What is a Cross-sectional Study?
A cross-sectional study examines data from a group of people at a given moment. Participants are chosen for this type of study depending on certain variables of interest. Cross-sectional studies are common in developmental psychology, but they are also used in other fields such as social science and education.
Researchers investigating intellectual development might choose groups of people of all ages to study at one point in time. Any variations between the age groups would therefore be caused by age gaps rather than something that occurred over time.
Longitudinal and cross-sectional research
Cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies are two types of study designs. In cross-sectional research, information is collected from a group of people at a single point in time, but in a longitudinal study, information is collected from the same group over a long period. Depending on the data needed, a longitudinal study can run anywhere from a couple of years to decades.
Both designs can be used to address various types of research problems. Cross-sectional research is a cost-effective and simple technique to collect preliminary data and discover patterns that may subsequently be studied further in a longitudinal study.
You wish to investigate the benefits of a Mediterranean diet for women with PCOS. You start by conducting a cross-sectional study with a group of PCOS patients to examine if there are any variations in health outcomes, such as weight or insulin levels, between those who follow a Mediterranean diet and those who do not. You observe that weight loss is linked to diet in women with the classic PCOS type, but not in those with lean PCOS.
You then decide to conduct longitudinal research to investigate this link further in patients with lean PCOS. Without a cross-sectional study, you would not have focused on lean PCOS patients in the first place.
When should you use a cross-sectional study?
To identify similarities between variables, researchers choose cross-sectional studies. Despite this, they use longitudinal studies to further deconstruct the information from the cross-sectional study due to the unique characteristics. A cross-sectional study collects and analyzes data from a sample group at a certain point in time.
A manager of a coffee shop might conduct a brief poll at the point of sale to learn which blends clients enjoy most. The information gathered can be utilized to choose which blends to purchase and which coffee varieties to provide.
Cross-sectional research studies collect data at a single point in time, hence the findings should be seen as a reflection of a specific period. Multiple factors can be analyzed simultaneously because this research information is collected all at once. This is handy if you want to investigate relationships between groups of variables.
Cross-sectional research is commonly used to assess the qualities or characteristics of a certain group of people. As a result, these designs usually collect a lot of population information or other information that can be used to create a picture of your sample group.
Analytical vs. descriptive reasons
Cross-sectional research can be used for both descriptive and analytical reasons in your research paper writing:
An analytical analysis attempts to explain how or why a particular result may come. This approach is not the most precise or perfect because it is susceptible to external influences and outcomes. For example, when researching the possibility of older people catching coronavirus other factors such as immunity, comorbidities, and psychological health are all equally likely to influence the strain's transmission. As a result, other variables are left unchecked in an analytical study.
A descriptive analysis simply uses descriptive statistics to summarize the results. In cross-sectional research, a descriptive study determines how frequently, widely, or intensely a variable of interest affects a given population. Researchers conduct thorough analyses in descriptive cross-sectional research to discover trends such as purchasing behavior and play an important part in market research. Companies can use this data to introduce market-relevant products and services. They are not concerned with why these patterns are occurring, but rather with what industry trends exist.
You are researching the average trade deficit. A descriptive study would check the data on changing trade deficits between the US and the rest of the world from 2014 to 2016, but an analytical study would investigate why and how the trade deficit has evolved.
How to Conduct a Cross-Sectional Research
You can use the information provided by another source or gather your own to conduct cross-sectional research. In cross-sectional research, the researcher simultaneously studies the outcome and exposures of people in the study. The researcher conducts the study to analyze the exposure and outcomes after the subjects have been chosen for it.
The relationship between these variables can be investigated by the researcher. It is also likely that the researcher will recruit study subjects and look at the results in this group. The investigator may also make an estimate of the outcome's proportion among those examined. You can collect your own information by using research methods such as questionnaires if you wish to determine the variables in your study and evaluate your data on an individual level.
Cross-sectional studies' benefits and drawbacks
Cross-sectional studies, like any other research design, have advantages and disadvantages. We have listed the pros and cons of conducting a cross-sectional study to help you decide if it is the best method for your research.
| Benefits✔️ | Drawbacks❌ |
|---|---|
| ✔️ Cross-sectional studies are less expensive than other types of study. | ❌ Cross-sectional research is the most appropriate and effective method for researching a bid group of people. A researcher will need a large sample group. |
| ✔️ Researchers may obtain all of the necessary data at once, making the study more efficient. | ❌ The cross-sectional study's information cannot be used to identify the cause of events. It does not investigate what causes a specific situation in the group. |
| ✔️ A researcher will collect data from a big group of people in a cross-sectional study. | ❌ A cause-and-effect link can be difficult to establish in a cross-sectional investigation. |
| ✔️ Because it lets the researcher look at a big group of people at one time, the study has a lower probability of missing information pieces. | |
| ✔️ A cross-sectional study's findings can be used for a variety of purposes. This means that the data remains useful. | |
| ✔️ When a researcher wishes to develop a basic assumption for a group, a cross-sectional study is used. It is an appropriate method for descriptive analysis. |