Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

Observational Study Protocol for Repeated Clinical Examination and Critical Care Ultrasonography Within the Simple Intensive Care Studies
Published on: January 16, 2019
Revisiting issues, drawbacks and opportunities with observational studies in comparative effectiveness research
Demissie Alemayehu1, Joseph C Cappelleri
1Specialty Care Biostatistics, Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA.
Rationale:
Despite their inherently pervasive limitations, data from observational studies are increasingly relied upon by health care decision makers to fill critical information gaps created by lack of evidence from randomized controlled trials.
Aim And Objective:
The aim and objective of this article was to revisit the major issues associated with observational studies from secondary data sources.
Method:
The method of this article was canvass of the literature.
Results:
Sources of bias are highlighted and steps intended to minimize bias are summarized.
Conclusion:
Efforts should be made to improve causal inference of treatment effects from observational studies found in secondary data sources. Extra care and caution should be exercised in the interpretation and reporting of results from these studies.
More Related Videos
14:43A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
08:24The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Observational Studies
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One example of...
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Bioequivalence Experimental Study Designs: Repeated Measures, Cross-Over, Carry-Over, and Latin Square Designs
Study Designs in Epidemiology
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies.
Introduction to Epidemiology
Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...