Distinguish between a reporting study and a descriptive stud

Solution

Reporting Study:

Reporting study is an important part of any marketing or business strategy. Its focus is on the discovery of ideas and insights as opposed to collecting statistically accurate data. That is why exploratory study is best suited as the beginning of your total study plan. It is most commonly used for further defining company issues, areas for potential growth, alternative courses of action, and prioritizing areas that require statistical study.

When it comes to online surveys, the most common example of reporting study takes place in the form of open-ended questions. Think of the exploratory questions in your survey as expanding your understanding of the people you are surveying. Text responses may not be statistically measureable, but they will give you richer quality information that can lead to the discovery of new initiatives or problems that should be addressed.

Descriptive Study

Descriptive study takes up the bulk of online surveying and is considered conclusive in nature due to its quantitative nature. Unlike reportng study, descriptive study is preplanned and structured in design so the information collected can be statistically inferred on a population.

The main idea behind using this type of study is to better define an opinion, attitude, or behaviour held by a group of people on a given subject. Consider your everyday multiple choice question. Since there are predefined categories a respondent must choose from, it is considered descriptive study. These questions will not give the unique insights on the issues like reporting study would. Instead, grouping the responses into predetermined choices will provide statistically inferable data. This allows you to measure the significance of your results on the overall population you are studying, as well as the changes of your respondent’s opinions, attitudes, and behaviours over time.