Longitudinal studies

What are longitudinal studies?

A study that looks at a group of people over a long period of time to investigate changes in the lives of individuals involved

What was National Child Development longitudinal study?

17,000 children who were born in one week in March 1958 conducting questionnaires and interviews over regular intervals to examine social, educational and physical development

What was the Millennium cohort study?

19,000 children over 11 years to see how early socialisation impacts health and education

What are strengths of longitudinal studies?

They trace development over time, provide large amount of data on social changes, if the sample remains unchanged then it can be discovered causes of changes by comparing earlier studies and the data is valid

What are weaknesses of longitudinal studies?

Sample change can occur as people can drop out of the study, the sample may not be representative of people drop out, the Hawthorne effect can impact validity and it can be time consuming and costly