Back to Study Designs in Epidemiology
Imperial College London

Study Designs in Epidemiology

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. In this course, you will learn about the main epidemiological study designs, including cross-sectional and ecological studies, case-control and cohort studies, as well as the more complex nested case-control and case-cohort designs. The final module is dedicated to randomised controlled trials, which is often considered the optimal study design, especially in clinical research. You will also develop the skills to identify strengths and limitations of the various study designs. By the end of this course, you will be able to choose the most suitable study design considering the research question, the available time, and resources.

Status: Epidemiology
Status: Research Design
IntermediateCourse9 hours

Featured reviews

TG

5.0Reviewed Jun 22, 2020

Excellent course for those who want to gain basic knowledge of epidemiologic study designs (clinical trials, randomized control trials, etc).

RI

5.0Reviewed Dec 15, 2020

Great introduction to the different study designs in epidemiology. Really strengthened my understanding of public health interventions and measurements.

ET

5.0Reviewed Jul 24, 2023

It is better to read the questions with optimal speed and answer relatively correct.

NC

5.0Reviewed Jul 20, 2020

Highly recommended! Now I know what researchers mean while reading papers on public health!

DV

5.0Reviewed Jan 5, 2025

Great course and good amount of videos and reading and the quiz was great!

M

5.0Reviewed May 9, 2020

I absolutely love this course. It's engaging and the facilitators are amazing. I have learned a lot from this course. It has deepened my interest in epidemiology. I will recommend it to anyone.

DR

5.0Reviewed Aug 26, 2020

An excellent course. Tough materials are presented with easy to understand examples

AF

5.0Reviewed Nov 27, 2019

This is absolutely a comprehensive course that elevates one's knowledge in Epidemiology.

SJ

5.0Reviewed Apr 12, 2020

Truly amazing experience ... i refer this course to the beginners in Epidemiology (PH) .. all study designs have been elobarately explained but in a very simplistic and understandable manner.

MW

5.0Reviewed Jan 17, 2022

Great synopsis of study designs. Excellent lectures & the readings and quizzes are thoughtful and contribute to learning.

KD

5.0Reviewed Nov 2, 2020

I can not thank enough the lecturer for his superb explanation of this concepts. I want to pursue on research feild and this was enlightening and inspiring.

RP

5.0Reviewed Jan 17, 2021

Very useful and straightforward course for whoever wants to understand and going further compare the different types of study designs.

All reviews

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