the question ‘what’ with concern to the study group. Moreover, descriptive research, primarily concerned with finding out “what is,” that might be applied to investigate the particular study group or the situation. Therefore, descriptive research does not give answers to the cause and effect of the particular occurrence that is studied. Therefore, descriptive research assists to make specific conclusions regarding situations such as marketing products according to the needs of the customers, to estimate the percentages of units in a specified population according to a certain behaviour, etc. Some examples of descriptive researches include population census and product marketing surveys. Experimental research is the research study where the scientist actively influences something to observe the consequences. Experimental research uses manipulation and controlled testing to understand causal processes. Therefore, in this type of research, the researcher manipulates one given variable and controls the others to come to a conclusion. This type of research typically includes a hypothesis, a variable that can be manipulated, measured, calculated and compared. Eventually, the collected data and results will either support or reject the hypothesis of the researcher. Therefore, one could call this research type as a true experiment. In this research type, the researcher manipulates the independent variables such as treatment method and teaching methodology, and measures the impact it has on the dependent variables such as cure and student comprehension in order to establish a cause-effect relationship between these two variables. Therefore, this research type can answer the questions of cause, effect and results, thus, making it possible to make hypothetical assumptions based on the gathered data. Therefore, unlike descriptive research which answers’ what is’, experimental research answers the question ‘what if’. Therefore, usually, this type of research uses quantitative data collection methodology. Evidently, this type of research is mostly conducted in a controlled environment, usually a laboratory. Experimental research is mostly used in sciences such as sociology and psychology, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, etc. Difference Between Descriptive and Experimental ResearchDefinitionDescriptive research is the type of research where characteristics of the study group or a certain occurrence are described while experimental research is the research type that manipulates variables to come to a conclusion. This is the main difference between descriptive and experimental research. UseDescriptive research is useful in gathering data on a certain population or a specific occurrence while experimental research is useful in finding out the cause-effect of a causal relationship, correlation etc FocusThe aim of the descriptive research is to describe the characteristics of the study group, thus answering the question ‘what is’ while the aim of the experimental research is to manipulate the given variables so as to support or reject the assumed hypothesis. Hence it answers the question ‘what if’. Type of StudiesDescriptive research typically includes sociological and psychological studies while experimental research typically includes forensic studies, biological and other laboratory studies, etc. Data CollectionDescriptive research uses both qualitative and quantitative methodologies while experimental research primarily uses quantitative methodology. ConclusionDescriptive and experimental research are two significant types of research. Both these research types are helpful in analysing certain occurrences and study groups. 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. Similarly, descriptive research answers the question ‘what is’ while experimental research answers the question ‘what if’. Reference:1. “Descriptive Research.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 June 2018, Available here. Image Courtesy:1. “Survey” (Public Domain) via
PublicDomainPictures.net What is the difference between experimental and descriptive research in terms of data analysis?The main difference between the two is that – descriptive research is a qualitative or quantitative approach dedicated to observing the variable demographics under its natural habitat. While experimental research includes a scientific quantitative approach to test hypotheses and theories using control variables.
What are the difference between experimental and nonIf you can't manipulate it, then you can't run an experimental study. However, non-experimental researchers are able to take the variables that cannot be manipulated and controlled. The non-experimental design can study and examine questions experimental researchers cannot.
Is descriptive research experimental or nonNon-experimental research is usually descriptive or correlational, which means that you are either describing a situation or phenomenon simply as it stands, or you are describing a relationship between two or more variables, all without any interference from the researcher.
What is the difference between descriptive correlational and experimental research?Descriptive research is designed to provide a snapshot of the current state of affairs. Correlational research is designed to discover relationships among variables. Experimental research is designed to assess cause and effect.
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