Abstract
CROSS-SECTIONAL analysis, by means of which is investigated the behaviour of a cross-section of the population at a given point in time, is a convenient method in many fields of research where age or maturational differences are of interest. Implicit in the findings of such investigations are predictions about the future behaviour of the groups concerned. Such predictions are, however, based on the assumption that the behavioural differences between groups are due to the age differences involved, and that future age changes will bring about similar behavioural differences. The fallibility of such predictions in the field of demography has been pointed out1. This investigation is aimed at checking similar findings in the field of absence behaviour in an industrial situation.
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References
Medawar, P. B., The Future of Man (Methuen, London, 1960).
Buzzard, R. B., and Shaw, W. J., Brit. J. Indust. Med., 9, No. 4 (1952).
Behrend, H., Intern. Labour Rev., 79, No. 2 (1959).
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DE LA MARE, G., SERGEAN, R. Validity of Prediction based on Cross-Sectional Analysis. Nature 192, 1318–1319 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/1921318b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1921318b0
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