-sickness-without-assigning-any-intervention-which-study-type-should-they-choose

Question

During an outbreak investigation the team wants to formally test whether attendance at a campus event is associated with sickness, without assigning any intervention. Which study type should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Analytical (observational) study such as a case-control or cohort study

Answer

Ecological study that aggregates exposure and outcome data at a population level without individual-level comparisons

Answer

Experimental study in which investigators randomly assign people to attend or not attend the event and then compare outcomes

Answer

Descriptive study where investigators only summarize counts and rates by age, time, and location and do not compare exposure distributions between groups