Causal-Comparative Design & Descriptive Design - Research Paper Example

1129039 - CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN & DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN Casual-comparative research design and descriptive design are sometimes used interchangeably due to the similarities that they have but in actual fact, the two are noted not to be the same thing. The confusion arises because both casual-comparative research design and descriptive design are used to describe conditions that have already taken place (quote). Going close up with the two however, quote (year) explained that casual-comparative research seeks to determine reasons or causes that back the occurrence of existing conditions.

In most of the case therefore, there is an identified pre-existing difference between a group of individuals and any subject group that is of interest to the researcher. Undertaking casual-comparative research thus serves as an ex-post facto, otherwise known as “after the fact” to understand or appreciate the real cause for the fact of occurrence and the effect that followed the situation. It is therefore very common to find two groups and one independent variable in a casual-comparative research.

Descriptive research design on the other hand has been explained to focus only directly on the need for the researcher to describe specific behavior