Types of Research and Prenatal Diagnostic Tests Flashcards
Lifespan Development, Module 2 Notes, Pages 1-7 (70 cards)
Longitudinal study design
and example
Follows individuals over long period of time with multiple assessment points
Example: children in longitudinal study are asked about social groups at age 10, 13, 15
Studies in human development are more likely to use _________ study design than other fields
human development studies are more likely to use longitudinal study design than other fields
Advantages of longitudinal study design
- enables researchers to tease out if phenomenon is due to developmental changes (becoming older/mature) or inherent to individual
- Explores what qualities change over time and what qualities remain stable
Disadvantages of longitudinal study design
- the longer the study, the more time and resources needed
- difficult for people to commit multiple years (or decades) of their lives to single study
Cross-sectional study
And example
study that compares different age groups at the same time
Example: study that includes 3 groups of children and teens, divided by age, who are asked about social groups
Advantages of cross-sectional studies
- more time efficient than longitudinal study
- participants less likely to drop out of study
Disadvantages of cross-sectional studies
- since children aren’t followed over time, it doesn’t observe how children develop over time; simply examines how they are currently
Can longitudinal and cross-sectional designs be combined?
Yes, longitudinal and cross-sectional designs can be combined
(2 types of approaches must also be chosen in addition to research design method
Example: researcher might choose longitudinal experimental design and cross-sectional survey design)
Types of research designs
Naturalistic observation Case study Survey Correlational study Experiment
Why is it important to discuss research design?
and example
helps you understand how knowledge was obtained so you can better interpret the information
(example: Understanding Freud’s study population only involved his neurotic clients helps us realize that info may not be applicable to larger, healthy population)
Naturalistic Observation
and example
research design that involves observing subject outside of research setting & in a more natural location that is subject’s everyday environments (home, school, public setting)
Example: Piaget observed children at play at home
Advantages of Naturalistic Observation
Can observe natural behaviors
Disadvantages of Naturalistic Observation
- Can only access behavior you observe (not getting in person’s head or learning much outside of that context)
- People may notice they’re being watched and subtly change behavior
Case study
research design involving a very detailed examination of an individual through direct observation & interviewing participant in great detail (& usually also people close to individual)
When are using case studies most helpful?
For unique and unusual situations (such as studying a rare disorder)
Advantages of case study
detailed information
Disadvantages of case study
subjectivity & generalizability (results may not be applicable to general population)
Survey/Interview
& how can it be administered?
research design that asks questions about attitudes, opinions & frequencies of certain behaviors
Can be administered in person or anonymously via internet/mail
Formats of surveys/interviews
Questionnaire
Self-report
In-person surveys use an interview format
Advantages of Survey
- time & cost efficient
- low level of involvement (could print survey off of internet)
- wide reach of sample (larger sample= greater chance of its generalizability)
Disadvantages of Survey
explain
self-report measures
Anytime asking subject to report on own behavior:
- hope for truthful response
- hope response is accurate (their perception/memory may be skewed)
- do they have cognitive processes to think about own behavior & respond in accurate way
Why are self-report measures a disadvantage?
only takes a handful of inaccurate responders or skipping over answers to skew results or affect generalizability because may or may not accurately reflect population being studied
Correlational research
& example
Research design that explains how 2 variables relate to each other.
Statistics are used to indicate strength/degree & direction of relationship between variables.
Example: number of friendships increase with age?
How is information gathered for correlational research?
via survey or interview
