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Study Designs and Their Characteristics Cheat Sheet
Study Designs and Their Characteristics Cheat Sheet
Study Designs and Their Characteristics Cheat Sheet
Study Design Subtypes (if Study objectives Where does Main study Data analysis Issues / biases
applicable) data come question(s)
from?
Case None Describe a group of individuals Primary What are the key Primary low quality
w/ a disease/condition data characteristics of data
series/case the cases in this information
Secondary Secondar
report group missing/incomplete
data y data @ intake
Cross- - (Some can be KAP describe the exposure/disease The researcher asks What is the Calculate: Convenience populations: a
surveys) status in a population a few hundred prevalence of the -prevalence rates study population that lack
sectional Knowledge, people to complete exposure or/& -Prevalence rate representation of the whole
survey Attitudes(beliefs) & a short disease in the ratios community being studied
Practices (behaviors) questionnaire and population? -Odds ratios
-Repeated cross- then analyzes the
sectional surveys data
Case-control None Compare exposure histories of Recruited by: Do cases & Odds ratio: Misclassification bias: bias
ppl w/ a disease(cases) & ppl w/o -friends and controls have compares the odds that occurs when
study that disease (controls) relatives of cases different exposure of exposure among participants are not correctly
-hospital/clinic pts histories? cases to the odds of categorized; All participants
w/o disease of exposure among must be asked questions that
interest controls confirm whether each is a
-the general pop a/c ÷b/d = ad/bc case, a control, or neither
Recall bias: bias that occurs
when cases and controls
systematically have different
memories of the past
Cohort study 1.Retrospective Retrospective & prospective Information is Retrospective & Rate ratio/ -Information bias: exposed
cohort (exposure in cohorts: compare new incidents collected from prospective relative risk/ participants are more
the past) of disease in people with individuals @ cohorts: Is the risk ratio/ thoroughly examined for
2. Prospective different exposure history multiple points in exposure relative ratio: the disease than unexposed
cohort (exposure in time, researchers associated with ratio of incidence participants
the present) Longitudinal cohort: follow a can know w/ w/ an increased rate among the -When participants are lost
3. Longitudinal population forward in time to certainty which incidence of exposed to the to follow (in all cohort
cohort (follow for a look for new incidence of disease exposures were disease? incidence rate in subtypes)
long-time w/o any present in Longitudinal the unexposed -data mismanagement: when
exposure focus; individual cohort: Is RR= too much information is
future) participants before exposure a/(a+b) collected @ too many points
the onset of new associated w/ an c/(c+d) in time
disease increased incidence rate: the (Longitudinal cohorts)
incidence of 3 of new cases of
disease? disease in pop.
during specified
period divided by
the total # of ppl in
pop. who were @
risk during that
period of time
-Excess risk AKA
attributable risk
(AR): the absolute
difference in
incidence rate
between the
exposed pop. &
Unexposed pop.
-Attributable risk
percent (AR%): A
proportion of
incident cases
among the exposed
that are due to
exposure
Experimental None -compare outcomes in -RCTs: randomized -Does the -measures of -noncompliance to RCT
participants assigned to an controlled trials exposure cause survival (Hazard -Hawthorne bias: occurs
study intervention or control group the outcome? ratio or HR): when participants in the
-efficacy: study change their behavior
proportion of for the better because they
individuals in the are being observed
control group who -Lost to follow
experience an -information bias: if the
unfavorable blinding method was not
outcome who could used
have been
expected to have a
favorable outcome
had they been in
the active group
instead[hi #
indicates
intervention is
successful]
-# needed to treat:
the expected
number of people
who would have to
receive a treatment
to prevent an
unfavorable
outcome in one
person (or,
alternately stated,
to achieve a
favorable outcome
in one person) [hi
level indicates an
effective
intervention]
-RR
-incidence rate
-AR%
-AR
Qualitative None -qualitative study looks for the -unstructured or -open-ended -formulate new -
themes & meanings that emerge semi structured; questions theories
study from observation of & interaction focus group (Flexible response - point out themes
w/ key informants discussions, in- options) & or patterns
depth interview, -researcher uses
participant focus groups and
observations then come up w/
code
words/categories
are sorted into
categories to
summarize the
results
Ecological / None -compare the average levels of -existing population -do populations -correlation (rho) -ecological fallacy
exposure and disease in several level data Is used with a higher rate
correlational exposures (No individual data of exposure, have
study is used) a higher rate of
exposure
Reviews 1. Narrative 1)
2)forest plot
review 3)Calculate odds
2. Systematic ratio of all studies
review (summary statistic)
3. Meta-
analysis