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Hypothesis generating studies include:
- case studies;
- case series; and
- cross-sectional studies.
Case studies are in-depth descriptions of the factors related
to an illness or injury of an individual in which new possible
relationships or causes are found, by history, examination, or
testing.
Case series are a group of individuals with the same, or similar,
illness or injury and with the same, or similar, factors that may
be importantly related to the disease or injury. A classic case
series in the past was the five chest x-rays of young men in a
San Francisco hospital that showed an unusual type of pneumonia,
which resulted in the first description of Pneumocystis Carinii
Pneumonia and AIDS. What these five young men also had in common
was their having sex with other men.
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