Читать книгу Demystifying Research for Medical and Healthcare Students - John L. Anderson - Страница 18

These are approaches in which we measure and count things. We use statistical methods to analyse the numerical date which we collect. These approaches fall into two categories – experimental, or interventional approaches, and observational, or non‐experimental and non‐interventional, approaches.

WARNING – Note the use of the term ‘observational’. It does not refer to observation in the sense of observing something, but means that there is no experimentation or intervention. We do not manipulate any variables or make any experimental interventions.

So, in experimental approaches, we introduce some change and then measure any effects which are thought to be ‘caused’ by that change. In observational approaches, there is no change – we measure things as they are. Let's look at the three main categories of these first.