Bias in Epidemiology Research

Running Head : Bias in Epidemiological Research

Name

University

Course

Tutor

Date

Introduction

Epidemiology is the study of the factors associated with different types of diseases for example , how often does the disease occur , how is the disease transmitted , ways in which the disease can be prevented . There are two main types of epidemiology : descriptive epidemiology and analytical epidemiology . Descriptive epidemiology is concerned with the frequency and distribution of risk factors in a population and it makes it possible for one to assess the way the disease has

spread

Analytical epidemiology aims to study the causes and risks involved with the disease and the preventive measures . This is according to Pinchinat S Ponton Sanchez (2006

Observation epidemiological studies

In this case the epidemiologist does not carry out any actual experiment or in other words does not take part in any active role in the research The epidemiologist simply makes observations on what is happening based on an already existing situation without administering any treatments for example if one wanted to compare the exposure of PCBs exposure to occurrence of cancer over a 20 year period , he would not be required to give any form of treatment only to observe the available case available according to epidemiology home page

Experimental epidemiological studies

In contrast to observational studies here the epidemiologist will be required to do the actual experiments or play an active role by administering the treatment to subjects and then observing the effects of the treatment . For example an epidemiologist can...