Longitudinal studies

What is a longitudinal study

research that is carried out over a long period of time. the same group of respondents are contacted several times over a number of years. the triangulation method is used to give a thorough and representative picture of what it is they’re studying

Example of a longitudinal study

Seven Up- a tv series by Michael Apted visits and films participants every 7 years

gives us information about family, health, mental health, aspirations, relationships, education, social class differences

Practical strengths and weaknesses

strengths- can access participants easily via volunteer sampling

weaknesses- time consuming as takes place over many years, long term funding required so very expensive, can be difficult to stay in touch with ppts over a number of years, could be costly to incentive participation

ethical strengths and weaknesses

using consenting ppts so no deception

weaknesses- ethical issues raised i.e. consent for young people, participants may feel intrusion in their lives and drop out

theoretical strengths and weaknesses

strengths- researchers can analyse long term effects such as social class or ethnicity and how that impacts on life for example on health or education, large scale research often comparing different groups so representative, triangulation allows statistical data to be understood at a deeper level and to make data valid and representative

weaknesses- lacks validity as snapshots of data plus social desirability, lack of verstehen snippets of info and snapshots of time