title: How to assess epidemiological studies.
abstract: Assessing the quality of an epidemiological study equates to assessing whether the inferences drawn from it are warranted when account is taken of the methods, the representativeness of the study sample, and the nature of the population from which it is drawn. Bias, confounding, and chance can threaten the quality of an epidemiological study at all its phases. Nevertheless, their presence does not necessarily imply that a study should be disregarded. The reader must first balance any of these threats or missing information with their potential impact on the conclusions of the report.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 2SR, UK. jhz21@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Zaccai
mesh_terms: D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D006801:Humans; D011336:Probability; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design