Study Designs in Epidemiology
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Study Designs in Epidemiology
This course is part of Epidemiology for Public Health Specialization
Instructor: Filippos Filippidis
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What you'll learn
Compare and contrast different epidemiological study designs in order to describe their strengths and weaknesses.
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There are 4 modules in this course
Choosing an appropriate study design is a critical decision that can largely determine whether your study will successfully answer your research question. A quick look at the contents page of a biomedical journal or even at the health news section of a news website is enough to tell you that there are many different ways to conduct epidemiological research.
In this course, you will learn about the main epidemiological study designs, including cross-sectional and ecological studies, case-control and cohort studies, as well as the more complex nested case-control and case-cohort designs. The final module is dedicated to randomised controlled trials, which is often considered the optimal study design, especially in clinical research. You will also develop the skills to identify strengths and limitations of the various study designs. By the end of this course, you will be able to choose the most suitable study design considering the research question, the available time, and resources.
The range of different study designs can be quite confusing. However, to help you navigate the maze of study designs, we can split them into groups which share common characteristics. In this module, you will be introduced to these common characteristics, and you will learn the main principles of ecological and cross-sectional studies, as well as when it is appropriate to use them. By the end of the module, you will be able to identify and critically consider the advantages and disadvantages of these study designs.
What's included
4 videos7 readings1 assignment3 discussion prompts1 plugin
4 videos•Total 15 minutes
- Introduction to Epidemiological Study Designs•2 minutes
- Epidemiological Studies•5 minutes
- Ecological Studies•5 minutes
- Cross-sectional Studies•3 minutes
7 readings•Total 52 minutes
- About Imperial College & the team•5 minutes
- How to be successful in this course•5 minutes
- Grading policy•5 minutes
- Glossary & Additional readings •20 minutes
- Case-reports and Case-series•5 minutes
- Primary and Secondary Data•10 minutes
- Quiz Instructions•2 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Ecological and Cross-sectional Studies•30 minutes
3 discussion prompts•Total 55 minutes
- Nice to meet you!•10 minutes
- Identify the Study Design•25 minutes
- Identify Sources of Secondary Data in a Topic or Country/Region of Interest•20 minutes
1 plugin•Total 15 minutes
- Complete our short pre-course survey•15 minutes
This module focuses on case-control studies, which is one of the best known epidemiological study designs. Case-control studies are particularly useful when you don’t have the luxury of waiting for a long follow-up period to conclude. In this module, you will learn the key elements of case-control study design, and you will learn how to estimate the appropriate measure of association when presented with data from a case-control study.
What's included
3 videos3 readings1 assignment
3 videos•Total 14 minutes
- Case-control Studies: An Overview•4 minutes
- Measures of Association in Case-control Studies•6 minutes
- Calculating Odds Ratios•5 minutes
3 readings•Total 22 minutes
- Selecting Controls in Case-control Studies•10 minutes
- Recap: Case-control Studies•10 minutes
- Quiz Instructions•2 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Case-control Studies•30 minutes
Cohorts were ancient Roman military units, but in modern epidemiology the word “cohort” is used to describe a group with a shared characteristic. In cohort studies, we follow groups of people over time, we collect data on their exposure and outcome, and try to estimate whether there is an association between the group-defining characteristic and the outcome of interest. In this module, you will learn how to design such a study, the kind of problems which may arise and how it compares with case-control studies. You will also learn about nested case-control and case-cohort studies, which allow us to harness the advantages of cohort studies in more efficient ways. By the end of the module, you will be able to choose the best study design in a variety of contexts.
What's included
5 videos5 readings2 assignments1 discussion prompt
5 videos•Total 20 minutes
- Cohort Studies: An Overview•5 minutes
- Measures of Association in Cohort Studies•4 minutes
- Calculating Relative Risks•3 minutes
- Nested Case-control Study•4 minutes
- Case-cohort Study Design•3 minutes
5 readings•Total 39 minutes
- Recap: Cohort Studies•10 minutes
- Strengths and Weaknesses of Cohort and Case-control Studies•15 minutes
- Quiz Instructions•2 minutes
- Strengths and Weaknesses of Nested Case-control and Case-cohort Studies•10 minutes
- Quiz Instructions•2 minutes
2 assignments•Total 40 minutes
- Cohort Studies•20 minutes
- Nested Case-control and Case-cohort Studies•20 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 30 minutes
- Case-control and Cohort studies•30 minutes
Randomised controlled trials are often seen as the gold standard of epidemiological research, especially in clinical settings, and in this module you will learn why. You will learn the main design features of randomised clinical trials, why they are so important, and the difficulties and limitations in applying these principles in real life. By the end of this module, you will know how to design a randomised clinical trial and how to decide which is the best analytical approach for the data you have obtained.
What's included
4 videos8 readings2 assignments1 plugin
4 videos•Total 21 minutes
- Randomised Controlled Trials: An Overview•7 minutes
- The Randomisation Process•7 minutes
- Blinding in Randomised Controlled Trials•6 minutes
- Course Summary•1 minute
8 readings•Total 74 minutes
- Types of randomisation•15 minutes
- Phases of clinical trials•15 minutes
- Designs of RCTs•10 minutes
- Data Analysis in RCTs•10 minutes
- Strengths and Weaknesses of Randomised Controlled Trials•10 minutes
- Quiz Instructions•2 minutes
- Overview of Study Designs•10 minutes
- Quiz Instructions•2 minutes
2 assignments•Total 40 minutes
- Randomised Controlled Trials•20 minutes
- Comparing Study Designs•20 minutes
1 plugin•Total 15 minutes
- Complete our short post-course survey•15 minutes
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Universiteit Leiden
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Imperial College London
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Reviewed on Jun 21, 2020
Excellent course for those who want to gain basic knowledge of epidemiologic study designs (clinical trials, randomized control trials, etc).
Reviewed on Apr 11, 2020
Truly amazing experience ... i refer this course to the beginners in Epidemiology (PH) .. all study designs have been elobarately explained but in a very simplistic and understandable manner.
Reviewed on Jul 23, 2023
It is better to read the questions with optimal speed and answer relatively correct.
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