Observational Study

An observational study is a type of research study where investigators observe what happens in real life without assigning or controlling the exposure, treatment, or intervention. Participants are simply followed or measured based on their existing behaviours, environments, or clinical care, and researchers then analyse how outcomes differ between groups that naturally have different exposures. Because the exposure is not randomly assigned and many other factors can differ between groups, observational studies are generally used to identify associations, and do not provide evidence for causal relationships.