Respond to a total of two posts: Either two (2) peer posts or a peer and faculty

Respond to a total of two posts: Either two (2) peer posts or a peer and faculty post (all faculty posts require a response), with a minimum of one paragraph of 4-5 sentences, on two (2) different days of the week. Your reply post should be specific to this week’s topic of epidemiological research methods and should integrate in-text citation(s).
Your reply post/s should integrate course content (such as course terminology) related to the study method as well as an integration of in-text citations along with a scholarly voice and APA formatting.
first post:
Hello Class and Dr. Sinnaeve,
A case-control study is an observational study where subjects are selected based on whether they have the outcome or disease of interest (cases) or not (controls). The researcher then looks back in time to determine if there were any differences in exposures or risk factors between the cases and controls. Case-control studies are helpful in studying rare outcomes or diseases where it may be difficult or too time-consuming to start with a population at risk (Rosendaal, 2001). On the other hand, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a type of experiment that involves randomly assigning participants to either a treatment group (intervention) or a control group (no intervention). This allows for a direct comparison of the outcomes between the two groups, with the only difference being the treatment the participants received. RCTs are considered the gold standard for testing the efficacy and safety of new interventions or therapies (Bröckelmann et al., 2022). Overall, while both study designs aim to identify potential risk factors or treatments for a specific outcome, RCTs provide stronger evidence for causality, as the randomization process helps to control for confounding factors and reduce bias (Bosdriesz et al., 2020).
The case-control method is a popular research design used in epidemiology, primarily to investigate the association between exposure to a potential risk factor and disease development (Dey et al., 2020). The primary advantage of the case-control method is its efficiency, as it allows investigators to study rare diseases or outcomes by identifying a small number of individuals with the disease and comparing them with individuals without the disease (Dey et al., 2020). Additionally, case-control studies are generally less expensive and take less time compared to other study designs. However, the case-control method has several limitations, including selection bias, recall bias, and confounding, which can affect the validity of the results (Jackevicius, 2021).
A correlational study is a type of research design that examines the relationship between two or more variables without assuming a cause-and-effect relationship between them (Hung et al., 2017). The primary characteristic of a correlational study is that it measures the degree of association between variables, which can be positive, negative, or no correlation at all. Another characteristic of this type of study is that it does not involve the manipulation of variables but instead examines pre-existing natural associations (Hung et al., 2017). Finally, correlational studies also allow researchers to make predictions based on the strength of the correlation found between variables.
The case-control method is considered a type of observational study in the research pyramid (Bosdriesz et al., 2020). Observational studies fall below randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the hierarchy of evidence since they don’t have the same level of control over the intervention or exposure being studied. Where a study falls on the research pyramid indicates its strength of evidence. RCTs are generally at the top of the pyramid since they are considered the gold standard of evidence in clinical research. Observational studies, like case-control studies, are lower on the pyramid because they are more prone to bias and have less control over the variables being studied. However, case-control studies can generate hypotheses, identify potential risk factors, and guide future research (Bosdriesz et al., 2020).

References:
Bosdriesz, J. R., Stel, V. S., van Diepen, M., Meuleman, Y., Dekker, F. W., Zoccali, C., & Jager, K. J. (2020). Evidence‐based medicine—when observational studies are better than randomized controlled trials. Nephrology, 25(10), 737–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/nep.13742
Bröckelmann, N., Balduzzi, S., Harms, L., Beyerbach, J., Petropoulou, M., Kubiak, C., Wolkewitz, M., Meerpohl, J. J., & Schwingshackl, L. (2022). Evaluating agreement between bodies of evidence from randomized controlled trials and cohort studies in medical research: A meta-epidemiological study. BMC Medicine, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02369-2
Dey, T., Mukherjee, A., & Chakraborty, S. (2020). A practical overview of case-control studies in Clinical Practice. Chest, 158(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.009
Hung, M., Bounsanga, J., & Voss, M. W. (2017). Interpretation of correlations in clinical research. Postgraduate Medicine, 129(8), 902–906. https://doi.org/10.1080/00325481.2017.1383820
Jackevicius, C. A. (2021). A practical introduction to conducting and using case‐control studies. JACCP: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CLINICAL PHARMACY, 4(11), 1485–1491. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1501
Rosendaal, F. R. (2001). Current Controlled Trials in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2(3), 109. https://doi.org/10.1186/cvm-2-3-109
second post:
What is the fundamental difference between the method you have chosen (either the case-control or cohort method) and the randomized controlled trial?
Randomized controlled trials are the best way to determine if a treatment or diagnostic test is effective. As there is a group exposed to the treatment or and another group that is not receiving treatment (IQWiG, 2016). A case-control study is a retrospective study that reviews data that has been collected over a period of time, on a specific treatment, diagnostic test or even a disease process in order to distinguish causes and relations (Melamed, et al., 2019).
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the study method you chose (case-control or cohort study)?
A case-control study is always retrospective, unlike a cohort study which can be retrospective or prospective. Case-control studies can have a bias reflection because when the data was collected the disease process or treatment of study could have been misunderstood at that time. Often the conclusions of case control studies need to be verified by further studies such as cohort studies. An advantage is that case-control studies are efficient in assessing rare outcomes (Melamed, et al., 2019).
What are the characteristics of a correlational study?
Correlational studies are based on historical data and cannot be affected by bias. The person doing the study sets a time frame and a set of variables along creates a hypothesis (Lau et al., 2017). The data is always changing and nothing is consistent as if the location of the study is adjusted so could the results. These studies are very specific to a set of dates and variables. Which restricts the amount of information that can be obtained from the study.
Where does the method you chose (case-control or cohort study) fall on the research pyramid? What does where it is on the research pyramid mean?
Case-control studies are in the middle of the research pyramid. Which means they are usually one of the first studies to determine if further studies should be performed on that specific topic. The research pyramid begins with the most basic case reports, editorials, background information. Each step of this pyramid going up requests finer data and knowledge about the topic. Case-control studies involved collecting past data on a topic. Each step of the research pyramid becomes more complex in the type of study and how that study is performed. The top of the pyramid is meta-analysis and systematic reviews (Walden University, 2023).

References
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. (2016). What Types of Studies Are There? Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390304/
Lau, F., & Kuziemsky, C. (2017). Handbook of eHealth Evaluation: Evidence-Based Approach. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK481614/
Melamed, A., & Robinson, J. (2019). Case-control studies can be useful but have many limitations: Study design: case-control studies. BJOG : an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 126(1), 23–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.15200
Walden University. (2023). Evidence-based Research: Levels of Evidence Pyramid. Walden University LLC. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/healthevidence/evidencepyramid