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Longitudinal Research Design | NLE Reviewer: Nursing Research 🏫

Category: Nursing Research | Tags: Research Design, Longitudinal Study, NLE Review, Data Collection, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient Outcomes, Community Health Nursing

Overview: Learn how longitudinal research design is applied in nursing research to collect data at multiple time points, helping nurses evaluate patient outcomes and practice evidence-based interventions.

1. When the nurse researcher collects data at more than one point over an extended period, which design is applied?

1. Cross-sectional
2. Time related
3. Time sequenced
4. Longitudinal

Answer: ✅ Longitudinal

Rationale:
A longitudinal design collects data from the same subjects at multiple time points over an extended period. This allows researchers and nurses to observe trends, changes, and outcomes over time, which is essential for evidence-based nursing practice and evaluating interventions.

Why the other options are incorrect:
• Cross-sectional — Collects data at a single point in time, giving only a snapshot and cannot measure changes over time.
• Time related — Not a standardized research design term; it is vague and does not involve systematic repeated measurements.
• Time sequenced — Refers to chronological order of events but does not include repeated data collection over time like longitudinal studies.

💡 Key Takeaway: Longitudinal studies track the same subjects over multiple time points to detect changes and trends.

🧠 Mnemonic: "Long view = Longitudinal" — Think of observing patients over a long period.

Reference:
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2021). Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice. 11th Edition. Wolters Kluwer.

Remember: Repeated observation is the heart of longitudinal studies.

#NLEReview #NursingResearch #LongitudinalStudy #EvidenceBasedPractice #CommunityHealthNursing #DataCollection #PatientCareOutcomes

🔥 Study Tip: Focus on understanding research designs in terms of time and measurement frequency. Longitudinal = multiple points, Cross-sectional = single point.

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