1. A research or analytical approach that focuses on describing and documenting phenomena, characteristics, or behaviors as they occur in nature without manipulation or control of variables
The descriptive method was used to document the migration patterns of birds throughout the year.
O método descritivo foi utilizado para documentar os padrões de migração dos pássaros ao longo do ano.
2. In linguistics, an approach that analyzes language as it is actually used by speakers, rather than prescribing how it should be used
Modern linguistics relies heavily on the descriptive method to understand dialect variations.
A linguística moderna se baseia muito no método descritivo para compreender variações dialetais.