Table 3.
Evidence-based Medicine/Dentistry Glossary
| Case-controlled study | involves identifying subjects with a clinical condition (cases) and subjects free from the condition (controls), and investigating if the two groups have similar or different exposures to risk indicator(s) of factor(s) associated with the disease |
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| Case-series | report on a series of patients with an outcome of interest. No control group is involved |
| Cohort study | involves identifying two groups (cohorts) of subjects, one that did receive the exposure of interest and another that did not, and following these cohorts forward for the outcome of interest |
| Controlled clinical trial | study that uses the same design features of a randomized controlled clinical trial, but, for reasons beyond the control of the investigators, the subjects are assigned using a non-random process into control or experimental groups |
| Crossover study design | administration of two or more experimental therapies, one after the other in a specified or random order, to the same group of patients |
| Cross-sectional study | observation of a defined population at a single point in time or a specified time interval. Exposure and outcome are measured simultaneously |
| Meta-analysis | review that uses quantitative methods to combine the statistical measures from two or more studies and generates a weighted average of the effect of an intervention, degree of association between a risk factor and a disease, or accuracy of a diagnostic test |
| Randomised controlled clinical trial (RCT) | study that randomises a group of subjects into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group receives the new intervention and the control group receives a placebo or standard intervention. These groups are followed up for the outcomes of interest |
| Systematic-review (SR) | a process of systematically locating, appraising and synthesising evidence from scientific studies in order to obtain a reliable overview. The aim is to ensure a review process that is comprehensive and unbiased. Findings from systematic reviews may be used for decision-making about research and the provision of health care |
| Absolute Risk Reduction (AAR) | is the difference in risk between the control group (X) and the treatment group (Y). AAR = X - Y |