ABSTRACT

This chapter describes some of the more common types of research designs used in comparative health research. We look at eight designs, three of which are 'descriptive', two of which are 'epidemiological' and three of which are 'experimental'. The aim is to enable you to identify the type of design used in a study, or which you might use if you are planning one. Being able to identify which design a study uses helps you to more quickly understand the study and to see its strengths and weaknesses. It helps to see which problems threaten the validity of the study and which problems are less important.