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Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study
The cross-sectional study design is sometimes avoided by researchers or considered an undesired methodology. Possible reasons include incomplete understanding of the research design, fear of bias, and uncertainty about the measure of association. Using causal diagrams and certain premises, we compar...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Dove Medical Press
2013
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3600935/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23516121 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CLEP.S42843 |
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author | Shahar, Eyal Shahar, Doron J |
author_facet | Shahar, Eyal Shahar, Doron J |
author_sort | Shahar, Eyal |
collection | PubMed |
description | The cross-sectional study design is sometimes avoided by researchers or considered an undesired methodology. Possible reasons include incomplete understanding of the research design, fear of bias, and uncertainty about the measure of association. Using causal diagrams and certain premises, we compared a hypothetical cross-sectional study of the effect of a fertility drug on pregnancy with a hypothetical cohort study. A side-by-side analysis showed that both designs call for a tradeoff between information bias and variance and that neither offers immunity to sampling colliding bias (selection bias). Confounding bias does not discriminate between the two designs either. Uncertainty about the order of causation (ambiguous temporality) depends on the nature of the postulated cause and the measurement method. We conclude that a cross-sectional study is not inherently inferior to a cohort study. Rather than devaluing the cross-sectional design, threats of bias should be evaluated in the context of a concrete study, the causal question at hand, and a theoretical causal structure. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3600935 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2013 |
publisher | Dove Medical Press |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-36009352013-03-19 Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study Shahar, Eyal Shahar, Doron J Clin Epidemiol Methodology The cross-sectional study design is sometimes avoided by researchers or considered an undesired methodology. Possible reasons include incomplete understanding of the research design, fear of bias, and uncertainty about the measure of association. Using causal diagrams and certain premises, we compared a hypothetical cross-sectional study of the effect of a fertility drug on pregnancy with a hypothetical cohort study. A side-by-side analysis showed that both designs call for a tradeoff between information bias and variance and that neither offers immunity to sampling colliding bias (selection bias). Confounding bias does not discriminate between the two designs either. Uncertainty about the order of causation (ambiguous temporality) depends on the nature of the postulated cause and the measurement method. We conclude that a cross-sectional study is not inherently inferior to a cohort study. Rather than devaluing the cross-sectional design, threats of bias should be evaluated in the context of a concrete study, the causal question at hand, and a theoretical causal structure. Dove Medical Press 2013-03-09 /pmc/articles/PMC3600935/ /pubmed/23516121 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CLEP.S42843 Text en © 2013 Shahar and Shahar, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Methodology Shahar, Eyal Shahar, Doron J Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study |
title | Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study |
title_full | Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study |
title_fullStr | Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study |
title_full_unstemmed | Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study |
title_short | Causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study |
title_sort | causal diagrams and the cross-sectional study |
topic | Methodology |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3600935/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23516121 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CLEP.S42843 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT shahareyal causaldiagramsandthecrosssectionalstudy AT shahardoronj causaldiagramsandthecrosssectionalstudy |