Читать книгу Social Work Research Methods - Reginald O. York - Страница 75

Descriptive research simply describes people (or things) one variable at a time. What, for example, is the average age of persons receiving a Master of Social Work degree at your favorite university? What is the proportion of clients in your agency who have a preschool-age child? What is the average family income of your clients? These are all descriptive questions. They do not attempt to explain. They just describe. Variables will be described one at a time. You may have eight different variables you wish to describe, but you will analyze them one at a time. So if you are posed with the question of how many variables are in your descriptive analysis, the answer is always one when it comes to the analysis of your data.

A descriptive study should pay special attention to measurement because the purpose is to accurately describe people. While accurate measurement is critical to all types of research, it is especially important in the descriptive study. If you are trying to characterize the conservatism of your fellow students, it is critical that you clearly define what is meant by conservatism before you seek a tool to measure it.