Cross Sectional Design Vs Longitudinal Design

The fundamental difference between cross-sectional design and longitudinal design is the time frame in which the studies are conducted or researched. Cross-sectional design refers to the analysis of one group at one time, and in fact, it is sample representing the larger group. On the other hand, longitudinal studies research the same group over a period, this type of the investigation focuses on change (Hagan, 2003). There is a place for both of designs in research methods. There is a need for cross-sectional design when an investigator is attempting to represent consistency, where your variables will remain the same. Longitudinal design can be more utilized in the criminal justice field because research is often comparing variables that will change over time. Therefore the investigator has to document those changes efficiently. For example in The Denver Youth Survey Waves 6-11 (1993-2003) which is the section of a much larger study involving the causes and correlates of juvenile delinquency. The Denver Youth Survey was a longitudinal study that researched juveniles from high-risk neighborhoods as they are going through life battling drugs, childhood victimization, and mental health. The study was conducted in waves and at different time periods in the juvenile's life all the through to adulthood. The subjects were part of the survey from the age of seven to twenty-six (Huizinga, …show more content…
A., & Kurlychek, M. C. (2003). An Outcome Evaluation of Pennsylvania's Boot Camp: Does Rehabilitative Programming within a Disciplinary Setting Reduce Recidivism? Retrieved April 8, 2017, from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011128703252664

Hagan, F. E. (2010). Research methods in criminal justice and criminology. (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Huizinga, D. (n.d.). Denver Youth Survey Waves 6-11 (1993-2003) [Denver, Colorado] (ICPSR 36474). Retrieved April 9, 2017, from