Blog Post Number Two

While reading the chapter I noticed all the different ways and tools scientists use to understand the development of humans. And each tool has it’s own advantages, disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses. The main tools that I noticed were scientific observation, experiments, surveys, cross-sectional research, longitudinal research, and cross-sequential research. Scientific observation is a method of testing a hypothesis by unobtrusively watching and recording a participants’ behavior in a natural setting, in a laboratory, or in searches of archival data. The disadvantage of this tool is the fact that it cannot prove why people choice to do the things that they do. An experiment is a research method in which the researcher tries to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between two variables by manipulating one and then observing and recording the ensuing changes in the other. The purpose of an experiment is to determine if the independent variable affects the dependent variable.  A survey is a research method in which information is collected from a large number of people by interviews, written questionnaires, or some other means. The disadvantage of this tool is that accuracy is unattainable. People can lie, change their minds, or have difference influences that decide their answers to the survey. Cross-sectional research is a design that compares groups of people that differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics. This tool is the least expensive and quickest way to obtain results. The weakness of this tool is the fact that people may differ in other ways besides age; just because they have age in common doesn’t necessarily mean they have other things in common. Longitudinal research is a design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed. The disadvantage of this tool is the fact that so much effort and time are required to do the research, so it’s hard to find participants willing to do the study. Cross-sequential research is a hybrid design in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages and then follow those groups over the years. Using this tool helps scientists untangle the differences related to age from those related to the same historical period. Reading into all the tools scientist use and how they use them as well as what can affect them really helped me grasp the understanding of how development is analyzed. There are many aspects and tools to take into understanding when learning about such a broad topic. But it interests me that so many different tools can be used to do so.