PBHE427 Week 4 Discussion

PBHE427 (Epidemiology) Discussion Questions

Week 4: Identifying Epidemiological Studies in the Literature

· Choose an article from one of the following journals:

· American Journal of Epidemiology: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/  The Journal of Infectious Diseases: http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/  Journal of Public Health: http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/  Clinical Infectious Diseases:  http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/ 

· Choose a recent (within the last 3 years) article from one of the following journals. Do not repeat a journal article choice that a classmate has already posted to the forum.

· Choose an article that is peer-reviewed and a primary article (not secondary - see attached).  Identify the study type as descriptive (cross-sectional, ecological, case series); analytical (prospective cohort or retrospective cohort) or experimental: (prevention or treatment clinical trial). Define the study type as one of the specific types given in the parentheses.  It must be one of these study types.  NOTE: To receive credit for your post, the article must be a primary study that uses one of the given study designs.  Failure to choose an appropriate article will results in a zero for the assignment. Also, you must do more than read the abstract, you must read the entire article. 

· State the type of study that was conducted (see methods section of article, it must be one of the above study types). What is the research question? What was known or unknown before the study was conducted (see introduction of article)? What was the purpose of the study (should be at end of introduction)? What was the outcome and was it consistent with the researcher(s)' original research question (see results and conclusions)? What recommendation(s) did the researcher offer for future studies (see conclusions)? Do you feel the findings and research design are real and valid? Why or why not? Please review the lesson for this week and your textbook readings to understand what is meant by valid.

· Must be 250-350 words.