Design, applications, strengths and weaknesses of cross. Although it benefits from a massive simultaneous collection effort of data points within a specific population, there are shortterm incidents and recall bias issues that can affect results. Cross sectional studies cross sectional studies measure simultaneously the exposure and health outcome in a given population and in a given geographical area at a certain time. In crosssectional designs, researchers record information but do not manipulate variables. A crosssectional study is also known as prevalence study. A crosssectional study design is a design that is carried out at one point of time. A crosssectional study is conducted at a given point in time. Crosssectional studies are quick to conduct as compared to longitudinal studies.
Module 3 handout 112 major types of research designs. Crosssectional study is defined as a observational research type that analyzes data of variables collected at one given point of time across a population or a predefined subset. What are the advantages of using panel data over cross. The prodominant study designs can be categorised into observational and interventional studies. A cross sectional study, a type of descriptive, observational study, involves measuring different variables in the population of interest at a single point in time. Crosssectional surveys may be repeated periodically. A crosssectional survey collects data to make inferences about a population of interest universe at one point in time.
Longitudinal studies may vary from a few years to even decades. By observational, we mean that the survey makers are not interfering with the subjects or survey respondents. Crosssectional studies are intuitively clear and allow for the examination of a large number of variables. Crosssectional study design is a type of observational study design. A common example of crosssectional design is a census study in which a population is surveyed at one point in time in order to describe characteristics of that population including age, sex, and geographic location, among other characteristics. As there is no follow up, less resources are required to run the study.
Crosssectional study objective to estimate the magnitude and patterns of. Descriptive and analytic studies crosssectional study measures. As crosssectional studies dont take long to complete, and dont require any followup actions they can be very costeffective. Observational studies, such as crosssectional, case control and cohort studies, do not actively allocate participants to receive a particular exposure, whilt. Crosssectional surveys have been described as snapshots of the populations about which they gather data. Furthermore, a crosssectional design is a method that was. Crosssectional study vs longitudinal study questionpro. The longitudinal study uses time as the main variable, and tries to make an in depth study of how a small sample changes and fluctuates over time a cross sectional study, on the other hand, takes a snapshot of a population at a certain time, allowing conclusions about phenomena across a wide population to be drawn an example of a crosssectional study would be a medical study looking at. Crosssectional studies are often used in developmental psychology, but this method is also utilized in many other areas including social science and.
Here, i describe cross sectional studies, their uses, advantages. The participants in this type of study are selected based on particular variables of interest. The most important advantage of cross sectional studies is that in general they are quick and cheap. Crosssectional studies or surveys are observational studies that provide a snapshot of an exposure or disease at a particular point in time. It also mostly examines the prevalence of the studied variables affecting the chosen cohorts without acknowledging previous data. Cohort, cross sectional, and casecontrol studies are collectively referred to as observational studies. The first approach is typical of a crosssectional study. Crosssectional study captures a population in a single point in time and can help to remove assumptions. Contents history and classification difference between descriptive and analytical attributes advantages and disadvantages case scenario guidelines 2. In this lesson, you will learn about the features of this tool, consider advantages and. A longitudinal study requires a researcher to revisit participants of the study at proper.
The most important distinction between longitudinal and crosssectional studies, for our purposes, is the. An overview fernando rajulton population studies centre university of western ontario london, ontario, canada abstract this paper outlines briefly the historical development of ideas related to longitudinal studies and their. Panel data usually contain more degrees of freedom and more sample variability than crosssectional data which may be viewed as a panel with t 1, or time series data which is a panel with n 1, hence improving the. This allows the researcher to assess the prevalence of a disease or of other variables of interest. The advantage of cross sectional studies is that they are simple, quick, and very affordable to conduct. In this series, i previously gave an overview of the main types of study design and the techniques used to minimise biased results.
Data on the primary outcome and psychosocial exposures were. Crosssectional design aims to do the same thing, but rather than take a single group of the same ages and repeatedly test them as they grow older, this design takes a group of individual of different ages of developmental stages, and compare how the specific behavior is different from one age group to another. Here, i describe crosssectional studies, their uses, advantages. In a crosssectional study, the investigator measures the outcome and the exposures in the study participants at the same time. Often described as a snapshot of a population in a certain point in time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of cross. However, such surveys collect data from a large number of subjects dispersed across a large geographical area. The setting was a primary health centre catchment area in goa, india. As a disadvantage, the results of cross sectional studies may be difficult to assess where. We are currently in the process of updating this chapter and we appreciate your patience whilst this is being completed. A longitudinal study occurs over many touch points across an extended period of time. A cross sectional study design was used to investigate the extent of chronic fatigue and the associated psychosocial exposures in a developing country. This article will help you learn more about crosssectional study with examples, how to.
What makes this disadvantageous is that it studies variables only on a single, short period. In a cross sectional study, the investigator measures the outcome and the exposures in the study participants at the same time. In fact, 18 of the checklist items are common to all three types of observational studies, and 4 items are specific to each of the 3 specific study designs. Preethi md community medicine yenepoya medical college 1 4142015 2. Therefore, using a regression suited to panel data has the advantage of distinguishing between fixed and random effects. Crosssectional studies can be done across all industries, but. This simultaneous data gathering is often thought of as a snapshot of conditions present at that instant. Crosssectional studies advantages often early study design in a line of investigation good for hypothesis generation relatively easy, quick and inexpensivedepends on question examine multiple exposures or outcomes estimate prevalence of disease and exposures. Crosssectional studies provide a clear snapshot of the outcome and the characteristics associated with it, at a specific point in time. Unlike in casecontrol studies participants selected based on the outcome status or cohort studies. As a researcher, one can face the dilemma of choosing between many different types of research or studies designs, to determine which one will be the more suitable for the kind of topic we are investigating. Pdf strengths and weaknesses of case control and cross. A crosssectional study is a tool used by researchers to gather data consisting of multiple variables at a specific point in time.
Advantages and disadvantages of crosssectional studies. Studies that involve individuals are the case report, the caseseries report, crosssectional studies, and surveillance, whereas ecological correlational studies examine populations. Types of descriptive studies descriptive studies consist of two major groups. The advantages and disadvantages of cross sectional studies should be carefully considered when determining which study type to pursue. Data on the primary outcome and psychosocial exposures.
To make our choice, we need to know more about the benefits and purpose of each study type. In reading public health research, you may encounter many terms that appear to be used interchangeably. Appreciate the range of epidemiological study designs for which imr methods might be applied understand the advantages and disadvantages of using internetmediated approaches to crosssectional studies in mental health research gain confidence in designing internetmediated crosssectional studies so as to minimise. Crosssectional studies are quick, easy and relatively cheap to perform and are often based on a questionnaire survey sedgwick, 2014. There are some advantages and disadvantages to using crosssectional analysis. Crosssectional survey design sage research methods. This statement is applicable to cohort studies, casecontrol studies, and crosssectional studies. The primary outcome was reporting of fatigue for at least six months.
Unlike an experimental design, where there is an active intervention by the researcher to produce and measure change or to. Advantages and disadvantages of crosssectional analysis. Cross sectional study design is a type of observational study design. Crosssectional studies collect all data at a set point in time. A research design is a set of logical procedures that when followed enables one to obtain evidence to determine the degree to which a theoretical hypothesis or set of hypotheses isare correct.
Panel data is a combination of crosssectional and time series data. The use of internetmediated crosssectional studies in. Both the crosssectional and the longitudinal studies are observational studies. A crosssectional study involves looking at data from a population at one specific point in time. Cross sectional study an overview sciencedirect topics. In a crosssectional study, prevalence equals the number of cases in a population at a given point of time where data is collected on both outcome and exposure status of the individuals under study. Like all research methods, crosssectional studies have both advantages and disadvantages. Its most important application lies in the field of epidemiology and.