Surveys and Sampling
Now that we have reviewed the basic types of measured variables and considered how to evaluate their effectiveness at assessing the conceptual variables of interest, it is time to more fully discuss the use of these measures in descriptive research. In this chapter, we will discuss the use of self-report measures, and in Chapter 7, we will discuss the use of behavioral measures. Although these measures are frequently used in a qualitative sense—to draw a complete and complex picture in the form of a narrative—they can also be used quantitatively, as measured variables. As you read these chapters, keep in mind that the goal of descriptive research is to describe the current state of affairs but that it does not by itself provide direct methods for testing research hypotheses. However, both surveys (discussed in this chapter) and naturalistic methods (discussed in Chapter 7) are frequently used not only as descriptive data but also as the measured variables in correlational and experimental tests of research hypotheses. We will discuss these uses in later chapters.
