Understanding the science

Types of research

There are different methods to conduct scientific research

Meta-analysis

A meta-analysis is a method of summarizing the results of the same research purpose and comprehensively evaluating its combined effect. It can be an objective, systematic, comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis. It has functions that improve estimates of effect, construct a general review method for omitting inadequate study conclusions, and reinforce the effectiveness of statistical results to yield more comprehensive and reliable study results that are more representative of the general population.

Systematic review

An analysis comparing and summarizing the data from different studies on a certain topic.

Randomized control trials

A study comparing the relation cause-effect into two groups, where one receives the real treatment and the other one a placebo or no treatment. Participants are randomly assigned to either the control or intervention group, reducing the selection bias.

Cohort studies

Cohort studies are longitudinal studies that follow research subjects over a period of time to examine outcomes across different groups.

Case-controlled study

A study comparing two groups: one with and the other without a certain disease, however with similar characteristics. The aim is to try identifying the factors leading to the disease.

Case report

The case report is a specific type of research design that reports on an aspect of the management of one or two patients. It is the first piece of research writing in the health field and represents the most basic type of study design.

How to read research statistics

How to read research statistics

Absolute
Risk

Absolute risk is the risk of an individual developing a disease such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), or cancer over a certain period. The higher the absolute risk, the more likely it is that something happens, even though it is not guaranteed to take place.

A population who has a medical event in their lifetime
ABSOLUTE RISK =
A population who could have a medical event in their lifetime.

Absolute risk number are needed to understand relative risk

Absolute Risk

Relative
Risk

The relative risk is the risk for individuals exposed to a factor compared with the risk among those not exposed. The relative risk expresses how much more or less likely the outcome is to occur in exposed individuals.

Risk among individuals exposed to a certain factor
RELATIVE RISK =
Risk among individuals unexposed to that factor.

Relative risk alone do not tell the full story

Relative Risk