What is the first section of an empirical journal article?
Empirical articles contain the following sections (although exact section names vary): introduction, methods, results, and discussion. The introduction contains the literature review for the article and is an excellent source of information as you build your own literature review.
What is the last section of an empirical journal article?
Discussion-The discussion section contains the interpretations and implications of the study. Conclusion- References-A reference section contains information about the articles and books cited in the report and should be substantial.
Is a cross sectional study empirical?
Cross-sectional designs are used by empirical researchers at one point in time to describe a population of interest (universe). In cross-sectional designs, researchers record information but do not manipulate variables. This differs from longitudinal and experimental designs, which make multiple observations over time.
What are the disadvantages of cross sectional studies?
The weaknesses of cross-sectional studies include the inability to assess incidence, to study rare diseases, and to make a causal inference. Unlike studies starting from a series of patients, cross-sectional studies often need to select a sample of subjects from a large and heterogeneous study population.
Can a cross sectional study be quantitative?
Of note, repeated cross-sectional designs observe different samples of the same population over time. Although the majority of cross-sectional studies is quantitative, cross-sectional designs can be also be qualitative or mixed-method in their design.
How long can a cross sectional study last?
By definition a cross-sectional study is meant provide a snap shot of some particular phenomenon at a point in time. Five years would probably blur the image (depending on the data). However, there is no reason that research cannot be conducted over a five year period, you can simply describe your study differently.
Why is a cross sectional study a limitation?
However, it is important to be aware of the predictive limitations of cross-sectional studies: “the primary limitation of the cross-sectional study design is that because the exposure and outcome are simultaneously assessed, there is generally no evidence of a temporal relationship between exposure and outcome.”
What are the strengths and weaknesses of cross sectional study?
4. Strengths and weaknesses of cross-sectional studies
- Relatively quick and easy to conduct (no long periods of follow-up).
- Data on all variables is only collected once.
- Able to measure prevalence for all factors under investigation.
- Multiple outcomes and exposures can be studied.
What is the weakness of an epidemiological study?
The major strengths of environmental epidemiology are that it has immediate relevance, be- cause it studies the relevant species at relevant expo- sures, and the wide range of problems it can tackle. The major weakness is that investigators have no control over the populations and exposures being studied.
Is a questionnaire a cross sectional study?
Questionnaires are a commonly used tool in epidemiological studies. They may be used as the sole instrument for the collection of study data, such as in a cross-sectional design, or in combination with other instruments of data collection.
Can a cross sectional study have a control group?
Norain, in cross-sectional design, the study population is not selected based on exposure or outcome. Therefore, the answer to your question, no, you don’t have to have a control group. Most of the time, though, you can define a control group after you select your study population in a cross sectional study.