A study that follows participants forward in time from the start.
Participants are enrolled and exposure or baseline status is recorded before outcomes occur, then followed forward in time to see what develops. This design reduces recall bias compared with retrospective studies and allows clearer temporal sequencing between exposure and outcome, though it does not by itself establish causation or control for confounding. Prospective designs range from observational cohort studies to prospectively registered trials, so the strength of evidence still depends on how exposures, confounders, and outcomes were measured and controlled.
This guide was auto-drafted and is pending editorial review.