There is a type of research conducted without any control groups. These studies cannot be considered trials and are mostly employed to investigate a method of diagnosis rather than examining the effect of a treatment or drug. The main disadvantage of these studies is that the researchers may consider their own method as the best available method since there is no comparison.
Meta-analysis and review papers
There is a third group of studies, which cannot be considered interventional or observational. Meta-analysis studies are performed to combine and analyze the obtained results of previously conducted studies to derive conclusions about the body of research. In other words, meta-analysis studies are quantitative systematic reviews with a summary of the findings. Meta-analysis studies can be performed for both observational and interventional studies; however, the findings should be reported in different sections. Accordingly, it is suitable to carry out meta-analysis studies on a topic of research when there are few studies available in the literature or the obtained results of the published articles are often complex.
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