Study Design in Etiologic Research (Online) - (2023-I)

Course description

In this course the principles and practice of cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies are taught. Design, data collection and outcome measures are discussed, as well as the major advantages and disadvantages of the different study designs. Emphasis is on the application of study design in etiologic research. The course focuses on the more classical approach but also addresses modern concepts and design options, such as case-cohort designs. Various study designs are discussed, with emphasis on issues of validity.

This course can best be followed in the first half of the PhD track. It helps participants to understand the principles, design and validity of different types of studies.

Learning objectives

In this course you will learn the principles, design, differences, advantages and disadvantages of cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies. You will get an insight in the validity aspects and in the measures of frequency and association that can be calculated from cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies.

In particular, you will be able to:

• Explain the principles, design and validity aspects of a cohort study, a case-control study and a cross-sectional study
• Interpret the measures of frequency and association from cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies
• Calculate the corresponding measures of frequency and association, and explain these calculations
• Explain the modern designs used instead of the classical case-control study (e.g. case-cohort study or case-crossover study)
• Explain the methods of data collection in the different study designs
• Explain the specific aspects of study design in veterinary epidemiology as compared to human epidemiology (e.g. clustering of animals and the effects this has on study design, measurement of exposure status, disease status and confounders, and the selection of the study population)
• Appraise scientific abstracts and papers on the choice of study design, and debate the relevant validity aspects
• Design an appropriate study to be used in a specific situation or to answer an etiologic study question

Course program

The online course is a 6 weeks part-time course with a study load of 14 hrs/w. Web lectures, group assignments and group discussions are the learning methods that will be used. This course is offered based on asynchronous learning, hence there are no plenary sessions. There are interim deadlines and the course ends with an exam.

Start: 20 March 2023

End: 28 April 2023

Course material

Compulsory study material: Clinical Epidemiology – Principles, Methods and Applications for Clinical Research’ by D.E. Grobbee & A.W. Hoes, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2014, ISBN-13: 978-1449674328.

Group size

8 to 30 participants

Number of credits

3 ECs

Course certificate

Participants will receive a certificate when they completed the practical exercises (self-study), attended at least 80% of the classes and passed the exam.

Course fee

We offer 5 places for free for PhD candidates registered with the Graduate School of Life Sciences via MyPhD. Be quick, these 5 places tend to be taken soon. 

Cancellation and No-show policy

This course is free for GSLS PhD candidates. However: free of charge does not mean free of responsibility. Once you have signed up for a course, we expect you to attend. For every late cancellation or no-show we have had to disappoint others who would have liked to attend. This is our policy:

• You may cancel free of charge up to 4 weeks before the start of the course. After this date you can only cancel if you have a GSLS PhD candidate to replace you in the course. Send the name and contact information of your replacement to pcc@uu.nl, at least 2 working days before the start of the course;

• We expect that you actively attend the full course. You have to complete the total E-learning.

• Not meeting the above requirements means you will be charged a no-show fee. We will send the invoice after the course has ended. We are unable to make any exceptions, unless you have a valid reason (i.e., illness or death in the family 1^st/2^nd degree or partner). Your supervisor has to send an e-mail to pcc@uu.nl indicating the reason.

More information and registration

For more information please send an e-mail to msc-epidemiology@umcutrecht.nl.

To register for this course, please send an e-mail to msc-epidemiology@umcutrecht.nl, including the 4 points below. Your registration can only be processed when you include all this information.

• You are a PhD candidate of the GSLS;
• You are registered at the GSLS in MyPhD (this is required. Without MyPhD registration you can't participate);
• The PhD programme of the GSLS that you are part of and your affiliation;
• The course that you would like to attend (Study Design in Etiologic Online starting 20-3-2023).

Interest list

Is this course fully booked? Or would you like to follow a course at a later moment? When you subscribe to the interest list external link of a course, you will receive an e-mail when a new edition opens for registration. The interest list is for GSLS PhD candidates only.