Сравнение на методи

	Напречно-секторно изследване	Дескриптивно изследване	Панелни изследвания	Проучване чрез анкети
Област	Дизайн на изследването	Дизайн на изследването	Дизайн на изследването	Дизайн на изследването
Семейство	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Година на възникване	Late 19th–early 20th century; methodologically codified through the 20th century	Late 19th century; formalized in social/behavioral sciences ~1960s–1980s	1970s-1980s (econometric formalization); earlier social survey use from 1940s	Late 19th century; methodologically systematised 1940s–1960s
Създател	No single originator; foundational methodological treatments by Stuart Menard and Judith Singer & John Willett	Francis Galton, Karl Pearson (early empirical tradition); formalized in social science by Fred Kerlinger	Social science and econometric traditions; systematized by Cheng Hsiao and others from the 1970s-1980s	Francis Galton, Charles Booth, and early social statisticians; systematised by Paul Lazarsfeld and colleagues at Columbia in the 1940s
Тип	Quantitative (or mixed) observational research design	Non-experimental quantitative research design	Quantitative longitudinal observational design	Quantitative (and mixed) non-experimental design
Основополагащ източник	Menard, S. (2002). Longitudinal Research (2nd ed.). Sage Publications. ISBN: 978-0761922841	Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). Sage. ISBN: 978-1452226101	Hsiao, C. (2003). Analysis of Panel Data (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-0521522717	Fowler, F. J. (2014). Survey Research Methods (5th ed.). Sage Publications. ISBN: 978-1452259000
Други названия	longitudinal study, longitudinal design, prospective longitudinal study, repeated-measures observational study	descriptive study, descriptive survey design, observational descriptive research, non-experimental descriptive research	panel study, panel survey, longitudinal panel, repeated-measures panel	survey methodology, questionnaire research, survey design, survey study
Свързани	4	3	3	4
Резюме	Longitudinal research is an observational design in which the same participants, groups, or units are measured repeatedly over an extended period. Rather than capturing a single snapshot, it tracks change, stability, and temporal sequencing of variables — making it the primary non-experimental strategy for studying development, growth, decline, and the unfolding of causal processes across time.	Descriptive research is a non-experimental quantitative design that systematically documents the characteristics, frequencies, or distributions of variables in a defined population at a given point in time. It answers 'what is' questions — who, what, when, where, and how much — without manipulating variables or drawing causal conclusions. It is one of the most widely used research designs across the social, behavioral, health, and education sciences.	Panel research is a quantitative longitudinal design in which the same individuals, organizations, or other units are measured repeatedly across two or more time points. Unlike cross-sectional surveys that capture a single snapshot, a panel tracks change within units, enabling researchers to separate genuine within-unit change from between-unit differences and to model causal dynamics over time.	Survey research is a quantitative (and sometimes mixed-methods) design in which a researcher collects standardised self-report data from a sample drawn from a defined population, using a questionnaire or structured interview. It is the dominant non-experimental strategy for describing population characteristics, estimating prevalence, mapping attitude distributions, and testing bivariate or multivariate associations across social, behavioural, and health sciences.