Cross-sectional designs

• AO1

  • Collect data from one moment in time, providing a 'snapshot' of the researched clinical disorders.
  • Study different groups of people at the same moment in time and compares data collected from these
  • Participants tested once, usually to find a simple relationship between one variable and another. The difference in people is what will be of interest
  • E.g. if a clinician interested in severity of schiz symptoms in age, would use 3 groups of age ranges and make comparison about their symptoms and severity
• :) Practical

  Allows researcher to study a pop in a short space of time if on time restrictions, taking less time and effort than other methods such as longitudinal. T/f is an efficient method to draw meaningful conclusions
• :) Economical compared to other methods

  As OPPOSED TO LONGITUDINAL research, researcher sets up study, gathers data once, writes up findings and moves on. T/f cross sectional requires less time and commitment, reducing cost of the research
• :( Cohort effects

  Looks at different people in the same moment of time, who belong to different cohorts. This could generate extraneous variables which will influence the findings rather then the IV. T/f cannot establish cause and effect, reducing the internal validity of cross sectional research
• :( Snapshot

  Only studies patients with CD at one moment in time, so unlikely to include any historical information about the patient, nor any future information about the patients. T/f not a useful method to see the course of a mental disorder, how it began, what caused it, or how a treatment may work, thus providing limited data