Table of Contents
Definition of Retrospective Study
(noun) A study that looks at data from past events.
Example of Retrospective Study
- Reviewing patients’ medical histories in a city to compare the rates of death among smokers and nonsmokers.
Retrospective Study Pronunciation
Syllabification: ret·ro·spec·tive stud·y
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /ret-ruh-spEk-tiv stUHd-ee/
- British English – /re-truh-spEk-tiv stUHd-ee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌrɛtrəˈspɛktɪv ˈstʌdi/
- British English – /ˌrɛtrəʊˈspɛktɪv ˈstʌdi/
Usage Notes
- Plural: retrospective studies
- Also called historic cohort study.
Additional Information
- Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “retrospective” and “study” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- attribute
- cohort
- control group
- correlation
- data
- random sample
- reliability
- statistics
- statistical analysis
- survey
Cite the Definition of Retrospective Study
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “retrospective study.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 25, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/retrospective-study/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
retrospective study. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/retrospective-study/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “retrospective study.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/retrospective-study/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“retrospective study.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/retrospective-study/>.