Research & Evidence-Based Medicine

20 learning units • 100 chapter sections • 200 explained questions. Build a question, judge the evidence and connect the answer with the person receiving care.

Original RAHBAR study material for the Year 3 learning pathway. Educational examples support supervised learning; institutional research and clinical requirements still apply. References & further reading ↓

MODULE 03 / 20

Study Designs & Research Questions

Recognise how the way participants are selected and followed determines which questions a study can answer.

Choose an answer and check it immediately. Change your choice to try again. This is a self-study exercise; results are not saved.

Question 01. Which design most directly estimates current disease prevalence? A. A case reportB. A conventional case-control studyC. A representative cross-sectional surveyD. A laboratory experiment without patients

Question 02. Researchers select patients with cancer and controls without it, then compare exposures. Which design is this? A. Randomised trialB. Prospective cohort by exposureC. Case seriesD. Case-control

Question 03. A study follows exposed and unexposed workers for new illness. Which design is this? A. Case reportB. Case-control sampled by illnessC. CohortD. Purely ecological comparison

Question 04. What distinguishes a randomised trial from an observational treatment comparison? A. Chance-based intervention assignmentB. A large sample aloneC. Use of a questionnaireD. Publication in a clinical journal

Question 05. Which is a major limitation of a case series for estimating treatment benefit? A. It necessarily contains no clinical informationB. It always uses random assignmentC. Absence of a suitable comparison groupD. It always has complete follow-up

Question 06. A database study reconstructs outcomes in groups defined by previous exposure. What can it be? A. Necessarily a case-control studyB. A retrospective cohortC. Necessarily a randomised trialD. Necessarily a systematic review

Question 07. Why is temporality often uncertain in a cross-sectional association? A. Exposure and outcome are measured togetherB. The sample is always randomisedC. Follow-up is always ten yearsD. The outcome is never measured

Question 08. Which question particularly suits qualitative interviews? A. What is the exact incidence per person-year?B. What is the pooled risk ratio?C. What is the assay sensitivity against a reference standard?D. How do patients experience barriers to attendance?

Question 09. What threatens a before-and-after intervention study without a control? A. Perfect allocation concealmentB. Random sampling eliminating trendsC. Guaranteed stability of background careD. Other changes occurring over time

Question 10. Why might observational surveillance complement an efficacy trial? A. It can detect uncommon harms in broader populationsB. It automatically eliminates confoundingC. It makes trial results irrelevantD. It guarantees causal proof from every association

0 / 10 answeredReady for assessment →

References & Further Reading

Use the full methods and relevant chapters when appraising a paper. These sources support further study; the examples and questions above are original teaching exercises.

Reference review: 25 September 2026. Consult current institutional guidance for project approval and clinical decisions.