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Academic English & Research vocabulary · Research Design

Longitudinal study

Meaning in academic english & research, with examples

nounCommon term

In academic english & research, longitudinal study means: A study that collects data from the same people or cases repeatedly over a long period in order to observe change.

In Turkish: boylamsal araştırma, boylamsal çalışma

How it is used

Longitudinal designs can show how variables change and which comes first, which a cross-sectional study, collecting data at one point in time, cannot. They are expensive and suffer from attrition, the loss of participants over time. Cohort and panel studies are types of longitudinal study.

Example sentences

  1. This longitudinal study followed 500 children from age 3 to age 11.

  2. A longitudinal study would be needed to establish the direction of the effect.

Common collocations

  • longitudinal data
  • longitudinal design
  • cross-sectional study
  • follow-up period
  • case studyAn in-depth study of one particular person, group, organization, event or place, used to understand it in its real context.
  • methodologyThe overall approach and reasoning behind how a study is done, including the choice of design, methods, data and analysis, and the reasons for those choices.
  • establishTo show that something is true or exists by providing evidence, or to create something that lasts, such as a link, method or field of study.
  • data collectionThe process of gathering information for a study, for example through questionnaires, interviews, observations, tests or existing records.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Research Design

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