An ecological approach to tracking battered women over time

The current study examined the difficulties inherent in using an experimental, longitudinal design to determine the effects of an advocacy program designed to increase battered women's access to community resources. The current research employed a multitude of techniques to follow battered women over the first year following their stay at a shelter for women with abusive partners. The tracking rate was very successful; 96% were found and interviewed at the 10-week project termination point, 96% at the 6-month follow-up, and 94% at the 12-month followup. The intricate system of procedures used for successfully tracking this mobile population over time are presented as an effective methodology for doing necessary longitudinal research with battered women as well as other transient, or "difficult to follow" populations.