A researcher wants to understand how graduating seniors and incoming freshmen differ on their level of reading comprehension. He hopes to examine how much the individuals have learned over their four years in high school. An important part of his research is to examine individual changes over time and not just age-group differences. Which design is most appropriate for his research question?

Question

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The most appropriate design for this research question is a longitudinal design because the researcher is interested in examining changes in reading comprehension over time within individuals. By measuring the same group of students when they are freshmen and again when they graduate as seniors, the researcher can compare their growth and understand how much they have learned over their four years in high school. A cross-sectional design (option D) would not allow for examining individual changes over time, and a microgenetic design (option B) may not be feasible as it requires intense and frequent measurements over a short period of time. A cross-sequential design (option C) could be an alternative, but it involves recruiting a new sample of participants each year, which may not be necessary or practical for this research question.

A Researcher Wants to Understand How Graduating Seniors and Incoming