Deck 7: Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Case Study Designs

Question 1

The strategy of how data will be collected is referred to as the

A) hypothesis.
B) manipulation.
C) study design.
D) control.
E) causality.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is not a condition needed to establish causality?

A) There needs to be an empirical association between the independent and dependent variable.
B) The relationship between variables has to be spurious.
C) Temporal precedence needs to be established.
D) The relationship between variables has to be nonspurious.
E) All of these are conditions needed to establish causality.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

If we are obtaining data from the same sample at two or more points in time,it is likely that it will be impossible to locate some of the sample members for follow-up interviews.This is known as

A) panel fatigue.
B) panel mortality.
C) panel attrition.
D) panel measurement failure.
E) cross-sectional failure.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The longitudinal nature of panel studies allows researchers to

A) document patterns.
B) establish time order sequences.
C) take "snapshot" photographs of a particular moment in time.
D) document patterns and establish time order sequences.
E) all of these.

Question 5

If we are interested in establishing that two variables are related in a causal way (A causes B),three conditions must be satisfied.Among the following items,which is not a factor in this determination?

A) A and B must be the result of another variable, C.
B) A must occur prior to B.
C) As A changes, so does B.
D) If B changes, A will change as well.
E) If C changes, A will change as well.

Question 6

When a researcher believes that two variables are related in a causal way,she will be interested in manipulating the

A) dependent variable.
B) independent variable.
C) causal variable.
D) both the independent variable and the causal variable.
E) no variables are manipulated

Question 7

The advantage of trend studies is that they

A) avoid panel attrition.
B) avoid panel conditioning.
C) save the expense of finding the original participants.
D) enable the researcher to collect data anonymously.
E) All of these are advantages to trend studies.

Question 8

If we were interested in how individuals' attitudes about smoking marijuana change from adolescence to adulthood,
Marriage and parenthood,the most appropriate study design would be

A) longitudinal.
B) case study.
C) cross-sectional.
D) surveys.
E) questionnaires.

Question 9

Study A involves two samples from the same population that are surveyed at two different times.Study B involved collecting data from the same sample over two time periods.Study A is astudy and Study B is a study.

A) cohort; panel
B) cross-sectional; case
C) trend; panel
D) longitudinal; cross-sectional
E) case; cohort

Question 10

A study examining how attitudes about smoking influence other health behaviors,executed by surveying a random sample of city residents during the month of August is an example of

A) longitudinal research.
B) experimental research.
C) cross-sectional research.
D) case study research.
E) questionnaire research.

Question 11

Panel conditioning is

A) the loss of subjects from a study because of disinterest, death, illness, or inability to locate them.
B) the effect of repeatedly measuring variables on members of a panel study.
C) the effect of emotions on behavior over time.
D) the effect of panelists on the researcher.
E) both the loss of subjects from a study because of disinterest, death, illness, or ability to locate them and the effect of emotions on behavior over time.

Question 12

In conducting longitudinal research,a panel design has several advantages.These include

A) an ability to do research at a low cost.
B) an ability to track individuals over the course of time.
C) an ability to collect data that reflects immediate experience rather than relying on individual memory.
D) both the ability to track individuals over the course of time and the ability to collect data that reflects immediate experience rather than relying on individual memory.
E) all of these.

Question 13

For non-experimental study designs,the approach that will likely optimize our ability to understand how the attitudes of particular individuals change over time is the

A) case study.
B) panel study.
C) trend study.
D) cross-sectional study.
E) none of these.

Question 14

What is one way to combat issues of internal validity?

A) Do not ask people about things that occurred in the past.
B) Conduct longitudinal studies versus cross-sectional studies.
C) Never conduct a cross-sectional design.
D) Conduct longitudinal studies versus cross-sectional studies AND do not ask people about things that occurred in the past.
E) Issues of internal validity cannot be avoided.

Question 15

Decisions about study design are based partly on

A) the use of theory.
B) the researcher's interest.
C) the purpose of the research.
D) whether or not a causal hypothesis will be tested.
E) all of these influence decisions about study design.

Question 16

Cross-sectional designs are often used to

A) obtain an in-depth description on one case within its social context.
B) test causal hypotheses.
C) observe a change over time.
D) obtain an in-depth description on one case within its social context and to observe a change over time.
E) none of these describe cross-sectional designs.

Question 17

The focal research,Moving On? Continuity and Change after Retirement by Adler and Clark utilized what kind of study design?

A) panel
B) cross-sectional
C) trend
D) longitudinal
E) both panel and longitudinal

Question 18

Cross-sectional research

A) is the most widely used type of research.
B) is the least used type of research.
C) generally has large samples.
D) typically uses qualitative analysis.
E) is both the most widely used type of research and generally has large samples.

Question 19

Longitudinal research requires data collection at at leastdifferent times.

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) ten
E) twelve

Question 20

If you were conducting research using a cross-section design with retrospective questions about childhood and adolescent years to young people in their twenties,you

A) should yield consistent results.
B) may find this problematic regarding the accuracy of people's answers about what they felt or did years before.
C) will have problems with internal validity.
D) will have problems with internal validity and may find it problematic regarding the accuracy of people's answers about what they felt or did years before.
E) none of these.

Question 21

One of the potential problems with longitudinal research is keeping in contact with respondents over time and keeping their information confidential.

Question 22

The focal research example on retirement by Adler and Clark utilized a cross-sectional study design.

Question 23

A trend design collects data at different times from

A) the same sample.
B) different samples.
C) the same or different samples depending on the purpose of the research.
D) a panel specifically assembled for this purpose.
E) the same samples over time.

Question 24

One advantage of longitudinal study designs is being allowed to document patterns of change over time.

Question 25

The case studies that have become social science classics describe specific people and places,but

A) also provide a sense of understanding about general categories of the social world.
B) lack generalizability.
C) have been particularly weak at generating new ideas and theories.
D) are not particularly appropriate for exploratory or descriptive purposes.
E) both lack generalizability and have been particularly weak at generating new ideas and theories.

Question 26

A cohort is a group of people who

A) don't mind answering surveys.
B) are all likely to provide the same answers to survey questions.
C) have an event or experience in common.
D) are likely to be very difficult to track for follow up surveys.
E) meet at least once a year.

Question 27

In a panel design,researchers assemble a panel of experts and ask them about opinions on a topic of interest.

Question 28

As we administer the same survey to panel members on several occasions,there is a chance they will be affected by the questions.This is known as

A) panel fatigue.
B) panel learning.
C) panel conditioning.
D) panel attrition.
E) questionnaire familiarity.

Question 29

If a respondent dies between two data collections,she has contributed to panel fatigue.

Question 30

Asking respondents about past events can create issues regarding external validity.

Question 31

A real advantage of case study designs is the fact that we can generalize from these findings to other settings.

Question 32

If we are interested in generating new theoretical perspectives in an area where little research has been done,we would most likely use

A) a panel study.
B) a case study.
C) a cross-sectional study.
D) a trend study.
E) applied research.

Question 33

An antecedent variable is one that is responsible for change in the independent variable only.

Question 34

If we were interested in testing the relationship between cigarette advertising and cigarette smoking by teenagers,a study design that would be least appropriate would be

A) a panel study.
B) a case study.
C) a cross-sectional study.
D) a trend study.
E) None of these would be appropriate.

Question 35

A cross-sectional research design relies on obtaining data from a cross-section of the population over several points in time.

Question 36

Temporal precedence is a necessary condition for longitudinal studies.

Question 37

If a researcher has a good idea about how one variable affects another,she will be interested in testing a causal hypothesis.

Question 38

A study design must balance ethical,practical,and methodological issues.

Question 39

If we are interested in learning about how social and economic elites influence decision making in one city and will rely upon census data,newspaper accounts,interviews,and surveys to do this research,we are relying on the
Study design.

A) case
B) non-experimental
C) trend
D) longitudinal
E) questionnaire

Question 40

Trend studies are disadvantageous because

A) they cannot identify changes in individuals.
B) they cannot pinpoint the cause of changes.
C) they do not study the impact of time periods.
D) they cannot identify changes in individuals and they cannot pinpoint the cause of changes.
E) None of these are reasons why trend studies are disadvantageous.

Question 41

What are some good reasons to conduct a case study?

Question 42

Explain the difference between a panel study and a cohort study.

Question 43

Consider the following variables: age,marital status,income,and educational attainment.Develop a hypothesis with at least two of the variables.Then,design a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study to test your hypothesis.

Question 44

Identify and explain the major challenges to doing research using longitudinal study designs.

Question 45

Case studies do not suffer from issues of causation.

Question 46

When a case is selected because of its uniqueness for a study,Robert Stake calls this an intrinsic case study.

Question 47

What must be established to prove that variables are causally related?