Abstract

There are many flaws with how researchers in the social sciences have classically estimated change/development in longitudinal studies. One consistent issue has been the predominance of variable-centred research, which, in most cases, fails to account for the heterogeneity of populations. These approaches also tend to focus on the relationship between latent constructs, rather than the individuals we seek to understand. Latent Transition Analysis is a person-centred, longitudinal approach, which seeks to address both of these issues. It does this by modelling the latent subgroups within a sample and then estimating the probability of each individual moving between these groups over time.

This short seminar will provide a brief overview of Latent Transition Analysis with a focus on the types of questions it is well situated to address and the research design necessary to implement it. Three ongoing studies will be presented: one under review, one recently submitted and a third currently under construction. Two of these studies focus on learning strategies in higher education and the third examines the development of elementary school students’ motivation to study.