Pub Date : 2018-10-01DOI: 10.1093/med/9780198814726.003.0020
A. Silman, G. Macfarlane, T. Macfarlane
Epidemiological studies can only show associations they cannot prove that a link is causative. Even in the bias free study with minimal confounding, a strong association does not mean that, for example, the presence of the risk factor has a direct biological link to the disease in question. There are several tests that can be used to increase the confidence that an association has biological meaning and needs to be considered. It is interesting always to differentiate factors that are on the ‘path’ to disease but not the underlying cause. The appropriateness of all these steps is dependent on the validity of the association.
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Pub Date : 2018-06-01DOI: 10.1093/MED/9780198814726.003.0014
A. Silman, G. Macfarlane, T. Macfarlane
Designing a study ‘on paper’ is no guarantee it will work; for example, individuals agree to be recruited or the method of data acquisition is acceptable and provides the data in the format and quality required. For this reason it is, especially when planning large/expensive studies, to test the feasibility of the different components in separate small-scale studies. Alternatively, or in addition it may be useful to do a pilot study, which reproduces the planned methods for the proposed full study, to test ‘the whole system’. A successful pilot study enhances the likelihood of grant success; indeed, grant-awarding bodies will often expect to see evidence that they have been conducted.
{"title":"Feasibility and pilot studies","authors":"A. Silman, G. Macfarlane, T. Macfarlane","doi":"10.1093/MED/9780198814726.003.0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/MED/9780198814726.003.0014","url":null,"abstract":"Designing a study ‘on paper’ is no guarantee it will work; for example, individuals agree to be recruited or the method of data acquisition is acceptable and provides the data in the format and quality required. For this reason it is, especially when planning large/expensive studies, to test the feasibility of the different components in separate small-scale studies. Alternatively, or in addition it may be useful to do a pilot study, which reproduces the planned methods for the proposed full study, to test ‘the whole system’. A successful pilot study enhances the likelihood of grant success; indeed, grant-awarding bodies will often expect to see evidence that they have been conducted.","PeriodicalId":186966,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiological Studies: A Practical Guide","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122594918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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