Longitudinal research is a research design that has unique characteristics. Longitudinal research was carried out in a relatively long time. The costs incurred are often not insignificant because they involve monitoring developments or changes in the research sample.

This post will attempt to provide an initial explanation of what longitudinal research is. This research design is often used in social research, such as sociology, psychology, public policy, and public health. The main characteristic of longitudinal research is that it uses data over a long period of time.

Read also Research Design: Examples & Types

Longitudinal research definition

Longitudinal research is a study that uses data with a long time span . How long is the length of time in question is very relative. However, the emphasis of longitudinal research is actually on the extension or extension of the survey undertaken. The extension is periodic.

Thus, longitudinal research can also be understood as an extension of periodic survey research. At least, the survey was conducted twice with the time span determined from the start. This research data collection technique usually uses a questionnaire or structured interview. Researchers determine the time span between when the data was first taken from the sample, when the sample was taken again, until the third time and so on depending on how long the time span was.

Read also Survey Methods: Definition & Examples A more detailed explanation of longitudinal research usually leads to the classification of this research design into two types: panel studies and cohort studies. In order to understand the two types of design, we recommend stepping into the example section below:

Examples of longitudinal studies

Understanding longitudinal research is straightforward. The research design is not much different from other studies such as surveys. As an example, we will conduct research on changes in the characteristics of youth violence in a city where there are frequent brawls.

To conduct longitudinal research, we first conduct a survey using a questionnaire and / or interviews with young people who were selected as samples. The identities of participants or young people are recorded carefully and stored neatly in a file. The first survey was conducted with carefully prepared variables.

Also read: How to Make a Questionnaire or Questionnaire As mentioned earlier, this research uses a clear time span. For example, every five years we come to the same young person to see a change or development in his characteristics. There is no stipulation on the number of times participants are returned to be surveyed, but usually they are re-surveyed at least twice.

The results of the second, third and so on surveys will show what changes have happened to these young people who are perhaps no longer classified as young people in the third survey onwards. With this research design, changes in the characteristics of violence as the focus of the research are very likely to be known.

Difference between panel and cohort study

We return to the difference between a panel study and a cohort study.

Panel studies generally use data at the national level. The data collected can be in the form of several different cases, such as organizations, households, schools, and so on.

For example, a study on household economic development in Indonesia. Researchers certainly not only surveyed how much household income the participants had but also the number of family members, the existing public facilities where they lived, monthly expenses, and so on. Within a certain period of time, the surveyed households were visited again to see the progress.

Also read: Examples of Quantitative Research Whereas a cohort study has characteristics in an individual survey with the same characteristics. Often they are the same generation or born in the same year or have had the same experience in the same time frame, such as getting married, getting a job, being fired, and so on.

For example, we want to know the mental development of children born in 2000. First we want to examine how mentally they were when they were exposed to gadgets and the internet , then we also want to know their lives as teenagers, and so on.

At this point, the hope is that we have an initial picture of what longitudinal research is. The key word that I can give here as material to remember is follow up . Longitudinal research has the characteristics of a follow-up, namely following up on study participants who have been surveyed or interviewed previously periodically at least once. The follow-up period was determined at the start of the study.