This document discusses longitudinal design and its types. A longitudinal study observes the same subjects over an extended period of time to study changes. There are several types of longitudinal designs, including panel studies that follow the same individuals, cohort studies that follow groups based on a shared characteristic, and retrospective studies that examine past records. Longitudinal research can measure outcomes like risk factors, treatment effects, patterns of change and stability, and historical or developmental impacts. Key types are prospective panel studies with single or multiple cohorts, retrospective panel designs, record linkage studies, and repeated cross-sectional trend studies.