Presentation Description / Summary: Veterinary clinical research design is vital to evidence-based medicine but it can be murkier than necessary, particularly due to our heavy reliance on retrospective observational studies using clinical records. This session is designed to help clinicians quickly decode the study design used in a research article and to assess the robustness of results from different types of studies. These skills are also helpful for residents undertaking their own clinical research project.
Learner Outcomes:
Identify whether a study was experimental or observational
Learn the characteristics of different observational study designs (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, case series) and what sort of research questions each type of study design can (or can’t) answer
Identify the design used in a research study and determine whether it can adequately answer the stated research question and its susceptibility to bias and/or confounding
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to identify whether a clinical study was experimental or observational in its design.
Upon completion, participants will be able to identify the characteristics of different observational study designs (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, case series) and what sort of research questions each type of study design can (or can’t) answer. Participants will be able to identify potential sources of bias and/or confounding inherent in different observational study types.
Upon completion, participants will be able to identify what type of of study was actually done and whether it can adequately answer the stated research question (as a testable hypothesis).
