What if you want to study how things develop over time? In that case, you have two options. You can go with a longitudinal design, or a cross-sectional design. Let’s check them out.
Media: Researching development over time
This video describes the two approaches for studying development over time.
Key points:
| Cross-sectional vs. Longitudinal
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Cross-sectional (“between subject”)
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Longitudinal (“within subject”)
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| Advantages
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- Quick
- Access to more participants
- Lower costs
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- Greater confidence in results
- Greater detail
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| Disadvantages
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Potential period bias
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- Costly
- Time consuming
- Limited access to participants
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Reflective Activities: find your own examples
- Find an academic journal article that covers a topic in your chosen field (or a topic of your research interest) that utilises a ‘Cross-sectional’ and/or ‘Longitudinal’ approach. How was this approach effective in the author’s investigation?
- How do the designs affect your confidence in the authors’ results and conclusions? Post your thoughts in the discussion forum.
What if you want to study how things develop over time? In that case, you have two options. You can go with a longitudinal design, or a cross-sectional design. Let’s check them out.
Media: Researching development over time
This video describes the two approaches for studying development over time.
Key points:
Reflective Activities: find your own examples
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