Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jan-Mar;10(1):34-36.
doi: 10.4103/picr.PICR_154_18.

Study designs: Part 2 - Descriptive studies

Rakesh Aggarwal  1 , Priya Ranganathan  2
Affiliations

Study designs: Part 2 - Descriptive studies

Rakesh Aggarwal et al. Perspect Clin Res. 2019 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

One of the first steps in planning a research study is the choice of study design. The available study designs are divided broadly into two types - observational and interventional. Of the various observational study designs, the descriptive design is the simplest. It allows the researcher to study and describe the distribution of one or more variables, without regard to any causal or other hypotheses. This article discusses the subtypes of descriptive study design, and their strengths and limitations.

Keywords: Epidemiologic methods; observational studies; research design.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ranganathan P, Aggarwal R. Study designs: Part 1 – An overview and classification. Perspect Clin Res. 2018;9:184–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gottlieb GJ, Ragaz A, Vogel JV, Friedman-Kien A, Rywlin AM, Weiner EA, et al. A preliminary communication on extensively disseminated Kaposi's sarcoma in young homosexual men. Am J Dermatopathol. 1981;3:111–4. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Pneumocystis pneumonia – Los Angeles. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 30:250–2. - PubMed
    1. Cheent K, Nolan J, Shariq S, Kiho L, Pal A, Arnold J, et al. Case report: Fatal case of disseminated BCG infection in an infant born to a mother taking infliximab for Crohn's disease. J Crohns Colitis. 2010;4:603–5. - PubMed
    1. Van Assche G, Van Ranst M, Sciot R, Dubois B, Vermeire S, Noman M, et al. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy after natalizumab therapy for Crohn's disease. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:362–8. - PubMed