based on the abstract from a 1994 issue of Journal of Counseling and Development. The authors of the paper examined factors that predicted continued enrollment and academic standing in college students. Instructors are advised to use the reference below to retrieve the original abstract for their use.
Gerdes, H., & Mallinckrodt, B. (1994). Emotional, social, and academic adjustment of college students: A longitudinal study of retention. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD, 72(3), 281.
-Based on the design of the study, which issue would be of largest concern to the researchers compared to using other possible designs?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the study is longitudinal and focused on retention, subject attrition (or dropout) would be of largest concern to the researchers compared to other possible designs. This is because losing participants over time could undermine the ability to examine factors that predict continued enrollment and academic standing. The Hawthorne effect (improved performance due to being observed) and motivated responding (respondents answering questions in a way that they perceive as socially desirable or to please the researcher) could also be concerns, but may be mitigated by the longitudinal design. Cohort effects (differences between groups of individuals born in different time periods) may also be a concern, but the abstract does not provide enough information on this topic to determine if it would be a bigger issue than subject attrition.

Based on the Abstract from a 1994 Issue of Journal