Survey Your Knowledge

Types of Surveys: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal

• Surveys can be administered at different times and in different ways.
• Cross-sectional surveys are administered at just one point in time, offering a snapshot of life at that moment.
• Cross-sectional surveys may not be reliable for generalizing about phenomena that change over time.
• Longitudinal surveys enable researchers to make observations over an extended period of time.
• There are three types of longitudinal surveys: trend, panel, and cohort surveys.
• Trend surveys examine changes in trends over time, and the same people do not necessarily participate more than once.
• Panel surveys survey the exact same sample several times over a period of time, which can be difficult and costly.
• Cohort surveys survey people who share a common experience or characteristic, such as women of different generational cohorts.
• Longitudinal surveys permit researchers to capture changes in behavior or phenomena over time.
• Retrospective surveys are similar to longitudinal studies, but they are administered only once and ask participants to report past events.
• Longitudinal surveys are preferable for tracking changes over time, but they can be time-consuming and expensive to administer.
• Cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys are commonly used by survey researchers to describe the type of survey administered.

Are you curious about the different types of surveys used in research? Take this quiz to test your knowledge on cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each type, and discover the three types of longitudinal surveys. Find out which type of survey is best for tracking changes in behavior or phenomena over time. This quiz is perfect for anyone interested in survey research or conducting their own surveys.