Abstract
Qualitative longitudinal research (QL) can be defined as the prospective monitoring of the same individuals or small social groups in "real" time and in their development using (mainly) qualitative research tools. In the chapter, we describe the use of QL in three research projects: due to the limited scope of the text, the main attention is paid to the study, the subjects of which are pupils and the object is the transition to secondary school with on professional education.
The chapter focuses on the advantages of the longitudinal design, but also the practical and ethical problems associated with, among other things, maintaining the panel (i.e. repeatedly contacting the initially obtained respondents and obtaining additional data after the specified time) especially in relation to at-risk pupils.