6. Types of Descriptive Studies

1.3. Cross-sectional studies

See also Descriptive Cross-sectional study

Examples for the three above mentioned types of descriptive studies based on infections with the West Nile virus:

• Case reports describe individual data, (e.g., on a form, a report in a medical journal). West Nile virus in a transfusion or transplant recipient might be reported as a case report.
• A case series for West Nile virus might be presented in a table that lists and describes all West Nile cases in the Northwest
• An incidence study could use a map to display all the new West Nile cases in the north western United States in a defined year.