compare multiple cross sections over time hypack

These sorts of calculations would provide some very helpful insights. We can also examine how the likelihood of thinking that voting is a duty has changed among different population groups (for example, different age groups or ethnicities).

We can look at the characteristics of those who do or don’t agree with this view, and how the profile of these groups had changed over time. What do these findings tell us? The data clearly show us that, overall, fewer people now than in the late-1980s think that citizens have a duty to vote. But because the questions are asked of a new sample every time, these studies can only reveal change at an aggregate level – they can shed little light on who has changed, or how or why.įor example, the 2015 British Social Attitudes (PDF) survey found that 66 per cent of people thought that “it’s everybody’s duty to vote” in a general election, down from 76 per cent in 1987. Repeating the same questions in each round allows researchers to look at how society as a whole has changed over time.

It provides excellent data about how Britain’s attitudes and values have changed (or not changed) over time. For example, the British Social Attitudes Survey is a repeat cross-sectional study that has been carried out nearly every year since 1983. Some cross-sectional studies take place regularly, each time including a large number of repeat questions. Features of longitudinal vs cross-sectional studies The main difference is that cross-sectional studies interview a fresh sample of people each time they are carried out, whereas longitudinal studies follow the same sample of people over time. Longitudinal studies differ from one-off, or cross-sectional, studies.

Compare multiple cross sections over time hypack