Data Structure
Repeated Cross-Sectional Data
Repeated cross-sections sample different units from the same target population at multiple time points.
Page 1 of 7 · Big Picture
The big picture: Repeated Cross-Sectional Data
What changes in a population when people differ across waves?
Why a policy analyst should care
Repeated surveys can reveal population change even when different people respond each wave, but they cannot be interpreted as individual trajectories.
Follow the idea from the opening question to a practical decision. These are the conceptual moves this module will develop:
1 Question What changes in a population when people differ across waves?
2 Explore Different adults in each survey year
3 Formalize Wave and unit structure
4 Transfer Specify a repeated cross-section
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