Descriptive and Analytic Comparative Research Essay

Descriptive and Analytic Comparative Research Essay

Compare and contrast descriptive and analytic comparative research. Examine the benefits of historical study and the limitations inherent in using historical data, especially comparative historical data.

Descriptive research is used to find new meanings and facts in research. It includes referring to the methods describing the attributes of the studied variables (Winterdyk et al., 2009). On the other hand, analytic comparative research compares two or more documents, data sets, processes, and other objects. The primary forms of comparative analysis are filtering pattern analysis and decision-tree analysis. In descriptive research, the researcher focuses on two variables that are not manipulated and creates a formal procedure to formulate a conclusion on which is better (Bachman & Schutt, 2020). Subsequently, the main difference between descriptive and analytic comparative research is that while descriptive research focuses on answering “what?”, analytical comparative research focuses on answering “why.” However, the two research methods focus on uncovering new information.

Descriptive and analytic comparative research may be used alongside historical research. According to Mcdowell (2013), historical research is the process of gathering and interpreting data about ideas or past events to determine how they affect the present ideas or events. One of the advantages of historical research is that it allows researchers to gain insight into past events by providing information about them. The second advantage is that it helps researchers identify the significant elements of past adverse events to prevent certain situations effectively. There are, however, various limitations that affect the effectiveness of historical research. One of them is that the sources of information may not be reliable and may provide misleading information, resulting in false conclusions. The second limitation is that not all past events can be researched due to lacking source materials and evidence. Historical research is also time-consuming, and the length of time is dictated by the availability of information that is beyond a researcher’s control.

References

Bachman, R. D., & Schutt, R. K. (2020). The practice of research in criminology and criminal justice. Sage Publications.

Mcdowell, B. (2013). Historical research: A guide for writers of dissertations, theses, articles, and books. Routledge.

Winterdyk, J., Reichel, P. L., & Dammer, H. R. (2009). A guided reader to research in comparative criminology/criminal justice. Brockmeyer Verlag.

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Compare and contrast descriptive and analytic comparative research. Examine the benefits of historical study and the limitations inherent in using historical data, especially comparative historical data.