What are Longitudinal Studies?
A longitudinal study is a type of correlational research study that involves looking at variables over an extended period of time.
Longitudinal studies are studies that are conducted over a long period of time. It is mainly used in other fields such as medical research and psychology and sociology.
A longitudinal study is a prospective observational study that follows the same subjects repeatedly over a period of time.
About
Longitudinal surveys can be rewarded with practical insights if you have time to engage in long-term research projects when using this method.
Longitudinal studies often use surveys to collect qualitative or quantitative data. In addition, in longitudinal studies, the creator of the study does not interfere with the participants in the study. Instead, the creator of the survey distributes a survey over time to observe changes in participants, behaviors, or attitudes.
Many medical studies are long-term. Researchers record and collect data from the same subject over the years.
Types of Longitudinal Studies
The types of longitudinal studies are-
- Panel Survey: Panel surveys include samples of people from more important populations and are conducted at specified intervals over a longer period of time.
One of the key features of the panel study is that researchers collect data from the same sample at different times. Most panel surveys are designed for quantitative analysis, but can also be used to collect and analyze qualitative data.
2. Cohort Study: A cohort study samples a cohort (usually a group of people who experience the same event at a particular point in time). Medical researchers tend to conduct cohort studies. Some may consider clinical trials similar to cohort studies.
3. Retrospective Studies: Retrospective studies use existing data collected during previous studies using similar methodologies and variables.
While conducting a retrospective study, researchers use managed databases, existing medical records, or one-on-one interviews.
Benefits of Longitudinal Research
- Better validation: Successful long-term research requires establishing goals and rules from the beginning. Since this is a long-term study, the authenticity has been verified in advance, and the results are highly valid.
- Proprietary data: Most research studies collect short-term data to determine the causes and effects of what is being investigated. Longitudinal surveys follow the same principles, but with different data collection periods. Short-term surveys cannot find long-term relationships, but long-term surveys can monitor short-term relationships.
- Allows you to identify trends: In medicine, psychology, and sociology, long-term design of longitudinal studies allows you to find trends and relationships within data collected in real time. Previous data can be applied to know future results and make great discoveries.
- Longitudinal surveys are flexible. You can create a longitudinal survey to investigate a particular data point, but the data collected can show unexpected patterns or relationships that may be important. Because this is a long-term study, researchers have flexibility not possible with other forms of study.
You can collect additional data points to investigate unexpected results and make changes to your investigation based on the detected approach.
Disadvantages of Longitudinal Research
- Research time
The main drawback of longitudinal studies is that long-term studies are likely to produce unpredictable results. For example, if the same person cannot be found to update the survey, the survey cannot be performed. Also, it can take years for the data to begin to generate observable patterns or relationships that can be monitored.
2. There are always unpredictable factors
Some people may decide to stop participating in the study. Others may not be in the correct demographics for the study. If these factors are not included in the original study design, they can affect the findings produced.
3. Large samples are needed to make the survey meaningful
To develop relationships and patterns, you need to collect large amounts of data extracted and extracted to produce results.
4. Higher cost
Without a doubt, longitudinal surveys are more complex and expensive. Due to the long-term form of the study, the cost of the study will be years or even decades compared to other forms of study that can be completed in less time.
The strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal research show that the ability to find long-term patterns and relationships is of great value. Therefore, it is important to plan and carry out the steps necessary to avoid potential bias.
Examples of Longitudinal studies
Now that you understand the basics of how researchers use longitudinal research across several disciplines, let’s review the following example.
Example 1: Identical Twins
Consider a study conducted to understand the similarities or differences between the same twins raised together and the same twins who were not. Several variables have been observed in this study, but one condition https://challenges.trade.com/en/ is that all participants have the same twins.
In this case, researchers would like to observe these participants from childhood to adulthood to understand how growing in different environments affects their traits, habits, and personality. Let’s do it.
Over the years, researchers have been able to see both sets of twins as they experience life without intervention. Since participants share the same gene, the differences are expected to be due to environmental factors, but only careful studies can conclude these assumptions.
Example 2: Violence and Video Games
A group of researchers are studying whether there is a link between violence and the use of video games. They collect a large sample of participants for research. To reduce https://cprpp.khm.gov.ua/ the amount of interference with their natural habits, these individuals come from groups already playing video games. The age group focuses on teenagers (13-19 years old).
Researchers have recorded how violent the participants in the sample are. Create a baseline for later comparison.
Researchers will now provide each participant with a log to track how and how often they play and how much time they spend playing video games. This study can last for months or years. During this time, researchers can compare video game playing behavior with violent tendencies. Therefore, investigate whether there is a link between violence and video games.
Conducting longitudinal studies with research is easy and can be applied to almost any discipline. With our survey software, you can easily start your own survey today.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitudinal_study