Page 64 - Sember, Vedrana, and Shawnda A. Morrison. 2018. The Mind-Body Connection. Koper: University of Primorska Press.

Physical Activity Research

Observational Studies. Observational or epidemiological studies are
those where the investigator is not acting on participants and chan-
ging their normal behavior but is observing the natural relationship
between factors and outcomes. Observational studies are often ret-
rospective (Thiese, 2014) and make decisions where the independ-
ent variable is not under investigator’s control because of ethical or
logistical concerns (Porta, 2008). Observational studies are ecolo-
gical study design, proportional mortality ratio study design, cross-
sectional study design, case-control study design, case-crossover
study design, retrospective and prospective cohort study design,
diagnostic testing and evaluation study designs.
Ecological Study. The most basic observational study is ecological
study, which compares clusters of people, mostly based on their
geographical location (Breslow, 2014). Ecological studies are usu-
ally retrospective, and the data is derived from big databases, which
is their weakness, since big databases are typically created for oth-
er purposes, not research (Friis & Sellers, 2013). The advantage of
ecological study is cost effectiveness and starting point for hypo-
theses generation (Thiese, 2014). Joens-Matre et al. (2008) looked
for for rural-urban differences in physical activity, physical fitness

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