LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

1. CHARACTERISTICS

   • Carried out over a lengthy period of time
   • Same research sample- representative
   • Measures changes in their attitudes and behaviour
   • usually QUANTITATIVE DATA- so POSITIVISTS like
   • Usually uses surveys- so is reliable
   • Used mainly by positivists
   • uses a direct comparison of changes in attitudes and behaviour over time

2. EXAMPLES

   • Child health and education survey which followed every child born between 3-9 years. -March 1958
   • Granada TV series '7-UP' which every seven years interviews a number of children who were seven years old in the early 1960s
   • Studies of voting behaviour at General Elections

3. ADVANTAGES

   • ETHICAL:
   • THEORETICAL: reliability- its usually survey based, often asking similar questions at each stage of the study, so its more reliable. POSITIVISTS LIKE.
   • PRACTICAL: comparative data- as it allows the sociologists to make comparisons

4. DISADVANTAGES

   • PRACTICAL: -cost- there are relatively few longitudinal studies because of the cost involved in this approach. Researchers have to be highly committed if the work is taking place over a long period of time.
     • 'Sample attrition' is another practical issue, as keeping in contact with the same people over a long period of time is a problem- sample members may die, immigrate etc. the data would then become distorted
   • ETHICAL:
   • THEORETICAL: lack of validity- intepretivists would argue