Wize University Psychology Textbook > Research Methods in Psychology
Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Designs
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Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Designs
Cross-sectional (or cohort) design - comparing people from different age groups
Pro: can be done relatively quickly
Con: differences could be due to generational differences rather than the process of aging
Longitudinal design - following a group of people for a long period of time, measuring at regular intervals
Pro: can look for differences due to aging
Con: takes a really long time, high experimental mortality (dropout rate)
Practice: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Designs
A researcher wants to study whether older adults are more conscientious than younger adults as part of her PhD, which must be completed in 4 years. Which method should she use?