Naturalistic Observation And Cross-Sectional Studies

Both naturalistic observations and cross-sectional studies are effective methods of research. In a naturalistic observation, the psychologist observes the subject without interfering. In a cross-sectional study, “data is collected from groups of participants of different ages and compared so that conclusions can be drawn about differences due to age.” They are similar in the way the data is obtained and they differ in the number of subjects and the usual age and maturity of the subjects.

First, naturalistic observations and cross-sectional studies are pretty similar in the way data is obtained. In naturalistic observations, the psychologist observes the subject/participant as it goes about its everyday life. In cross-sectional studies, the