Research Design

Dr. Shabbir Khan

MBA, PGDT&D,BGL, CFET,PGDIT, CDM, CCM, BEd, Med, MPhil, PhD

Meaning of research design

The arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure

Need for research design

Smooth sailing of various research operations Yielding maximal information Minimal expenditure of effort, time & money Plan for house Advance planning of methods to be adopted for collecting relevant data and techniques to be used in analysis Efficient and appropriate design must be Prepared before starting research operation OR futile Organize ideas in a form Possible to look for flaws & inadequacies Need for providing comprehensive review

Features of good research design

Flexible Appropriate Efficient Economical Minimises bias Maximises the reliability of collected data and analysed

A research design should consider, Means of obtaining information Objective of the problem to be studied Nature of the problem to be studied Availability of time and money Emphasis on discovery of ideas and insights Hypothesis if casual relationship b/w variables

Cohort

Different research designs

Study designs

Observational

Experimental

Descriptive

Analytical

RCT

Non-RCT

Case report

Case series

Crosssectional study

Case control study

Cohort

Case report
Studies describing the characteristics of a single patient

Case report-merits
Record unusual medical occurrences and can Give the
first clues in identification of a new disease or adverse effects of an exposure

Only means of surveillance for rare clinical events

Serve to elucidate the mechanism of disease and

treatment

Case report-Demerits
Cannot be used to test for the presence of valid statistical association because it is based on the experience of one person

Case Series
Studies describing the characteristics of a group of patients with similar diagnosis Collection of 5 & more cases

Case series-merits

Helps in formulating a useful hypothesis

regarding risk factors of disease or identifying

a new disease or outcome of new treatment Informative for very rare disease with few established risk factors May suggest the emergence of a new disease

or epidemic

Case series-De merits

Cannot be used to test for the presence of valid statistical association due to absence of a comparison group

Cross-sectional studies
Single examination of a cross section of population at one point of time Helps to generate a hypothesis Used to investigate non fatal diseases Both exposure and outcome (disease) are determined simultaneously for each subject Provide information about the frequencey or characteristic of disease

Cross-sectional studies-Merits
Provide information about the frequency of an
attribute and potential risk factors

Helps to generate a hypothesis

Can give a good picture about the health care needs of

the population at the point of time

Can be used to investigate multiple exposure and multiple outcome Suitable for chronic cases

Cross-sectional studies-Demerits
Difficult to establish the time of sequence of events They are not suitable to investigate rare diseases, rare exposure or disease of short duration Being based on prevalent rather than incident cases Limited value to investigate etiological relationship

Case control study

Type of analytical study By observation and analysis Retrospective evaluation to determine who was exposed and who was not exposed retrospective study To examine the possible relation of an exposure to certain disease - Identify the individual having the disease case

Individual dont have the disease comparison purpose

individuals with
disease TIME
Direction of enquiry

Absent disease

individuals w/o

Cohort study
Forward looking study Prospective study Incidence study Longitudinal study There is regular follow up over a period of time Factor (s) Individuals exposed TIME
Direction of enquiry

Present Absent

individuals unexposed

Cohort study
1. 2. 3. 4. Elements of a cohort study, Selection of study subjects Obtaining data on exposure Selection of comparison group Follow-up

Incidence can be calculated Examines multiple effects of a single exposure Provides direct estimate of relative risk Minimizes bias Dose-response ratios can be calculated Elucidates temporal relationship b/w exposure & disease

Inefficient for rare diseases Expensive and time consuming Involves large sample size Alters people behaviour Changes in standard methods or diagnostic criteria of disease over prolonged follow-up