III. Research in Developmental Psychology

Case Study

In-depth study of single individual

Case Study’s Pros

Pros

• Detailed description of the person

  • Can generate hypothesis

Case Study’s Cons

• Results can’t be generalized to others

• Conclusions are not directly testable

  • Cannot establish cause and effect

Ethnographic study

In-depth study of culture or subculture

Ethnographic study’s Pros

• Can overcome culturally based biases in theory and research

• Can test universality of developmental phenomena

Ethnographic study’s Cons

• Subject to observer bias

Correlational Study

Relationship between variables

Correlational Study’s Pros

• Enables prediction of one variable on basis of another

• Can suggest hypotheses about causal relationships

Correlational Study’s Cons

• Cannot establish cause and effect

Experimental Study

Controlled procedure that involves an independent and dependent variables

Experimental Study’s Pros

• Can establish cause and effect

• Highly controlled; can be repeated

Experimental Study’s Cons

• Findings may not generalize

Cross-sectional Study

Collecting data on people of different ages

Cross-sectional Study’s Pros

• Can show similarities and differences

• Speedy, economical, and no attrition problems

Cross-sectional Study’s Cons

• You cannot establish age effects

Longitudinal Study

Collecting of data on same person/s over a period of time

Longitudinal Study’s Pros

• Can show age related change

Longitudinal Study’s Cons

• Time consuming and expensive

• Problems of attrition

• Results valid only for the sample

Sequential Study

Combination of Cross-sectional study and Longitudinal study

Sequential Study’s Pros

• Can avoid drawbacks of cross-sectional and longitudinal

Sequential Study’s Cons

• Time consuming

• Analysis of very complex data