Longitudinal Researcg Flashcards
What is it
Takes place over a long periods of time e,g 5-10 years allows us to establish patterns
STRENGTHS of longitudinal research
They allow researchers to trace developments over time, rather than just taking a one-off ‘snapshot’ of one moment.
By making comparisons over time, they can identify causes. The Millennium Cohort study, for example suggests a clear correlation between poverty and its early impact on low educational achievement
LIMITATIONS of longitudinal studies
Sample attrition – people dropping out of the study, and the people who remain in the study may not end up being representative of the starting sample.
People may start to act differently because they know they are part of the study
Because they take a long time, they are costly and time consuming.
Continuity over many years may be a problem – if a lead researcher retires, for example, her replacement might not have the same rapport with respondents.
EXAMPLE - The Millennium Cohort Study
The study tracked children until the age of 11 and has provide an insight into how differences in early socialisation affect child development in terms of health and educational outcomes.
Finding of the Milenium cohort study
The survey found that children whose parents read to them every day at the age of three were more likely to flourish in their first year in primary school, getting more than two months ahead not just in language and literacy but also in maths
Children who were read to on a daily basis were 2.4 months ahead of those whose parents never read to them in maths, and 2.8 months ahead in communication, language and literacy.
Girls were consistently outperforming boys at the age of five, when they were nine months ahead in creative development – activities like drama, singing and dancing, and 4.2 months ahead in literacy.
Children from lower-income families with parents who were less highly educated were less advanced in their development at age five. Living in social housing put them 3.2 months behind in maths and 3.5 months behind in literacy.
