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Longitudinal Research Design - 2020-21 - Fundamentals

This document discusses the fundamentals of longitudinal research, which involves collecting data from samples at multiple points in time to examine temporal processes and how social phenomena change over time. Longitudinal research can provide insights into causality and be used across many disciplines to study a wide range of health and social issues. While powerful, it also has limitations such as being time-consuming and expensive with issues around participant attrition and changing ethical standards over long studies. Quantitative longitudinal research generates trends over time while qualitative examines changes for individuals.

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Minh Trang
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70 views6 pages

Longitudinal Research Design - 2020-21 - Fundamentals

This document discusses the fundamentals of longitudinal research, which involves collecting data from samples at multiple points in time to examine temporal processes and how social phenomena change over time. Longitudinal research can provide insights into causality and be used across many disciplines to study a wide range of health and social issues. While powerful, it also has limitations such as being time-consuming and expensive with issues around participant attrition and changing ethical standards over long studies. Quantitative longitudinal research generates trends over time while qualitative examines changes for individuals.

Uploaded by

Minh Trang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fundamentals of

longitudinal research
Helen Baldwin
SPSW, University of York
Explores social phenomena through time
 Collects data from samples at more than one point in time – “waves”

 Examines temporal processes, e.g. social mobility

 May be prospective or retrospective: “looking forward” vs. “looking back”

 Has “time frames” and “tempos”

 Can provide a picture of society across the generations: infancy, childhood,


adolescence, adulthood and older age
Has a wide scope
 Utilised in a range of disciplines including the social sciences, public
health, medicine and developmental psychology

 Covers a range of health and social issues: lifestyle behaviours, health,


family, socioeconomic factors

 1983: Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey – Philippines


 1989: China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS)
 1990: Birth to Twenty (BT20) – South Africa
 1991: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)
 1991: Understanding Society (formally British Household Panel Survey)
 2000: Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) – UK
 2002: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
 2011: Chinese Longitudinal Aging Study
Types of longitudinal research design
Design Key features
Total population design Total population is surveyed/measured at each time
point, e.g. census. There is some change in the sample
between time points due to births and deaths.
Longitudinal panel design The same group of participants (a “panel” or “cohort”) is
followed over time. Some participants are likely to drop
out with each wave of data collection.
Revolving panel design A panel is followed over time. Participants who drop out
at each wave are replaced with new participants.
Repeated cross-sectional A different sample is drawn from the population at each
design wave of data collection. The same measures are repeated
at each wave. Does not examine individual change.

(Menard, 2007)
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
 Provides insights into causality:
• helps us to understand the factors/exposures that influence future outcomes
• allows us to identify potential intervention points
 Generates data that may be archived and re-used by other researchers

Limitations
 Expensive
 Time consuming
 Panel maintenance and attrition
 Ethical issues – changing ethical requirements, consent to share data, avoiding
harm
Quantitative vs. Qualitative

 Quantitative longitudinal enquiry links time to trends: generates the


long shot, birds eye view, the broad vista, the epic movie. Time is linear.

 Qualitative longitudinal enquiry links time to textures: generates close


ups of individuals and groups, the twists and turns in the story lines, the
intricacies of human lives, the personal movie. Time is fluid.

(Neale, 2018)

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