longitudinal study


Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Wikipedia.
Related to longitudinal study: Panel study, sequential study

longitudinal study

[‚län·jə‚tüd·ən·əl ′stəd·ē]
(psychology)
The study of a group of individuals at regular intervals over a relatively long period of time.

longitudinal study

an investigation which involves making observations of the same group at sequential time intervals. Thus, a longitudinal study of a COHORT of children may be made to assess, for example, the effect of social class on school achievement (see BIRTH COHORT STUDY). Longitudinal studies are used by the National Children's Bureau to document various aspects of children's development in the UK. However, longitudinal studies are not only appropriate for studying human development or change, they may also be used to observe change over time within organizations.

The advantage of longitudinal studies compared with CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES is that the causal factor involved in a sequence of changes an be directly explored using data collected before and after changes (e.g. analysis of the effect of changes in the school curriculum). The main disadvantages are the greater expense of repeated study, the possible HAWTHORNE EFFECT of repeated studies and the influence of other changes which may be occurring concurrently (e.g. changes in the school curriculum may take place at the same time as changes in the resourcing of educational services). Compare PANEL STUDY.

Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
So the team at Monash University decided to look further at the issue by taking data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
Young women's weight gain predicts later low back pain
Develop, test, and implement a concept for a longitudinal study investigating the progress of sustainability transformations at local, national, and international levels over a period of 50 years.
Germany--Europe--world 2042: a transformative longitudinal study
The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging was started in 1958 by the National Institute on Aging to track various health factors in thousands of men and women.
Why people lose hearing as they age
One prior longitudinal study found an inverse relationship between eating frequency and adiposity, as seen in the NHLBI Growth and Health Study, but another longitudinal study showed a positive relationship between eating frequency and obesity.
More frequent eating means less obesity in teen gifts
The investigators used data from the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men, a cohort of men who were born during 1920-1924.
'Metabolically healthy' obesity is ... unhealthy
Hon Ho and associates from the department of psychiatry at the University of Colorado, Denver, examined data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a national probability sample of individuals who were surveyed several times over 14 years on social, economic, psychological, and medical topics.
Depression follows use of cannabis, not vice versa
Neuberger admits she remains openminded about instituting a longitudinal study.
Problem gambling answers for bookies; Howard Wright talks to Baroness Neuberger, chair of the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board
The authors drew on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study and the National Education Longitudinal Study, two data sources collected by the U.
Sing along to learn
The baseline cohort for the present longitudinal study was selected in 1985 using the registry file of all inhabitants (n=105,798) of Stockholm County born on the twentieth of any month between 1945 and 1954.
Periodontitis and premature death: a longitudinal, prospective clinical trial
The finding comes from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001.
Mothers of multiples are 43% more likely to experience moderate or severe postpartum depression and depressive symptoms than are woman who have a singleton birth
Foster children: a longitudinal study of placements and family relationships'
Foster children: a longitudinal study of placements and family relationships
Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, the National Education Longitudinal Study, and Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, researchers describe this challenge as the "achievement trap.
Unrealized potential among high-achieving students from low-income families

Encyclopedia browser ?
Full browser ?