prospective study

prospective study,

n a study designed to determine the relationship between a condition and a characteristic shared by some members of a group. The population selected is healthy at the beginning of the study. Some of the members share a particular characteristic, such as cigarette smoking, whereas others do not. The study follows the population groups over a long period, noting the rate at which a condition, such as lung cancer, occurs in the smokers and in the nonsmokers.