StATS: What is a descriptive study?

A study that tries to reveal patterns associated with a specific disease without an emphasis on pre-specified hypotheses. Sometimes these types of studies are called hypothesis generating studies (to contrast them with hypothesis testing studies). There are three general reasons that you might want to conduct a descriptive study:

  1. to help in planning resource allocation;
  2. to identify areas for further research
  3. to provide informal diagnostic information.

Generally, in a descriptive study, the emphasis is on estimation rather than testing. Some of the quantities you might want to estimate are:

  1. the prevalence of a disease,
  2. the natural history of a disease.
  3. the resources required to treat the disease.
  4. attitudes and perceptions about the disease.

This page was written by Steve Simon while working at Children's Mercy Hospital. Although I do not hold the copyright for this material, I am reproducing it here as a service, as it is no longer available on the Children's Mercy Hospital website. Need more information? I have a page with general help resources. You can also browse for pages similar to this one at Category: Definitions, Category: Research designs.