Eleven papers, some of which have appeared previously as contributions to the journal Organizational Science , emphasize a range of methodological issues involved in longitudinal field research, including ethnographic methods, longitudinal and comparative case studies, event history analysis, and real-time tracking of events, as well as procedural.

This Handbook is a very timely contribution to organization and business studies. Most calls for longitudinal research are made in sections of published work that deal with limitations of the study or suggestions for further research. This book places longitudinal research methods at center stage. With its practical, hands-on approach it guides us how to design a longitudinal study in and around organizations whether qualitative or quantitative and how to implement it. I warmly recommend this Handbook to ambitious senior and junior researchers. It makes the commonly presented excuses for not undertaking longitudinal research completely redundant. Rebecca Piekkari, Aalto University, School of Business in Helsinki, Finland This is a very timely book that fills an important gap in the field of research methods. So far very little attention has been paid to longitudinal research methods, while the usefulness of this type of research has often been discussed in many papers and conferences. Insights provided by scholars who have been doing this type of research provide useful guidelines for anyone interested in research methods from senior scholars to young researchers and PhD candidates. This volume will serve as an excellent complement to the existing range of books on research methods. Pervez Ghauri, Kings College London, UK This innovative Handbook demonstrates that there is no single best approach to conducting longitudinal studies. At their best, longitudinal research designs yield rich, contextualised, multilevel and deep understanding of the studied phenomenon. The lack of resources in terms of time, funding and people can pose a serious challenge to conducting longitudinal research. This book tackles many of these challenges and discusses the role of longitudinal research programmes in overcoming such obstacles. This book shows how longitudinal research methods enable the understanding of dynamics, mechanisms, causalities and interrelationships of organizational and business concepts in context and in relation to time. It discusses the richness and versatility of longitudinal research and offers, to students and experienced scholars alike, numerous viewpoints, reflections and personal accounts about conducting longitudinal research, from planning and fieldwork to reporting and managing of research projects.

Johnny Saldana outlines the basic elements of longitudinal qualitative data, focusing on micro-levels of change observed within individual cases and groups of participants. He draws upon his primary experience in theater education to examine time and change in longitudinal qualitative studies; contending that "playwrights and qualitative researchers write for the same purpose: to create a unique, insightful, and engaging text about the human condition." Offering sixteen specific questions through which researchers may approach the analysis of longitudinal qualitative data, Professor Saldana presents a text intended as a primer for fellow newcomers to long term inquiry, based on traditional social science methods from traditional qualitative and quantitative paradigms, but enriched by an artist-educator's unconventional perspective.

Brimming with life maps, life history calendars, and extracts from transcripts and diaries, this book illustrates by example the unique principles, challenges, and applications of qualitative longitudinal research. Synthesizing current literature on qualitative longitudinal research, it brings together sociological theory and empirically driven longitudinal studies while also highlighting a range of possible research approaches. With a consistent balance of conceptual discussions with hands-on advice, it provides readers with the foundation to adapt lessons-learned from other researchers to fit their own qualitative longitudinal studies. Supported by research tools such as conceptual road maps, short data extracts, consent forms, and other data organization tools, this book provides everything postgraduate researchers need to transition from the classroom to the field.

Longitudinal surveys are surveys that involve collecting data from multiple subjects on multiple occasions. They are typically used for collecting data relating to social, economic, educational and health-related issues and they serve as an important tool for economists, sociologists, and other researchers. Focusing on the design, implementation and analysis of longitudinal surveys, Methodology of Longitudinal Surveys discusses the current state of the art in carrying out these surveys. The book also covers issues that arise in surveys that collect longitudinal data via retrospective methods. Aimed at researchers and practitioners analyzing data from statistical surveys the book will also be suitable as supplementary reading for graduate students of survey statistics. This book: Covers all the main stages in the design, implementation and analysis of longitudinal surveys. Reviews recent developments in the field, including the use of dependent interviewing and mixed mode data collection. Discusses the state of the art in sampling, weighting and non response adjustment. Features worked examples throughout using real data. Addresses issues arising from the collection of data via retrospective methods, as well as ethical issues, confidentiality and non-response bias. Is written by an international team of contributors consisting of some of the most respected Survey Methodology experts in the field

Mary Lynne Derrington’s Qualitative Longitudinal Methods: Researching Implementation and Change addresses the use of the qualitative longitudinal methods, their unique methodological features, and the challenges and benefits to this approach. This short supplemental text uses examples of published studies, and the author’s own stories and examples, to show application of the concepts. A chapter on how to prepare a manuscript for publication concentrates on the distinctive aspects of publishing longitudinal studies. The book will be useful to those researching change and its impact on organizations and individuals resulting from the implementation of programs and policies.