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.
Ce cours fait partie de la Spécialisation Epidemiology for Public Health
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À propos de ce cours
A background in health sciences or/and quantitative methods would be useful, but not essential.
Ce que vous allez apprendre
Compare and contrast different epidemiological study designs in order to describe their strengths and weaknesses.
Compétences que vous acquerrez
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Case-Control Study
- Study designs
- Cohort
A background in health sciences or/and quantitative methods would be useful, but not essential.
Offert par

Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a world top ten university with an international reputation for excellence in science, engineering, medicine and business. located in the heart of London. Imperial is a multidisciplinary space for education, research, translation and commercialisation, harnessing science and innovation to tackle global challenges.
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Programme de cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours
Introduction to Study Designs: Ecological and Cross-Sectional Studies
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.
Case Control Studies
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.
Cohort Studies and Nested Studies
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.
Randomised Controlled Trials
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.
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- 5 stars82,66 %
- 4 stars15,53 %
- 3 stars1,79 %
Meilleurs avis pour STUDY DESIGNS IN EPIDEMIOLOGY
Awesome lecture. Very clear and the quizzes can really measure how much you learned. I loved it!
I think I'm in love... with Epidemiology. With each subsequent course, my thirst to understand epidemiology deepens. Thank you for this opportunity
An excellent course. Tough materials are presented with easy to understand examples
this course is very useful to students, explanation is good
À propos du Spécialisation Epidemiology for Public Health
Thousands of new epidemiological studies are conducted every year and their results can have a profound impact on how we live our lives. Decisions regarding the food you eat, how much you exercise, where you live and what treatment you will follow if you get sick are made based on data from such studies. This specialization aims to equip you with the skills that will allow you to correctly interpret epidemiological research, consider its limitations, and design your own studies.

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