Deck 4 Longitudinal Studies

Question 1

Define ‘longitudinal studies’.

Answer 1

Research of the same sample of people, conducted at regular intervals, over a long period of time.

Question 2

Give an example of a longitudinal study and its topic of investigation.

Answer 2

Millennium Cohort Study - follows children born in 2000 into adulthood to cover topics such as parenting, cognitive development, and education.

Question 3

Evaluate the reliability of the Millennium Cohort Study.

Answer 3

P - Low
E - Uses qualitative data
E - Makes it hard to replicate and test for consistency of results

Question 4

Evaluate the validity of the Millennium Cohort Study.

Answer 4

P - Low
E - Qualitative data is gathered
E - Open to subjectivity when analysing findings

Question 5

Evaluate the representativeness of the Millennium Cohort Study.

Answer 5

P - High
E - Sample includes 19,000 children of both genders
E - Sample size is large and so generalisable

Question 6

Evaluate the practicality of the Millennium Cohort Study.

Answer 6

P - Low
E - Large sample
E - Difficult to keep in contact with all of the ppts

Question 7

Evaluate the ethics of the Millennium Cohort Study.

Answer 7

P - Unethical
E - Ppts were involved in the study since a very young age
E - May feel obliged to continue even if they want to withdraw

Question 8

Who out of Positivists and Interpretivists would prefer the Millennium Cohort Study?

Answer 8

Interpretivists due to the qualitative data gathered.

Question 9

Give an example of another longitudinal study and its topic of investigation.

Answer 9

British Household Panel Survey - follows the same panel over a period of years containing information on members within a household.

Question 10

Evaluate the reliability of the British Household Panel Survey.

Answer 10

P - High
E - Uses quantitative data
E - Follows a standardised procedure in interviewing

Question 11

Evaluate the validity of the British Household Panel Survey.

Answer 11

P - High
E - Uses qualitative data
E - Allows for in-depth research and findings

Question 12

Evaluate the representativeness of the British Household Panel Survey.

Answer 12

P - High
E - Sample of 10,300 ppts
E - Generalisable as also includes children

Question 13

Evaluate the practicality of the British Household Panel Survey.

Answer 13

P - Low
E - Need to stay in contact with ppts and analyse data gathered
E - Takes a lot of time

Question 14

Evaluate the ethics of the British Household Panel Survey.

Answer 14

P - Ethical
E - All ppts give informed consent and have the right to withdraw at any point
E - Following ethical guidelines

Question 15

Who out of Positivists and Interpretivists would prefer the British Household Panel Survey?

Answer 15

Positivists due to the quantitative data gathered from interviews.

Question 16

Give 4 advantages of longitudinal studies.

Answer 16

1) Can establish cause and effect
2) Some social phenomenons are longitudinal
3) No dependence on reporting of past events
4) Large amounts of data gathered

Question 17

Give 4 disadvantages of longitudinal studies.

Answer 17

1) Sample attrition can occur as retention of the sample is difficult, affecting representativeness
2) Hawthorne Effect possible
3) Large amounts of data can be irrelevant
4) Costly and time consuming