RESEARCH METHOD COHEN ok

220 SURVEYS AND DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES
Box 9.4
continued
Study type Features Strengths Weaknesses
Cross-sectional
studies
Trend analysis
1Snapshotof
different samples at
one or more points in
time (synchronic
analysis).
2Large-scaleand
representative
sampling.
3Macro-level
analysis.
4Enablesdifferent
groups to be
compared.
5Canbe
retrospective and/or
prospective.
1 Selected factors
studied continuously
over time.
2Usesrecordeddata
to predict future
trends.
1 Comparatively quick to
conduct.
2Comparativelycheapto
administer.
3Limitedcontroleffectsas
subjects only participate once.
4Strongerlikelihoodof
participation as it is for a single
time.
5Chartsaggregatedpatterns.
6Usefulforcharting
population-wide features at one
or more single points in time.
7Enableresearcherstoidentify
the proportions of people in
particular groups or states.
8Largesamplesenable
inferential statistics to be used,
e.g. to compare subgroups
within the sample.
1Maintainsclarityoffocus
throughout the duration of the
study.
2Enablespredictionand
projection on the basis of
identified and monitored
variables and assumptions.
1Donotpermitanalysisof
causal relationships.
2Unabletochartindividual
variations in development or
changes, and their significance.
3Samplingnotentirely
comparable at each round of
data collection as different
samples are used.
4Canbetime-consumingas
background details of each
sample have to be collected
each time.
5Omissionofasinglevariable
can undermine the results
significantly.
6Unabletochartchanging
social processes over time.
7Theyonlypermitanalysisof
overall, net change at the
macro-level through aggregated
data.
1Neglectsinfluenceof
unpredicted factors.
2Pasttrendsarenotalwaysa
good predictor of future trends.
3Formula-driven,i.e.couldbe
too conservative or initial
assumptions might be
erroneous.
4Neglectstheimplicationsof
chaos and complexity theory,
e.g. that long-range forecasting
is dangerous.
5Thecriteriaforprediction
may be imprecise.
continued