HSCI 130 Lecture 10: Study Designs (Wine, Chocolate and Heart Aches)

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Health Sciences
• Course: HSCI 130
• Professor: Rochelle Tucker

Document Summary

Epidemiological study designs: different schemes used to classify types of studies. Observational studies: researcher does not intervene in any way; Measurement of occurrence of disease or health outcome. Comparing patterns of exposure and disease outcomes. Both descriptive and analytical can fit here! Experimental studies: investigator tries to change something and measure the effect on disease outcome (clinical trials, preventive trials) Descriptive studies: research that describes the occurrence of disease and/or exposure. Case reports / case series: detailed descriptions usually by a doctor or group of doctors identifying diseases that are unusual/interesting; may be related to unusual exposure. Analytical studies: evaluate the association between an exposure or. Characteristic and the development of a particular disease. Ecological studies: compare the prevalence of exposures and disease occurrence in populations. Observations collected/displayed at the group level may not apply at the individual level. Cross-sectional studies: study group chosen to be a representative of a subgroup of society/cross-section of the population.