3. Types of epidemiological studies

3.2 Analytic studies

Differents types of analytic studies

There are 2 types of analytic studies:

  • 3.2.1 Observational studies, such as:

    • Case-control studies (a)

    • Cohort studies (b)

  • 3.2.2 Intervention studies, such as:

    • Quasi-experimental studies (a)

    • Experimental studies (b)

The main difference between these two types of studies concerns the role of the investigator who can either:

  • Actively participate (= intervention) in, for example, a clinical trial, or

  • Passively participate (= natural observation of the course of events)