Longitudinal study

Longitudinal studies form a class of researchmethods that involve observations of the same items over a longer time. Many longitudinal studies are medical and relate to the effects of lifestyle. The opposite of these are cross-sectional studies. Longitudinal studies can be utilized to enhance the understanding of a community, region, society, culture, or other unit(s). An example of a study that employed the logitudinal method is the Gwembe District in Zambia. In this study four villages, in completely different areas, were studied for five decades. Censuses were taken to provide data on the population, economy, kinship, and religious behavior. Those people who moved within the time of the study were tracked and subsequently interviewed to see how their lives had been impacted by the change.

Current longitudinal studies include:

• Dunedin Longitudinal Study1037 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973
• Framingham Heart Study

Citation: Windows on Humanity by Conrad Phillip KOTTAK. Chapter 2, page 42.

• http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurses'_Health_Study- "Nurses' Health Study" (abrev: NHS), Boston.
• Belanger CF, Hennekens CH, Rosner B, Speizer FE: The Nurses' Health Study. Am J Nurs 1978;78:1039-40. (First Publication Abstract (MEDLINE).
• Die List all Publicationsof (1978-2005).

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitudinal+study Wikipedia article Longitudinal study.