Longitudinal Study

4. Longitudinal study Weakness 1

In practice, it can be difficult to keep all the participants for each of the measures, and people can drop out. This means the sample can become biased if it systematically excludes certain people (such as those who move house a lot, or those who are shy)

4. Longitudinal study Weakness 2

The researchers may themselves change over time, due to moving on or losing funding. This can affect the study, as relationships with the participants may differ

3. Longitudinal study Strength 2

They use same participants, which means that participant variables (variables between the individuals taking part) will not give bias in the results.

1. What are Longitudinal study

Longitudinal studies are those that follow one set of participants over time, using research methods such as experiment, survey or observation. The important points about longitudinal studies are that the participants are the same, and that measure are taken over time so that comparisons can be made. A study can last moths or years

2. Longitudinal study Strength 1

Longitudinal studies are useful for looking at developmental trends. They are main way to see how an individual affects certain characteristics