BIO550 Epidemiology
Week 4 Epidemiologic Study Design Quiz
To show causality, researchers must use a/an ______________ study design.
 Experimental
 Observational
 Cohort
 Case-control
 Cross-sectional
2The Texas Men’s Health Study enrolled 38,649 men in 1999 and collected exposure and lifestyle information to assess the relationship between these factors and subsequent occurrence of heart disease, is an example of which type of study?
 Experimental study
 Observational study
 Cohort study
 Case study
 Cross-sectional study
3Clinical trials occur under very specialized, controlled conditions that do not represent everyday life. Generalizing the results obtained in this environment to populations not engaged in the research is a concern for this type of study.
 True   False
4Suppose you want to know the effects of cocaine use by pregnant women on their babies. What would be the most appropriate method for studying this?
 Experimental
 Observational
 Cohort
 Case-control
 Cross-sectional
5What study design is very useful for rare diseases that require many years to develop and many people to observe?
 Experimental
 Observational
 Cohort
 Case-control
 Cross-sectional
6Surveys are not very good at capturing practices and health conditions of populations.
 True   False
7A study design that involves measuring the same participants over some period of time is a_________ study.
 Cross-sectional
 Quasi-developmental
 Experimental
 Cohort
 Case-control
8Compared to cohort studies, case-control studies are __________ and _________ to do.
 Hard/fast
 Well-organized/difficult
 Conceptual/hard
 Fast/cheap
9A study in which adults are randomly assigned to receive either a newly formulated heart medication or the currently available heart medication and are followed to monitor for the effectiveness of each medication is a/an:
 Experimental study
 Case study
 Cohort study
 Case-control study
 Cross-sectional study
10One advantage to using a cohort study is that results of the study can be retrieved quickly.
 True   False
11Which of the following comparisons between the case-control study design and the cohort study design is correct?
 The case-control design is better for studying rare exposures than the cohort design.
 The case-control design is more expensive than the cohort design.
 The case-control design is better for studying rare diseases than the cohort design.
 The case-control design is better for determining disease incidence than the cohort design
 The case-control design is less prone to recall bias than the cohort design.
12Cohort Studies generally look at which of the following?
 Determining the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic methods
 Identifying patient characteristics or risk factors associated with a disease or outcome
 Variations among the clinical manifestations of patients with a disease
 The impact of blinding or masking a study population
13One of the key features of analytic epidemiology is:
 Use of an appropriate comparison group
 Laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis
 Publication in a peer-reviewed journal
 Statistical analysis using logistic regression
14Jacob is interested in whether the mere presence of others affected individual behavior. For his study, individuals were brought in and asked to make a speech to either an empty room or a room with five people in it. This type of study is best described as a/an:
 Experimental study
 Naturalistic observation
 Case study
 Cohort study
 Cross-sectional
15A researcher examines the injuries received in auto accidents in a group of males who are intoxicated while driving compared to another group that is not. The incidence of automobile wrecks is found for both groups at 1 and 5 years respectively. This is an example of a/an ________ study.
 Experimental
 Observational
 Cohort
 Case-control
 Cross-sectional
16Which of the following refers to an in-depth study of one individual?
 Experimental study
 Naturalistic observation
 Case study
 Cohort study
17A teacher would like to identify students’ attitudes about using calculators to complete math assignments. Which of the following research methods would be most appropriate?
 Case study
 Laboratory observation
 Standardized test
 Questionnaire
18Several disadvantages to using cohort studies may exist. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
 It may take many years to detect changes in the groups
 Researchers may be tempted to decrease the length of the study due to the time involved
 Participants may drop out of the study as time passes
 Cohort studies may be very costly
19Which study design involves the simultaneous comparison of individuals of different ages?
 Cross-sectional study
 Longitudinal study
 Sequential study
 Experimental study
20Dr. Zell is interested in studying how reflexes change throughout the lifespan. He decides to study seven different age groups at the same point in time. Dr. Zell is using a:
 Cohort design
 Cross-sectional design
 Longitudinal design
 Sequential design
21In descriptive epidemiology our objective is to:
 Describe the population
 Describe the data we collected
 Infer something about the population
 Compute an average
22A(n) _____ study is loosely structured and designed to investigate and provide further understanding of a subject matter.
 Formal
 Causal
 Exploratory
 Experimental
 Descriptive
23Which of the following is most likely to be an experimental study?
 A study of the maternal characteristics of successful elementary school teachers
 A study that compares the blood pressure readings of drivers and passengers
 A study to determine if employers give more sociable employees higher ratings
 A study to find out if implementing group projects will increase GPAs
24One of the strengths of a longitudinal design is that:
 It eliminates generation effects completely
 Data can be collected quickly and inexpensively
 You can see developmental changes in behavior more clearly
 Both b and c
 All of the above
25Which of the following is true of cross-sectional studies:
 The cross sectional study is the best study design for assessing the causes of diseases.
 The cross sectional study must be done in person.
 The cross sectional study can assess for an association between exposure and disease.
 The cross sectional study is the best study design for determining disease incidence.
 The cross sectional study is the most expensive study design.