Cross Sectionla Study Flashcards
What is cross sectional research?
In a C. R
Data is collected from different participants
At a given time.
Data collection occurs only once
Described as takings a “snap shot” of a group of individuals.and a snap shot like analysis of a particular issues at a particular time.
Ex: Cohen (2002) national census
epistemologist who are interested in the spread of Covid-19 after the 2nd immunity booster.
A study on the new words coined due to the prevailing economic/political crisis in Sri Lanka.
When to use cross sectional?
To examine the prevalence of an issue at a particular time.
The time the researcher has.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Cross sectional studies.
Advantages
1. Less expensive
2. Less time consuming
3. Large potion of participants and comparison between the sample.
4. Captures a specific moment in time
Disadvantages
1. Difficulty establishing cause and effect relationships between variables
2. Can’t analyze outcomes over a period of time
What is longitudinal research
Involves continuous observations of variables over a prolonged period of time.
Conducted over a prolonged period of time
Menard (2002)
A research design
Data collected at two different periods of time.
The participants of the two periods are either same or comparable.
Capable of describing change and establish cause and effect relationships
Traditionally associated with Quan research
But recently theres a development of long. R as qualitative
Ex; language development of a hearing impaired child born to hearing parents.
Types of longitudinal studies
Prospective longitudinal study/panel studies
- involves collecting data from the same sample at different points in time
- researcher observes change at a micro level
- attrition : participants dropping out
- panel conditioning- knowing that they are a part of a research tends to alter behavior.
Repeated cross sectional studies/trend studies
- collecting data from different samples at different points in time
Retrospective longitudinal studies
- data is collected by asking participants to access their past.
- data can be highly unreliable:poor memory
Simultaneous cross sectional studies
Involves conducting a cross sectional studies with participants of various age groups.
- age is a key sampling variable
- its is problematic whether the change that occurs is in fact due to age and not any other variable.
The 4 basic types can be combined to minimize the weaknesses of each approach
Ex- rotating panels (panel study+ repeated cross sectional study)
Split panel- (classic panel+rotating samples
Linked panels- created from existing data.
Cohort study - exist somewhere between panel and trend studies
Similarities and differences between cross sectional and longitudinal studies
Similarities
Both types can be conducted as quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research
Both are useful research designs
Types of observational study
Differences
❌involves only a particular point of time
🚉 conducted over a period of time
❌ less time consuming and less expensive
🚉time consuming and costly
🚉established causal relationships and describes change patters
❌incapable of that
🚉research are more flexible. Can go back in the study upon finding something interesting or unique
❌less flexible
🚉minimizes the cohort effect. (Participants’ age, religion, gender) as the study is carried for a ling time the effect of cohorts can be minimized
❌There is more room for cohort effect
🚉validity of longitudinal research higher : trend studies and panel. Collected at different points of time and different participants.
❌not valid like in the above
❌not really affected by attrition
🚉 conducting for a longer period of time.
❌recalls bias is not something that has to be deal with in cross sectional
🚉retrospective studies - recall bias
Therefore data can at times be unreliable
🚉data analysis tend to get complicated
❌not very complicated
.
Advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal research design.
Although different longitudinal approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages. They can be minimized by combining these approaches
In general
Advantages
-Establish cause and effect relationships and describes change of patterns
-Enhance validity- trend study
-More flexible
- minimizes the cohort effect
Disadvantages
Time consuming and expensive.
Attrition is a common issues
Unreliable data
Data analysis tends to get complicated: in both
Longitudinal qualitative research
While qualitative research looks at how and why something happens
LQR looks at why and how something changes over time.
Different from Qual research in the way time fits into the research process making ‘change’ a key analysis focus.
Ex: Peoples’ reaction to covid
Deals with complex data analysis process
Increased panel conditioning
Mixed longitudinal research
To reduce the weaknesses and enhance the strengths of longitudinal research designs, longitudinal designs are combined.
Ex: panel studies with trend studies .
Involves an extensive and an intensive research component.
Extensive- quantitative
Intensive- qualitative
Quantitative longitudinal data analysis
There is no general statistical procedure to analyze longitudinal data
Highly advanced statistical processes like.
Time series analysis
Repeated measures analysis
Long linear analysis has to be used
Sppss and Sas doesn’t include procedures for such analysis
What to choose
Longitudinal or cross sectional?
- cross sectional is comparatively easy to conduct
- recruiting and sustaining participants are relatively easy in cross sectional
- cross sectional is less demanding than longitudinal
However,
Long. Research can be conducted effectively.
