A Future for Observational Epidemiology: Clarity, Credibility, Transparency.
Am J Epidemiol
; 188(5): 840-845, 2019 05 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30877294
ABSTRACT
Observational studies are ambiguous, difficult, and necessary for epidemiology. Presently, there are concerns that the evidence produced by most observational studies in epidemiology is not credible and contributes to research waste. I argue that observational epidemiology could be improved by focusing greater attention on 1) defining questions that make clear whether the inferential goal is descriptive or causal; 2) greater utilization of quantitative bias analysis and alternative research designs that aim to decrease the strength of assumptions needed to estimate causal effects; and 3) promoting, experimenting with, and perhaps institutionalizing both reproducible research standards and replication studies to evaluate the fragility of study findings in epidemiology. Greater clarity, credibility, and transparency in observational epidemiology will help to provide reliable evidence that can serve as a basis for making decisions about clinical or population-health interventions.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Métodos Epidemiológicos
/
Epidemiología
/
Estudios Observacionales como Asunto
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Screening_studies
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article