EET PG Medical – 2020 – Question – 111
A researcher wanted to prove the relation between COPD and smoking. He collected patients records from government hospitals and records of cigarette sales from the finance and taxation department. This is an example of which study design:
a) Cross-sectional
b) Posological study
c) Ecological study
d) Operations research
Correct Answer – C
Ans. C. Ecological study design
This is an example of an ecological study.
An ecological study is a type of Observational study where information is collected on a group (or population) rather than on individual members and then analyzed.
Here the association between a summary measure of sale of cigarettes (risk factor) and a summary measure of the number of cases of COPD(outcome) is studied.
