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Identify the research design used in this study, and explain how its group structure allows the researcher to investigate changes over time without conducting a longitudinal study.
Case context: A researcher is studying cognitive development and wants to investigate how problem-solving strategies change across different life stages. Rather than tracking a single group of participants over 30 years, the researcher recruits a group of 10-year-olds, a group of 20-year-olds, and a group of 30-year-olds. The researcher then measures and compares the problem-solving abilities of all three groups at the same point in time.
Question: Identify the research design used in this study, and explain how its group structure allows the researcher to investigate changes over time without conducting a longitudinal study.
Sample answer: The study uses a cross-sectional research design. This design allows the researcher to investigate changes over time by simultaneously comparing pre-existing groups of people from different age brackets (10, 20, and 30 years old). By measuring these groups at the same time, the researcher can observe differences between the age groups and infer developmental changes without waiting for participants to age over decades.
Key points:
- Correctly identifies the design as a cross-sectional research design.
- Explains that pre-existing groups representing different age brackets are compared.
- States that the groups are compared simultaneously (at the same point in time).
- Explains how comparing these groups at one time serves as a way to investigate changes over time.
Rubric: The answer must identify the design as cross-sectional. It should explain that the researcher compares pre-existing age groups simultaneously (at one point in time) to infer changes over time, eliminating the need to follow the same group longitudinally.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Advantage of Cross-Sectional Research: Shorter Time Investment
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