Observational Study Design in Veterinary Pathology, Part 1: Study Design.

Caswell, Jeff L; Bassel, Laura L; Rothenburger, Jamie L; Gröne, Andrea; Sargeant, Jan M; Beck, Amanda P; Ekman, Stina; Gibson-Corley, Katherine N; Kuiken, Thijs; LaDouceur, Elise E B; Meyerholz, David K; Origgi, Francesco; Posthaus, Horst; Priestnall, Simon L; Ressel, Lorenzo; Sharkey, Leslie; Teixeira, Leandro B C; Uchida, Kazuyuki; Ward, Jerrold M; Webster, Joshua D; ... (2018). Observational Study Design in Veterinary Pathology, Part 1: Study Design. Veterinary pathology, 55(5), pp. 607-621. American College of Veterinary Pathologists 10.1177/0300985818785705

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Observational studies are the basis for much of our knowledge of veterinary pathology and are highly relevant to the daily practice of pathology. However, recommendations for conducting pathology-based observational studies are not readily available. In part 1 of this series, we offer advice on planning and conducting an observational study with examples from the veterinary pathology literature. Investigators should recognize the importance of creativity, insight, and innovation in devising studies that solve problems and fill important gaps in knowledge. Studies should focus on specific and testable hypotheses, questions, or objectives. The methodology is developed to support these goals. We consider the merits and limitations of different types of analytic and descriptive studies, as well as of prospective vs retrospective enrollment. Investigators should define clear inclusion and exclusion criteria and select adequate numbers of study subjects, including careful selection of the most appropriate controls. Studies of causality must consider the temporal relationships between variables and the advantages of measuring incident cases rather than prevalent cases. Investigators must consider unique aspects of studies based on archived laboratory case material and take particular care to consider and mitigate the potential for selection bias and information bias. We close by discussing approaches to adding value and impact to observational studies. Part 2 of the series focuses on methodology and validation of methods.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Veterinary Public Health / Herd Health Management
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Animal Pathology
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Center for Fish and Wildlife Health (FIWI)

UniBE Contributor:

Origgi, Francesco, Posthaus, Horst

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

0300-9858

Publisher:

American College of Veterinary Pathologists

Language:

English

Submitter:

Pamela Schumacher

Date Deposited:

04 Jun 2019 16:17

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:28

Publisher DOI:

10.1177/0300985818785705

PubMed ID:

30071806

Uncontrolled Keywords:

bias case control cohort descriptive studies epidemiology hypothesis laboratory medicine observational studies pathology reproducibility of results research design study design

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/129631

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