Chapter 8 - Longitudinal Research
Find examples of trend studies that have been reported in the newspaper, e.g., presidential approval ratings, confidence in the economy, vote choice in an upcoming election. How stable are the results from one time period to another?
Sample mortality is always a problem in longitudinal research. Find examples of longitudinal research published in scholarly journals or in the trade press. Try to estimate the average mortality for various time periods. For example, on the average, longitudinal studies lose what percentage of their sample over six months? Over a year?
One of the problems with a retrospective panel is that people have faulty memories. What methods might be included in a a retrospective panel to overcome this problem?
We mention that longitudinal studies are relatively rare in mass communication research. What might be some possible explanations for this?
How might a longitudinal study be used to analyze the programs adults watch on TV?