Table 3.
Different longitudinal perspectives in the articles’ aims and objectives
| How time or change is articulated in the aim | Description | Example | Number of articles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time/change as the phenomenon of interest | Focus is on how changes occurs. Articles aimed to investigate phenomena such as process, trajectories or change. | Coombs, Parker and de Vries [41] aimed “to describe how decision-making influences transitions in care when approaching the end of life.” (p. 618) Thus, the focus in the aim was how decision-making influences transitions. | n = 71, 23.7% |
| Time/change related to the outcomes of the study | Focus is on the factors, reasons or explanations of why participants reach different outcomes. Articles aimed to investigate mechanisms or factors related to an outcome often in relation to a trial or intervention. | Vaghefi et al. [42] aimed to focus on “the continued use of mHealth apps and the factors underlying this behavior”. (p. 2) In this aim, the emphasis was on whether the participant maintained their use of mHealth apps and possible explanations for their use. | n = 46, 15.4% |
| Time/change as the context of the study | Focus is on the subjective experiences of a phenomenon that may change across time. The change is not the preliminary interest. Articles aimed to investigate experiences over a certain time period (such as during the first year of nursing school, through the intervention period, or over 6 months). | Andersen et al. [43] aimed “to explore COPD patients’ and their family members’ experiences of both participation in care during hospitalization for an acute exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and of the subsequent day-to-day care at home.” (p. 4879) Here the focus of the aim was on the experiences of participation, but in the context of hospitalization and subsequent homecomings. | n = 93, 31.1% |
| Time/change not described in the aims. | No terms connected to time or change in the aims. | Albrecht et al. [44] (p. 68) aimed “to examine the experiences of younger adults diagnosed with acute leukemia who are actively receiving induction chemotherapy”. Their aim did not include any words showing that data were collected across time or that time/change were the focus. | n = 68, 22.7% |
| Time/change illuminated in several longitudinal perspectives | Articles combining several of the longitudinal perspectives in the aims and objectives. Articles could have one objective where time/change was the phenomenon of interest and another objective where time/change was the context. |
Corepal et al. [45] aimed “to explore the views and experiences of adolescents who participated in a gamified PA [physical activity] intervention based on Self-determination Theory (SDT), and the temporal changes of these views and experiences over the 1-year study period. Study objectives included: 1. To explore key aspects of a gamified PA intervention over a 1-year period using a qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) method. 2. To discuss key issues relating to the intervention, such as PA opportunities/barriers, the value of competition and types of rewards and so on. 3. To explore the key influences of PA and to determine who benefited from the intervention, how and why it worked for them. 4. To qualitatively chart changes in behaviours, opinions or views as a result of participating in the intervention.” (p2) In this example, Research question 1 use a context approach to time/change; Research question 2 contain no description of time/change; Research question 3 used an outcome perspective; and Research question 4 investigated changes in behavior as a phenomenon. |
n = 21, 7.0% |