Suppose you wish to examine the changes in attitudes toward school that occur as students mature. You select a sample of elementary, middle, and high school students and measure their attitudes toward school. A weakness of your cross-sectional design for studying this research problem is that
A) this method cannot be used to explore relationships between variables.
B) this method cannot be used to explore developmental changes.
C) the sample of elementary, middle, and high school students may differ on other characteristics besides grade level.
D) data must be collected over an extended time period.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The main weakness of a cross-sectional design in this context is that the different groups (elementary, middle, and high school students) might differ in various characteristics other than their grade level, such as age, socio-economic status, or cultural background, which can confound the results. This design does not account for individual developmental changes over time but rather compares different groups at a single point in time.

Suppose You Wish to Examine the Changes in Attitudes Toward