Which type of studies typically take a snapshot of a population at a single point in time and therefore
usually measures the disease prevalence, exposure prevalence, or relationship between the two?
a. case-control study
b. cohort study
c. cross-sectional study
d. ecological study - Answers c. cross-sectional study
The main disadvantage of using which type of controls is the difficulty in determining appropriate
illnesses for inclusion?
a. dead controls
b. friend/spouse/relative controls
c. hospital and clinic controls
d. population-based controls - Answers c. hospital and clinic controls
T/F: Observational studies take advantage of the fact that people expose themselves to noxious or
healthy substances through their personal habits. - Answers True
Which type of observational study examines one or more health effects/outcomes of exposure to a
single agent?
a. cohort study
b. case-control study
c. ecological study
d. cross-sectional study - Answers a. cohort study
Which of the following is a method of sampling a population in which researchers identify and enroll
cases of disease and a sample of the source population that gave rise to the cases?
a. case-control study
b. ecological study
c. randomized clinical trial
d. cohort study - Answers a. case-control study
The high degree if validity in which type of study stems mainly from the investigator's ability to
randomize subjects to either the treatment group or the comparison group and thereby control for
distortions produced by confounding variables?
a. cohort study
b. case-crossover study
c. ecological study
d. experimental study - Answers d. experimental study
Which type of study evaluates an association using the population rather than the individual as the
unit of analysis?
a. ecological study
b. cross-sectional study
c. case-control study
d. cohort study - Answers a. ecological study
The exposed group can also be referred to as which of the following?
a. control group
b. comparison group
c. index group
d. reference group - Answers c. index group
The Seven Countries study, which examined the relationship between lifestyle, diet, and coronary
heart disease in 7 counties, is an example of which study design?
a. case-control
, b. ecologic
c. case report
d. cross-sectional - Answers b. ecologic
Epidemiologic studies that examine the role of a suspected factor in the etiology of a disease may be
observational or experimental. The most important difference between experimental and
observational studies is that in experimental studies: (Choose one answer)
a. the study and control groups are equal in size
b. the study is prospective
c. the investigator determines who shall be exposed to the suspected factor and who shall not
d. the study and control groups are always comparable with respect to all factors other than the
exposure
e. controls are used - Answers c. the investigator determines who shall be exposed to the suspected
factor and who shall not
An important weakness of cross-sectional studies is:
a. we usually identify a large proportion of prevalent cases
b. we usually identify a large proportion of incident cases
c. cross-sectional studies take a long time to conduct and are expensive
d. we can establish temporarily for all types of exposures - Answers a. we usually identify a large
proportion of prevalent cases
A cross-sectional study is:
a. a study where one variable is manipulated by researchers
b. a study that takes place at different times and observes changes in one group over time
c. a study that takes place at one time and examines the prevalence of exposures and/or health
outcomes
d. a study that uses an experiment to find out why there are differences in the study groups -
Answers c. a study that takes place at one time and examines the prevalence of exposures and/or
health outcomes
T/F: Associations that are found at the group level can be used to infer that there exists an association
at the individual level. - Answers False
In a cross-sectional study of the association between alcohol consumption and dementia, the most
appropriate effect measure to calculate is:
a. risk difference
b. relative risk
c. odds ratio
d. population attributable risk - Answers c. odds ratio
The ecological fallacy is:
a. bias that might occur because an association observed at the individual level does not necessarily
represent the association that exists at an aggregate level
b. a framework used to describe ecological theories of human disease
c. bias that might occur because an association observed at the aggregate level does not necessarily
represent the association that exists at an individual level
d. bias that occurs from conducting observational studies - Answers c. bias that might occur because
an association observed at the aggregate level does not necessarily represent the association that
exists at an individual level
An odds ratio of 2.0 calculated in a cross-sectional study suggests:
a. the exposure is more common among individuals with the health outcome
b. a clinical trial should be next study conducted
c. there is no difference in exposure between the study groups
d. the exposure is a cause of the health outcome - Answers a. the exposure is more common among
individuals with the health outcome