Section outline

  • Lecture: Course Introduction; Study Design
    Distinction between designs where the unit of observation is a group of individuals vs. the individual; ecologic fallacy; types of studies with observations on the individual; cohort study as gold standard of observational designs; concept of study base linking cohort, cross-sectional and case-control designs; and design of observational research to emulate a target randomized trial.

    Faculty:  Jeffrey Martin and Ann Schwartz

    Location:  Mission Hall 1400

    • Prospectus:

    • Course Introduction EPI 203 2015 File
    • Course Introduction video URL

    • Session Slides:

    • Study Design 2015 File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Watch URL

    • Required Reading:

    •  S & N: Ch. 1, p. 3 – 32.
    • Wachholder, S. Selection of controls in case-control studies. Am J Epidemiol 135:1019 – 1028, 1992. Focus on “Study Base Principle” p. 1021 - 1024. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Optional Reading:

    • Vandenbroucke JP. Prospective vs retrospective: What's in a name? BMJ 302: 249-250, 1991 File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Vandenbroucke JP and Pearce N. Case control studies: Basic Concepts. International Journal of Epidemiology 41: 1480-1489, 2012 File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Hernan MA and Robins JM. Using big data to emulate a randomized trial. American Journal of Epidemiology, In press. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Assignment:  Problem Set 1

    • Problem Set 1 Study Design 2015 File

    • Assignment Due Date:  September 22, 2015 at the beginning of Small Group Section

    • Assignment Answer Key (Access restricted to registered students):