What is it about?
Longitudinal research designs represent some of the most rigorous approaches to examine causal relations between constructs and evaluations of intervention effectiveness; however, they can also be time-consuming and expensive to complete, meaning that it is important thorough consideration is given a priori to key conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and analytical issues. This paper walks readers through these considerations and demonstrate their application with example studies.
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Why is it important?
We discuss a series of conceptual, theoretical, and methodological considerations associated with time in an attempt to provide scholars with a map to guide them as they navigate the new possibilities to capture change processes. Moreover, to support researchers to match theories of change and temporal design with adequate statistical models, we have illustrated how the considerations informed our use of latent curve models to study developmental processes and DSEM to study stable processes.
Perspectives
Ultimately, we hope that the paper provides researchers with a springboard for their future longitudinal research studies as we all seek to further understand psychological processes.
Daniel Brown
University of Portsmouth
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Working with time: Navigating the temporal jungle to capture change processes., Sport Exercise and Performance Psychology, August 2024, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/spy0000365.
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