Study Designs

A
Presentation
Types of Study designs
• Non Intervention Studies
Descriptive studies
Comparative (analytical) studies
Exploratory studies
• Intervention Studies
The two categories of intervention studies
are:
Experimental studies
Quasi-experimental studies.
Current
Classification
E P I D E M I O L O G I C A L S

D E S C R I P T I V E A N A L Y T I C A L

1 . C a s e R e p O o B r tS E R V A T I EO X N P A E L R I M

2 . C a s e S e r i e s
C A S E C O N T 1 R . O S Li n g l e
3 . C o r r e l a t i o n / E c o l o g i c a l

C O H O R T 2 . D o u b l
4 . C r o s s S e c t i o n a l / P r e v a l e n c e

3 . T r i p l e
Descriptive Studies
Descriptive studies involve the
systematic collection and
presentation of data to give a
clear picture of a particular
situation and can be carried out
on a small or large scale.
• Case studies
• Case series
Comparative or Analytical
Studies
• An ANALYTICAL STUDY attempts to
establish causes or risk factors for
certain problems. This is done by
comparing two or more groups,
some of which have or develop the
problem and some of which have
not.
 Cross-sectional
Comparative studies
• Many cross-sectional surveys focus on
comparing as well as describing groups.

• For example, a survey on malnutrition may

wish to establish:
 The percentage of malnourished
children in a certain population
 Socioeconomic,physical,political
variables that influence the
availability of food
 Cross Sectional
Surveys
Quantify the distribution of certain variables in a
study population at a point of time. They may
cover, for example:
• Physical characteristics of people, materials, or the
environment,etc
• The behavior of people and the knowledge, attitudes,
beliefs, and opinions that may help to explain that
behaviour (KAP studies), or events that occurred in
the population.
• Cross-sectional surveys cover a sample of the
population. If a cross-sectional study covers the total
population it is called a census.
Case Control Studies
• In a CASE-CONTROL STUDY, the
investigator compares one group
among whom a problem is (e.g.,
malnutrition) with another
group, called a control or
comparison group, where the
problem is absent to find out
what factors have contributed to
the problem.
 Odds Ratio (OR)
• Measure of the strength of the
association between risk factor and
outcome.
• The derivation of the Odds Ratio is
based on three assumptions:
- The disease being investigated must be
relatively rare.
- The cases must be representative of
those with the disease
- The controls must be representative of
those without disease
Cohort Studies
• In a COHORT STUDY, a group of individuals that
is exposed to a risk factor (study group) is
compared with a group of individuals not
exposed to the risk factor (control group).
• The researcher follows both groups over time and
compares the occurrence of the problem that he or she
expects to be related to the risk factor in the two groups
to determine whether a greater proportion of those with
the risk factor are indeed affected.
Relative Ratio (RR)
• Ratio of incidence of the disease (or
death)among exposed and the
incidence among non-exposed.

• It is a direct measure (or index) of

the “strength” of the association
between suspected cause and effect
 Exploratory Studies
• An Exploratory study is a small-scale
study of relatively short duration,
which is carried out when little else
is known about a situation or a
problem.
Intervention
Studies
• In intervention studies, the researcher
manipulates a situation and measures
the effects of the manipulation. Usually
(but not always) two groups are
compared, one in which the intervention
takes place (e.g.. treatment with a
certain drug) and another group that
remains "untouched" (e.g., treatment
with a placebo) .
 Experimental Studies
• Experimental design is the only type of
study design that can actually prove
causation.
• In an EXPERIMENTAL STUDY, individuals are
randomly allocated to at least two groups.
One group is subjected to an intervention or
experiment, while the other group(s) is not.
• The outcome of the intervention - effect of the
intervention on the dependent
(variable/problem) is obtained by
comparing the two groups.
 Classical Experimental
Study Design
The classical experimental study
design has three
characteristics:

• Manipulation
• Control
• Randomization
 Quasi – Experimental
Studies
• In a QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY,
at least one characteristic of a true
experiment is missing.
• One of the most common quasi-
experimental designs uses two (or more)
groups, one of, which serves a control
group in which no intervention takes
place.
• Both groups are observed before as well
as after the intervention, to test if the
intervention has made any difference.