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Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.zaThe description of phenomena may also range from a narrative type ofdescription (as in historical analysis) to a highly structured statistical analysis.The latter type of description is characterized by the use of a systematicclassification of variables by means of frequency tables, arithmetic means,medians, cross tabulations, and so on. Nonetheless, classification which neednot necessarily be quantitative in nature may also be the basis of other types ofdescriptive research. A good example of this is to be found in Joubert’s (1973)typology of value orientations on the basis of specified general principles. Theconstruction of a typology or taxonomy may therefore be regarded as typicallyclassificatory in nature.The majority of examples to which we have referred thus far involve thedescription of domain phenomena in terms of separate variables orcharacteristics. The exception has been historical description where a specific(chronological) relationship between events is postulated. When descriptionsare constructed by means of the relationships between variables, it is usuallyreferred to as a correlational study. The researcher does not conclude with a listof frequencies or arithmetic means (univariate statistics) but goes further bypostulating relationships between, for example, intelligence and scholasticachievement, or age and political attitudes. In statistical terms, theserelationships may be estimated in a variety of ways which include correlations,other measures of association, regression analyses, analyses of variance, factoranalyses, and so on (bivariate and multivariate statistics).From the discussion thus far it is evident that the term description hasdeveloped into an umbrella term used in many different types of research. Thesingle common element in all of these types of research is the researcher’sgoal, which is to describe that which exists as accurately as possible.Depending upon the researcher’s preference for qualitative or quantitativeresearch methodologies, and his or her choice of either ideographic ornomothetic strategies, the meaning of the phrase to describe accurately wouldvary with the context.The range of contexts include conceptual analysis (the construction oftypologies and taxonomies), historical analysis (narrative description), thereconstruction of single cases (individuals to groups), and the use of univariateand multivariate descriptive statistics (frequency tables, correlations, analysisof variance).One of the most important considerations in descriptive studies is to collectaccurate information or data on the domain phenomena which are underinvestigation. As indicated in the preceding paragraph, the meaning of the termaccurate will vary from one study to the next depending upon a variety offactors. We shall return to this issue in chapter 4 where the question of datacollection is addressed in greater detail.44