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Section IV: Research Types
Descriptive
The goal of descriptive research is to describe systematically a situation or area of interest.
Examples: Population census studies, public opinion surveys, fact-finding surveys, status studies,
task analysis studies, questionnaire and interview studies, observation studies, job descriptions,
surveys of the literature, documentary analyses, anecdotal records, critical incident reports, test
score analyses, and normative data.
Developmental
The researcher explores patterns and sequences of growth and/or change as a function of time.
Examples: A longitudinal growth study following an initial sample of 200 children from six
months of age to adulthood; a cross-sectional growth study investigating changing patterns of
intelligence by sampling groups of children at ten different age levels; a trend study projecting
the future growth and educational needs of a community from past trends and recent building
estimates.
Correlational
Examines the extent to which variations in one factor correspond with variations in one or more
other factors based on correlation coefficients. Examples: To investigate relationships between
reading achievement scores and one or more other variables of interest; a factor-analytic study of
several intelligence tests; a study to predict success in college based on inter-correlation patterns
between college grades and selected high school variables.
True Experimental
The researcher investigates possible cause-and-effect relationships by exposing one or more
experimental groups to one or more treatment conditions and comparing the results to one or
more control groups not receiving the treatment (random assignment being essential). Examples:
To investigate the effectiveness of three methods of teaching reading to first grade children using
random assignments of children and teachers to groups and methods; to investigate the effects of
a specific tranquilizing drug on the learning behavior of boys identified as
random assignment to groups receiving three different levels of the drug and two control groups
with and without a placebo, respectively.
Quasi-Experimental
The researcher approximates the conditions of the true experiment in a setting which does not
allow the random assignment of participants to groups. The researcher must clearly understand
what compromises exist in the internal validity of his or her design and proceed within these
limitations.
Causal-Comparative -
This type of research investigates possible cause-and-effect relationships by observing some
existing condition and searching back through the data for plausible causal factors. Examples: To
