Cross-sectional study design is a type of observational study design. In a cross-sectional study,
the investigator measures the outcome and the exposures in the study participants at the same time
. … We can estimate the prevalence of disease in cross-sectional studies.
What is an example of cross-sectional study?
Another example of a cross-sectional study would be
a medical study examining the prevalence of cancer amongst a defined population
. The researcher can evaluate people of different ages, ethnicities, geographical locations, and social backgrounds.
Is cross sectional observational?
Cross-sectional studies are
observational in nature
and are known as descriptive research, not causal or relational, meaning that you can’t use them to determine the cause of something, such as a disease. Researchers record the information that is present in a population, but they do not manipulate variables.
Is a cross sectional observational study qualitative?
Although the majority of cross-sectional studies is quantitative, cross-sectional designs
can be also be qualitative or mixed-method in their design
.
What level of evidence is a cross sectional observational study?
Cross sectional study designs and case series form
the lowest level of the aetiology hierarchy
. In the cross sectional design, data concerning each subject is often recorded at one point in time.
What is a disadvantage of a cross-sectional study?
Disadvantages of Cross-Sectional Study
Cannot be used to analyze behavior over a period to time
.
Does not help determine cause and effect
.
The timing of the snapshot is not guaranteed to be representative
.
Findings can be flawed or skewed
if there is a conflict of interest with the funding source.
What are the 3 types of observational study?
Three types of observational studies include
cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional studies
(Figure 1).
Why is cross-sectional study good?
Cross-sectional studies are
used to assess the burden of disease or health needs of a population
and are particularly useful in informing the planning and allocation of health resources. A cross-sectional survey may be purely descriptive and used to assess the burden of a particular disease in a defined population.
Why do a cross-sectional study?
The benefit of a cross-sectional study design is that
it allows researchers to compare many different variables at the same time
. We could, for example, look at age, gender, income and educational level in relation to walking and cholesterol levels, with little or no additional cost.
What are the strengths of a cross-sectional study?
The main strength of cross-sectional studies is that
they are relatively quick and inexpensive to conduct
. They are the best way to determine the prevalence and can study the associations of multiple exposures and outcomes.
What is an example of observational study?
Examples of Observational Studies
Consider someone on the busy street of a New York neighborhood asking random people that pass by how many pets they have
, then taking this data and using it to decide if there should be more pet food stores in that area.
How many participants should be in a cross-sectional study?
Within a cross-sectional study a sample size of
at least 60 participants
is recommended, although this will depend on suitability to the research question and the variables being measured.
What kind of study is an observational study?
A
type of study in which individuals are observed or certain outcomes are measured
. No attempt is made to affect the outcome (for example, no treatment is given).
What are the 5 levels of evidence?
- Level I. Experimental study, randomized controlled trial (RCT) …
- Level II. Quasi-experimental Study. …
- Level III. Non-experimental study. …
- Level IV. Opinion of respected authorities and/or nationally recognized expert committees/consensus panels based on scientific evidence. …
- Level V.
What is the difference between a cross-sectional study and a cohort study?
Cross sectional studies are used primarily to
determine the prevalence of a problem
whereas cohort studies involve the study of the population that is both exposed and non-exposed to the cause of disease development agents.
What is the lowest level of evidence?
Both systems place randomized controlled trials (RCT) at the highest level and
case series or expert opinions
at the lowest level. The hierarchies rank studies according to the probability of bias. RCTs are given the highest level because they are designed to be unbiased and have less risk of systematic errors.
