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March 29, 2024, 11:37:44 am

Author Topic: Cross sectional studies  (Read 2017 times)  Share 

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lleeea

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Cross sectional studies
« on: September 24, 2018, 09:04:23 pm »
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according to the study design, we need to know about cross sectional studies as an experimental design. many notes dont cover it. my textbook covers it but it explains it in a way too complicated way. can someone plz simply explain what we would need to know about cross sectional studies for the exam (i.e. what it is, how it is administered, its pros and cons, etc).

vox nihili

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Re: Cross sectional studies
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2018, 09:15:30 pm »
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according to the study design, we need to know about cross sectional studies as an experimental design. many notes dont cover it. my textbook covers it but it explains it in a way too complicated way. can someone plz simply explain what we would need to know about cross sectional studies for the exam (i.e. what it is, how it is administered, its pros and cons, etc).

Tell us first what you already know :) You'll get a lot further that way and remember more of the info.
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lleeea

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Re: Cross sectional studies
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2018, 09:21:17 pm »
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Tell us first what you already know :) You'll get a lot further that way and remember more of the info.
i dont know much, but i know that its about studying age related differences among participants from different life experiences and backgrounds

peter.g15

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Re: Cross sectional studies
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2018, 10:34:41 pm »
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i dont know much, but i know that its about studying age related differences among participants from different life experiences and backgrounds

Yep, that's a basic idea of a cross-sectional study. Cross sectional studies allow researchers to take small samples from different age groups, measure a certain trait and then compare it and try to draw a correlation between age and the measured thing.

For example, if I wanted to look at number of hours of sleep people of different ages get, I might do a cross-sectional study. So I would get say 50 people from each age group of : 0-12 months, 3-5 years, 10-12 years, 20-25 years, etc. etc. Obviously the number of cross-sections you get depends on the amount of money (not relevant, but good to know). I might then ask them to fill out a sleep report for a week and note down how many hours of sleep they get. Then, I'd collect all this data together and compare the results between the ages.

Some potential benefits:
- Quicker and easier than longitudinal studies (don't need to keep track of people for so many years)

Some potential limitations/weaknesses:
- Subject to cohort effects, these are effects that are specific to one particular age group due to a certain event that occurred in their lifetime
- Can require a large number of participants --> costly and difficult to organise

There are probably some more strengths and weaknesses to it, but these are the first that come to mind :)
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lleeea

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Re: Cross sectional studies
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2018, 09:21:13 am »
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Yep, that's a basic idea of a cross-sectional study. Cross sectional studies allow researchers to take small samples from different age groups, measure a certain trait and then compare it and try to draw a correlation between age and the measured thing.

For example, if I wanted to look at number of hours of sleep people of different ages get, I might do a cross-sectional study. So I would get say 50 people from each age group of : 0-12 months, 3-5 years, 10-12 years, 20-25 years, etc. etc. Obviously the number of cross-sections you get depends on the amount of money (not relevant, but good to know). I might then ask them to fill out a sleep report for a week and note down how many hours of sleep they get. Then, I'd collect all this data together and compare the results between the ages.

Some potential benefits:
- Quicker and easier than longitudinal studies (don't need to keep track of people for so many years)

Some potential limitations/weaknesses:
- Subject to cohort effects, these are effects that are specific to one particular age group due to a certain event that occurred in their lifetime
- Can require a large number of participants --> costly and difficult to organise

There are probably some more strengths and weaknesses to it, but these are the first that come to mind :)
thankyou so much. helped a lot

studyingg

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Re: Cross sectional studies
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2018, 08:38:26 pm »
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Yep, that's a basic idea of a cross-sectional study. Cross sectional studies allow researchers to take small samples from different age groups, measure a certain trait and then compare it and try to draw a correlation between age and the measured thing.

For example, if I wanted to look at number of hours of sleep people of different ages get, I might do a cross-sectional study. So I would get say 50 people from each age group of : 0-12 months, 3-5 years, 10-12 years, 20-25 years, etc. etc. Obviously the number of cross-sections you get depends on the amount of money (not relevant, but good to know). I might then ask them to fill out a sleep report for a week and note down how many hours of sleep they get. Then, I'd collect all this data together and compare the results between the ages.

Some potential benefits:
- Quicker and easier than longitudinal studies (don't need to keep track of people for so many years)

Some potential limitations/weaknesses:
- Subject to cohort effects, these are effects that are specific to one particular age group due to a certain event that occurred in their lifetime
- Can require a large number of participants --> costly and difficult to organise

There are probably some more strengths and weaknesses to it, but these are the first that come to mind :)


Do you know why its considered an experimental research design? Even though it does not involve the manipulation of variables?

peter.g15

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Re: Cross sectional studies
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2018, 09:33:24 am »
+1

Do you know why its considered an experimental research design? Even though it does not involve the manipulation of variables?

I don't believe it is an 'experimental' research design, this is because, as you said, it doesn't involve manipulatino of variables. I think it's better classified as a correlational or non-experimental design. Not sure if it's really needed for VCE psych though, so don't stress too much over it
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