Educational Psychology / Unit 2 EDP 0126 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Choosing a Developmental Design
The idea
Developmental research uses three designs. Cross-sectional research tests different age groups at one time: it is fast and cheap, but it shows age differences rather than change, and cohort effects can confound age. Longitudinal research measures the same people repeatedly: it shows change within individuals, but it is slow and costly, and participants drop out, the least healthy and least advantaged most often. Sequential research follows several cohorts over time, separating age from cohort.
In practice
Worked example: to learn how reading speed changes from age eight to twelve within the same children, a longitudinal design fits; for a quick snapshot of age differences, a cross-sectional one.
Where people slip
A cross-sectional difference between eight-year-olds and twelve-year-olds is not growth: the two groups were born in different years and may differ for reasons other than age. Longitudinal studies also carry practice effects, as people improve at a test by retaking it.
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