HG&D: Chapter 1 pages 23-30

Research that involves the comparison of people of different ages is called cross-sectional research design. With cross-sectional research it is very difficult to ensure that the various groups differ only in their ages. In addition, every cross-sectional study will, to some degree, reflect cohort differences.

Research that follows the same people over a relatively long period of time is call a longitudinal research design. State three drawbacks of this type of research design:

Some subjects may leave the study Some people may change simply because they are part of the study These studies are time-consuming and expensive

The research method that combines the longitudinal and cross-sectional methods is the cross-sequential.

The approach that emphasizes the influence of the systems that support the developing person is called the ecological-systems approach. This approach was emphasized by Urie Bronfenbrenner. (This research takes into consideration the relationship between the individual and the environment.)

According to this model, the family, the peer group, and other aspects of the immediate social setting constitute a microsystem. Systems that link one microsystem to another constitute the mesosystem.

Community institutions such as school and church make up the exosystem. Cultural values, political philosophies, economic patterns, and social systems make up the macrosystem.

38. The final system in this model is the chronosystem, which emphasizes the importance of historical time on development.

39. Developmental researchers work from a set of moral principles that constitute their code of ethics. Researchers who study humans must obtain informed consent, which refers to written permission, ensure that their subjects are not harmed and that they are allowed to stop at any time.

40. A research study that is a compilation of data from many other sources is called a meta-analysis.