Understanding the Descriptive/ Diagnostic Research Design

This Power Point Presentation has been made while referring to the research books written by eminent, renowned and expert authors as mentioned in the references section. The purpose of this Presentation is to help the research students in developing an insight about The Descriptive/Diagnostic Research Design.

1. Understanding The Descriptive/Diagnostic Research Design By Dr. Shaloo Saini Assistant Professor, MKCE (CT Group of Institutions, Jalandhar, Punjab)

2. Descriptive Research Design Descriptive Research Studies are those Research studies which are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or a group of individuals(Kothari and Grag , 2019). The Descriptive Research Design is used when the purpose of study is to learn who, what, when , where and how of a variable. The researcher must be able to clearly define, what he wants to measure and must find adequate methods for measuring it along with clear cut definition of population he wants to study therefore it must be well planned (Kothari and Garg,2019). The Descriptive Research Design must be designed in an unbiased, reliable and rigid manner.

3. Objectives of Descriptive Research To describe the characteristics of some relevant group like adolescents, humanities students etc. To study the proportion of population having particular traits like number of students volunteered for social services. To make predictions related to a particular phenomenon like what will be growth of literacy in the suburbs of a metropolitan city.

4. 6 W’s of Descriptive Research Design

5. Diagnostic Research Design Diagnostic Research Studies determine the frequency with which something occurs or its association with something else(Kothari and Garg , 2019). The Diagnostic Researches are conducted to find out the associations between the variables. Most of the Social Researches are carried through Descriptive /Diagnostic Research Designs . From the point of view of Research Design the descriptive as well as the diagnostic studies share common requirements therefore in many research books these two types of research designs are grouped together.

6. Objectives of Diagnostic Research Design To establish whether two or more variables are associated with each other. To determine the degree to which the variables are associated, for example a study may be conducted to find out if there is any association between study hours and academic achievements.

7. Important Elements of Descriptive/Diagnostic Research Design

8. 1. Clear Definition of The Problem The concepts and theories associated with the problem need to be clearly explained (Gupta and Rangi,2017). The objectives should be specified with sufficient precision to ensure that the data collected will be relevant(Kothari and Grag,2019).

9. 2. Methods of Data Collection The method to be adopted for the collection of data should be clearly explained in the Research Design. There are various techniques of collecting the information from the respondents like observation, interview, questionnaires, examination of records etc. Each technique have its own merits and demerits and must be selected according to the objectives of the study, time, funds available and level of precision desired.

10. 3. Preparation of Instruments The Research Design must explain about the instruments to be used to collect information from the respondents. The instruments to be used must be according to the objectives of the study, suitable and understandable for the respondents, valid, reliable, simple, unbiased and specific. It is always desirable to pre test the data collection instruments before they are presented for the actual research study respondents(Kothari and Garg,2019).

11. 4.Sampling Design The Research D esign must explain the Sampling Design to be adopted for the research study. The sampling design must be selected in such a way that it gives full representation to the population, so that the findings of the research can be generalised for the population. The are various probability and non probability sampling techniques that can be adopted for the purpose of sample selection. The Research Design should clearly indicate the Sampling Technique to be employed in the research study.

12. 5. Data Collection and Analysis Techniques The Research design should explain about the field conditions in which the data will be collected and recorded. Collected data should be examined for its completeness, comprehensibility, consistency and reliability. The Research design explains the processing and analysis of data. This includes steps like coding, tabulating and performing several statistical computations. The processing and analysis procedure should be planned in detail before the actual work is started(Kothari and Garg,2019).

13. Summary Descriptive Research Studies are those Research studies which are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or a group of individuals(Kothari and Grag , 2019 ). The Descriptive Research Design is used when the purpose of study is to learn who, what, when, where and how of a variable . Diagnostic Research Studies determine the frequency with which something occurs or its association with something else(Kothari and Garg , 2019 ).The Diagnostic Researches are conducted to find out the associations between the variables. Most of the Social Researches are carried through Descriptive /Diagnostic Research Designs . The Important Elements of Descriptive/Diagnostic Research Design are Clear Definition of the Problem Methods of data Collection Preparation of Instruments Sampling Design Data Collection and Analysis Techniques

14. References Bajpai  N. (2015). Research design formulations. In  Business research methods  (pp. 49). Nodia : Pearson Education. Cooper, D. R., Schindler, P. S., & Sharma, J. K. (2012). Measurement scales. In  Business Research Methods  (8th ed., pp. 341). New Delhi: Mc. Graw Hill Education (India). Gupta S.K. & Rangi P.(2017). Research Designs In Research Methodology (4 th ed., pp3.5).Punjab: Kalyani Publishers(India). Kerlinger F. N.(1986) Foundations of Behavioural Research . (3 rd ed.,pp.279). New York: Holt, Rine Heart& Winston. Kothari C. R. & Garg G.(2019). Research Designs. In Research Methodology Methods and Techniques( 4 th ed., pp.29-38) New Delhi: New Age International Publishers(India).

15. Thank You This Power Point Presentation has been made while referring to the research books written by eminent, renowned and expert authors as mentioned in the references section. The purpose of this Presentation is to help the research students in developing an insight about The Descriptive/Diagnostic Research Design . I hope the students will find this presentation useful for them. All the Best Dr. Shaloo Saini