Review Question - QID 216545

This researcher who wants to gather information and generate ideas for further hypothesis testing should perform a cross-sectional study because it is the least time-intensive and most undirected method of finding associations between many variables.

A cross-sectional study assesses exposure (any potential risk factors) and outcome (development of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis) at the same time. The advantage of these studies is that they can be performed at a single point in time rather than requiring longitudinal follow-up. In addition, it is easy to assess a large number of variables at the same time since they can be collected together. The major disadvantage of a cross-sectional study is that it is only able to assess association but cannot make any claims about causality. Therefore, cross-sectional studies should primarily be used to gather information about a disease and generate hypotheses for further testing.

Incorrect Answers:
Answer 1: Case-control study is when a group of patients with a disease (cases) are compared with similar patients who do not have the disease (controls). This study type should not be used for this question because the controls are matched on potentially confounding factors. This type of study requires the researcher to already have an idea of what variables may be confounders (e.g., age, sex, race, etc.) and is not best suited for hypothesis generation.

Answer 2: Case series analysis is when characteristics of patients with a particular disease are summarized using descriptive statistics. This is an important study type in better describing the manifestations of a potential disease. This is valuable when describing a novel disease, but it is not able to gather information about potentially associated variables that may influence disease development.

Answer 4: Randomized controlled trial is when patients are randomly allocated to a treatment arm or a control arm and the results of the two groups are compared. This is the gold standard for definitively determining whether an intervention affects patient outcomes. This type of study design requires a significant investment of time and resources and is best performed as the last step in confirming or disproving a hypothesis.

Answer 5: Retrospective cohort study is when a group of patients with a particular exposure or intervention is compared with a group that did not have that exposure or intervention. This is a very efficient method of testing a hypothesis because it is based on data that is already available rather than requiring prospective collection or validation of data. It is best suited for testing an existing hypothesis rather than a broad generation of ideas.

Bullet Summary:
Cross-sectional studies should be used to gather information and generate hypotheses about a disease.