San Francisco ; Washington ; London : Jossey Bass, 1977
Abstract: The recent surge of interest among sociologists in longitudinal and historical studies is bound to increase our understanding of social dynamics. But because longitudinal analysis raises new problems not relevant to traditional static methodologies, research problems need to be even more carefully formulated than they have been in traditional cross-sectional research, and elaborate, sophisticated statistical models for the analysis of data are required. Sociological Methodology 1977 co ...; [Read more...]
The recent surge of interest among sociologists in longitudinal and historical studies is bound to increase our understanding of social dynamics. But because longitudinal analysis raises new problems not relevant to traditional static methodologies, research problems need to be even more carefully formulated than they have been in traditional cross-sectional research, and elaborate, sophisticated statistical models for the analysis of data are required. Sociological Methodology 1977 concentrates on these problems and opportunities. In this new book, longitudinal data analysis is approached predominantly as a source of information about dynamic processes, not merely as a technique for dealing with the characteristic problems of cross-sectional research, such as defining causai directions. David Heise and his contributors examine a range of topics—how the paradigm can guide research on the cultural basis of everyday behavior; pooling cross-sections and time series in estimation in panel models; using improved procedures for estimating reliability and stability from panel data; evaluating thè Box-Jenkins and econometrie methods of analyzing policy impact problems; conducting estimates for differential equation models of social phe- nomena; avoiding bias in estimates of rates from retrospective questions; developing estimates of network time series from archival records; blocking sociometric data with CONCOR and related methods; and using statistical inference and statistical power in applications of the generai linear model. "Sociological Methodology" 1977, eighth in a series sponsored by the American Sociologica! Association, offers researchers Solutions to a variety of problems encountered in longitudinal data analysis and promotes more productive use of overtime data. It marks a significant shift in the orientation of sociological methodologists toward longitudinal data.
