Longitudinal Studies

Question 1

What is a longitudinal study

Answer 1

A study of the same sample over a period of months/ years

Question 2

What are the 2 advantages of longitudinal studies

Answer 2

• avoids the ‘snapshot’ as we can observe how long term factors like class impact peoples lives e.g. 7 up followed children from a range of different backgrounds to see what their futures would hold
• comparing groups over time helps to uncover cause and effect e.g. Douglas followed kids of the same ability but different classes to see the impact of class on education and he found that partents interactions with teachers was most important

Question 3

What are the 4 disadvantages of longitudinal studies

Answer 3

-sample attrition as some peopl3 tend to drop out reducing the representativeness e.g. some of 7 up left or died
- data analysis is very time consuming as it’s collected over long periods of time and is often qual data
-its more expensive than snapshot research due to the in-depth long term nature
- Hawthorne effect as ppts may behave differently as a result of knowing they are being studied

Question 4

What is an example of a longitudinal study

Answer 4

7up study= began in the 1960s with a group of 7 year olds and they have been revisited every 7 years since then and interviewed about their lives and views. These interviews where unstructured.

Question 5

What was the 7up study able to achieve

Answer 5

Verstehen as the researcher (and viewers) are able to put themselves in the shoes of the participants and understand their feelings