longitudinal / case studies & life histories Flashcards
what are longitudinal studies?
study carried out on a relatively small sample done over a long period of time
strengths of longitudinal studies
comparative data
same sample
attitudes change
reliable
representative
verstehen
weaknesses of longitudinal studies
sample attrition (sample will drop as people die)
change in research interest
cost
practicality (not always possible, structure is difficult)
hawthorne effect (know they’re being studied)
what are case studies?
an in depth study conducted on a small sample which intends to uncover as much info about participants as possible
strengths of case studies
verstehen (true picture of an individual)
valid
detailed
tracks change
weaknesses of case studies
lacks representativeness
not generalisable
very small sample
snapshot judgement
often biased by researcher
why do people conduct longitudinal studies?
to identify change over a period of time
why do people conduct case studies?
to obtain a detailed account
example of case study
learning of labour by paul willis
what are life histories?
case studies which usually focus on one individual or one small group
strengths of life histories
useful in generating new hypotheses
provide insight
enable researcher to see the world from the pov of the individual or group
weaknesses of life histories
may not be representative
may not be reliable or valid
less easily generalized
