Canadian Health Information Management Association Practice Exam

In a survey conducted in a public school involving 4th, 6th, and 8th graders, what type of design is being used?

1. Cross-sectional design.

2. Historic prospective.

3. Longitudinal design.

4. Successive independent sample design.

The correct answer is: Cross-sectional design.

In this survey involving 4th, 6th, and 8th graders, the design being utilized is a cross-sectional design. This approach involves collecting data at a single point in time from different groups, in this case, students from different grades. It allows researchers to make comparisons across different age groups or educational levels to understand variations in attitudes, behaviors, or other characteristics. Cross-sectional studies are particularly useful for examining differences and associations among cohorts without the need for long-term tracking of subjects, which would be the case in longitudinal studies. This type of design is efficient, as it provides a snapshot of the population of interest and can highlight trends and differences between the groups at that specific moment. Longitudinal design, by contrast, would involve collecting data from the same individuals over an extended period to observe changes and developments, which is not the focus here. Similarly, a historic prospective study would typically look back at existing data over time, while successive independent sample design might involve repeated cross-sections over different time points without following the same individuals. Overall, cross-sectional design is the most appropriate choice for this scenario, focusing on the immediate assessment of the student population across distinct grade levels.