Question

Descriptive research is conducted for all the following reasons except:

• A. to describe the characteristics of relevant groups, such as consumers, employees, organizations, or territories
• B. to determine the degree to which research variables are associated
• C. to understand which variables are the cause and which are the effect of a phenomenon
• D. to determine the citizens’ perceptions of a new regulation

Hint:

Descriptive = “what is”; Causal = “why it happens”. Cause-effect analysis needs controlled experiments, not just description.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Purpose of descriptive research.
Descriptive research focuses on describing characteristics, measuring associations, and gathering detailed factual information. It does not establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Step 2: Elimination.
- (a) Correct use of descriptive research — describing characteristics of groups.
- (b) Also correct — can measure associations.
- (d) Correct — surveys and opinion polls are part of descriptive research.
- (c) Wrong for descriptive research — identifying cause and effect is causal research, not descriptive. \[ \boxed{(c)} \]