Healthcare: Scientists in healthcare may use cross-sectional research to understand how children ages 2-12 across the United States are prone to calcium deficiency.Business: In business, researchers can conduct a cross-sectional study to understand how people of different socioeconomic statuses from one geographic segment respond to one change in an offering.Retail: In retail, cross-sectional research can be conducted on men and women in a specific age range to reveal similarities and differences in spending trends related to gender.Consider these examples for more clarity: This is unlike a longitudinal study, where variables can change throughout the research. This variable remains constant throughout the cross-sectional study.
The data collected in a cross-sectional study involves subjects or participants who are similar in all variables – except the one which is under review. You can also use this type of research to map prevailing variables that exist at a particular point-for example, cross-sectional data on past drinking habits and a current diagnosis of liver failure. Hence, this research type “takes the pulse” of population data at any given point in time. From that starting point, you could make all kinds of observations and analyses. The people in that extended family are used to determine what is happening in real-time, at the moment.Īll of the people have at least one variable in common – being related – and multiple variables that they do not share. Want a fitting metaphor? Think of a snapshot of a group of people at one event, say a family reunion. Cross-sectional studies allow the researcher to look at one independent variable as the focus of the cross-sectional study and one or more dependent variables.The cross-sectional analysis assesses topics during a single instance with a defined start and stopping point, unlike longitudinal studies, where variables can change during extensive research.Similar research may look at the same variable of interest, but each study observes a new set of subjects.Researchers can conduct a cross-sectional study with the same set of variables over a set period.Some of the critical characteristics of a cross-sectional study are: Characteristics of cross-sectional studies Although cross-sectional research does not involve conducting experiments, researchers often use it to understand outcomes in the physical and social sciences and many business industries.
This study type is also known as cross-sectional analysis, transverse study, or prevalence study. What is a cross-sectional study?Ī cross-sectional study is a type of observational research that analyzes data of variables collected at one given point in time across a sample population or a pre-defined subset. We’ll also take a closer look at the benefits that make this research useful for the work you do.
We’ll review cross-sectional study examples and explain the types of cross-sectional research you might perform. In this article, we discuss what a cross-sectional study is and is not.
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