Types of Descriptive Studies:
To facilitate the discussion on the design of descriptive studies two types or method of study are considered separately the case method and the statistical method.
a. Case Method: Case studies are more appropriate to exploratory research than descriptive research. They are not widely used in descriptive research but they are worth some comment in the descriptive context and perhaps should be used more than they have been in the past.
b. Statistical Method: The statistical method is the most widely used method in marketing research and is the method usually implied when a survey is referred to. The name comes from the statistical techniques that are used in analyzing the data collected techniques that vary from simple means and percentages to very sophisticated techniques that require computers to manipulate the data.
Here the study does not ascertain the cause and effect relationship. The researcher must design their studies to give as much evidence as possible on such relationship. The designs of such studies should be planned with the type of required analysis already in mind. Survey methods questionnaire and observations are used in very comprehensive manner.