DESCRIPTIV

STATISTICS AND EDUCATION RESEARCH

E RESEARCH
Road Map of Discussion
What is descriptive research?
• is the most widely-used research
design as indicated by the theses,
dissertations and research reports of
institutions. Its common means of
obtaining information include the use
of the questionnaire, personal
interviews with the aid of study guide
or interview schedule, and
observation, either participatory or not.
What is descriptive research?
• includes studies that purport to present
facts concerning the nature and status of
anything. This means that descriptive
research gives meaning to the quality and
standing of facts that are going on. For
instance, the information about a group of
person, a number of objects, a set of
conditions, a class of events, a system of
thoughts or any other kind of phenomenon
or experience which one may wish to
study.
What is descriptive research?
• fact-finding with adequate interpretation. The
descriptive method is something more and beyond
just data-gathering; latter is not reflective thinking
nor research. The true meaning of data collected
should be reported from the point of view of the
objectives and the basic assumption of the project
under way. Facts obtained may be accurate
expressions of central tendency, or deviation, or
correlation; but the report is not research unless
discussion of those data is not carried up to the
level of adequate interpretation. Data must be
subjected to the thinking process in terms of
ordered reasoning.
Nature of Descriptive Research
• Descriptive research is designed for the investigator to
gather information about present existing conditions.
• Descriptive research involves collection of data in order
to test the hypothesis or to answer questions concerning
the current status of the subject of the study.
• Descriptive study determines and reports the way things
are. It has no control over what is, and it can only
measure what already exist.
• Descriptive research has been criticized for its inability to
control variables, for being a post-hoc study and for
more frequently yielding only descriptive rather than
predictive, findings.
Aim of Descriptive Research
• The principal aims in employing descriptive
research are to describe the nature of a situation as
it exists at the time of the study and to explore the
causes of particular phenomena. (Travers, 1978)
• Descriptive Research seeks to tell “what exists” or
“what is” about a certain educational
phenomenon. Accurate observations and
assessments arise from data that ascertain the
nature and incidence of prevailing conditions,
practices or description of object, process, and
person who are all objects of the study.
Aim of Descriptive Research
– contribute in the formation of principles and
generalization in behavioural sciences
– contribute in the establishment of standard norms of
conduct, behaviour, or performance.
– reveal problems or abnormal conditions ;
– make possible prediction of future on the basis of
findings on prevailing conditions, corrections, and on
the basis of reactions of people toward certain issues;
– give better and deeper understanding of
phenomenon on the basis of an in-depth study of the
phenomenon.
– provide basis for decision-making.
Design of Descriptive Research

• Descriptive research makes

some type of comparison
contrasts and correlation and
sometimes, in carefully
planned and orchestrated
descriptive researches, cause-
effect relationships may be
established to some extent.
 Method
• Six steps in conducting descriptive
research
– Identify problem
– Review literature
– Select participants and instruments
– Collect valid and reliable data
– Analyze data
– Report conclusions
 Common Errors
• Lack of participant response
– Low response rates are common
– Difficulties interpreting the findings without
the data representing non-respondents’
views
• Unclear/ambiguous items
– Researcher needs to develop recording
forms that collect the data objectively
and reliably
Obj. 2.2 & 2.3
 Classifications of Descriptive
Research
• Classified by how data are collected
• Self-report
• Individuals respond to statements or questions
about themselves
• Observation
• Data is collected by the researcher watching
participants

Obj. 3.1 & 3.2

Types and Actual Studies of
Descriptive Research
Descriptive- Normative Survey- The
term normative is sometimes used
because surveys are frequently
made to ascertain the normal or
typical condition, or practice, or to
compare local test result with a
state or national norm.
NORMATIVE SURVEY
Estrada, Felix and Cancio, Rosalina
“Standard Measurement of Filipino Infants During the First Year”, A Compilation
(Summary and Review) of Studies on Normal Growth and Development of Filipino
Children by Roberta N. Venades-Hernandez, M.D., M.P.H., Class 1960, Institute of
Hygiene, University of the Philippines.
Purpose:
To determine the average weight and length of infants at birth and each
month thereafter up to one year.
Procedure:
4,482 apparently normal Filipino infants born in the free clinic of the
University of Santo Tomas and enrolled in the Well Baby Clinic of the Department of
Paediatrics, UST, were the subjects of this study.
Most families included in the study were of the low income level. The babies
were breast-fed, on self-demand schedule with intervals of three hours or shorter.
They did not show any sign of over-feeding. Only height and weight measurements
were obtained.
Findings:
1. The average measurements of the newborn were 6.4 lbs. and 19.13 inches.
2. Birth weight was approximately doubled between the third and fourth months of
life, called the “stocking up process”.
3. It was shown that the initial growth spurt in the early months slowed down later to
give an average weight of 19.8 lbs., which was slightly more than triple birth
weight.
4. The length measurements were found to be comparable to the figures using the
10th or 25th percentile of the tables of the Harvard School of Public Health.
Types and Actual Studies of
Descriptive Research
 Descriptive- Educational-Survey Research
Studies- this type of study looks into the
teaching-learning process, the child-teacher,
the learner and the environment, the attitudes,
habits and other characteristics of the learner,
the techniques and the methods, the building
equipment and materials used. etc which all
pertain to education. The goal is of this study is
to have a total improvement of the educational
system for the maximum development of the
individual learner.
EDUCATIONAL-SURVEY RESEARCH STUDIES
Solis, Miguela M.
“A Study of the Development of Art Expression of Young Children by Their Drawings,”
Our Filipino, National Media Production Center, Manila.
Purpose:
To determine the major classifications of drawings made by children from one to eight
years old; to determine the development of the art expressions of these children.
Procedure:
The subjects of this study were 75 children from one to eight years old. Of
these subjects, the one- and two-year-olds were not given any instructions.
The subjects were given two pieces of paper, one in the morning and other in the
evening, on which to draw freely. The one- and two-year-old children were not given
any instructions at all. The 150 drawings were classified and the logical development
of the art expression from one age to another was determined.
Findings:
1. The drawings were classified into the ff categories: (a) scribbling, (b) scribbling
mixed with recognizable forms, (c) unrelated Figures, (d) mixture of related and
unrelated figures on the same sheet, € figures related into a logically organized
whole, and isolated figures.
2. Scribbling was found to be most common among the drawings of the one-and
two-year-old children.
3. While scribbling was dominant in the children’s drawings during the first years, it
decreased rapidly after the fourth year and, as a rule, disappeared entirely, in the
drawings of the children of school age.
4. From the age of five, the children gradually substituted unrelated the age I their
drawings with scenes in which all elements formed a logical whole.
Types and Actual Studies of
Descriptive Research
Descriptive-
Psychological Research
Studies- This study pertains
to the behaviour of
individuals in different
situations.
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH STUDIES
Indelberg, Rachel M.
“The causation and manifestations of emotional behaviour in Filipino children,” Our Filipino
Children, National Media Production Center, Manila.
Purpose:
To compare two age groups of Filipino children with respect to:
1. Situations causing emotional episode;
2. Manifestations of emotional behaviour; and
3. Reactions of adults to these episodes.
Procedure:
Thirty-one children from two to four years old and 31 others from five to seven years
old were involved in the study.
The subjects were observed at their homes by teachers attending summer school for
a period of six weeks. Majority of these children belonged to families of the observers.
Emotional episodes recorded were classified according to age groups. Of the 755 reported,
398 were in two-to-four-year group and 365 were in the five-to-seven-year group.
Findings:
1. Established home and health routines gave rise to a significantly large frequency of
emotional episodes in the five-to-seven group.
2. Play activities resulted in significantly larger frequency of emotional episodes in the two-
to-four-year group.
3. The emotional behaviour manifested vocally, while in the five-to-seven-year group
emotional behaviour was characterized by withdrawal and over physical aggression
against others.
4. Adults were significantly more indulgent toward the younger group.
Types and Actual Studies of
Descriptive Research
 Descriptive- Social Survey- The purpose of
this study is to change for the better existing
practices of groups living a community. It is
concerned with the formulation of
constructive programs of social reform and
amelioration. A current social problem is
existing in a particular place, and the aim is
to diagnose the “root causes” of the ills,
utilizing the research approach.
SOCIAL SURVEY
Faushel, David
”Specializations within the foster parent role: a research project report,” Child
Development Abstract and Bibliography, February-April, 1963, Vol. 37, Nos. 1&
2, Child Welfare, 196, 40 (3) 17-21. Child Development Publications, Society for
Research in Child Development, Inc., Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana.
Purpose:
To compare foster parents of infants with those of older children.
Procedure:
The subjects of the study were foster parents of infants and of older
children. The methods used were:
1. Interview data from both mothers and fathers;
2. PARI score; and
3. Case workers ratings on Foster Parent Appraisal Form.
Findings:
1. It was found out that those caring for infants were more oriented on
private gratification.
2. Foster parents of infants were more oriented on private gratification as
opposed to the more social gratification of foster parents of older children.
 Ethics of Descriptive Research
• Be sure when you describe any particular group of individuals in
your population, you should include not only the characteristics
which are common to the group but also their unique as well.
Failure to include the unique characteristics of the participant
may make the result inconsistent and unreliable.
• Bear in mind that seldom in the descriptive method per se used
as end in itself. It means that the primary objective of descriptive
methods is to make use of the results to facilitate predictions or
control of some behaviours. As a researcher is for you to plan
how your findings can be used as means to further some ends.
• Use statistical procedures to assure you of a level of confidence
that your results are trustworthy.
• Data should not be manipulated.
• Instrument use should be free from cultural bias.
 Importance of Descriptive Research

• For scientific basis of judgement. This means that

descriptive research provides information which
could be used as basis for important decisions
that are to be made.
• For a closer look into happenings, behaviour,
practice, methods and procedures. Descriptive
research provides essential facts and
understanding about the nature of anything.
• For the formation of construction of test analysis of
these standardization of tools instruments used in
research.
 Exercises: Descriptive Research

Make us work………
• What general field or area is being explored?
• What is the general purpose of the study?
• What are the specific objectives of the study?
• What places are involved in the study?
• How did the researchers get their subjects?
• Who are the subjects?
• What are the characteristics of the subjects?
• What are the process used in gathering data?
• How is the measurement or evaluation done?
• How are the data analyzed?
• How can one apply the research results?