Using household panels to study micro-social change -article-

Publication type

Journal Article

Author

Publication date

June 1, 1995

Abstract:

The paper provides an introduction to the research potential of household panel studies in general, and the British Household Panel, in particular. The relative strengths of longitudinal and cross sectional analysis are discussed. Panel studies however, are only one type of longitudinal design and the advantages and disadvantages of panels are discussed, in comparison to repeated cross sections and retrospective designs. Panel studies have a number of analytical advantages. First they make it possible to distinguish transitory and persistent phenomena, and to disaggregate net change. Second, panel data can help disentangle ambiguities in causal relations by providing temporal ordering. Third, they allow researchers to take into acccount the timing (in terms of age, or life course stage) and the duration of conditions and experiences, both of which are crucial for understanding social continuity and change.

Published in

Innovation: the European Journal of Social Sciences

Volume and page numbers

Volume: 8,no.1 (Mar.)61-74 , p.61 -74

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