title: Study designs in dermatology: A review for the clinical dermatologist.
abstract: A working knowledge of common research study designs and their advantages and disadvantages is necessary for critical reading of the literature by clinicians. However, understanding study designs and related statistical methodologies may be perceived as being complex and difficult to execute. This review aims to provide a practical foundation for basic study designs and to help physicians identify pitfalls that commonly occur in clinical studies and their level of evidence. Topics covered include the pros and cons of observational versus prospectively controlled studies, case-control, cohort, randomized controlled studies, adaptive controlled trials and metaanalyses, and the role of matching in studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address: JonathanISilverberg@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jonathan I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Silverberg
mesh_terms: D003880:Dermatology; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: adaptive controlled trials; bias; case-control study; cohort study; cross-sectional study; epidemiology; matching; metaanalysis; observational study; prospectively controlled study; randomized controlled study; retrospective; study design