Prospectieve

Prospectieve is a Dutch adjective meaning forward-looking or prospective. It is used to describe things that relate to the future, plans, or expectations about what will happen. In everyday language it often conveys a sense of preparation or consideration of upcoming events, such as a prospectieve aanpak (forward-looking approach) or prospectieve planning.

In research and scientific contexts, prospectieve refers to study designs and data collected going forward in time. A prospectieve studie or prospectieve cohortstudie identifies participants at the outset and follows them over a period to observe future outcomes. Exposures and outcomes are recorded as they occur, which can reduce certain biases associated with looking back at past records. This is commonly contrasted with retrospectieve studies, which analyze existing data from the past or rely on recall.

The term is derived from a root related to looking toward the future, with etymological ties to the French prospectif and the Latin prospectivus. In Dutch usage, prospectieve forms align with the gender and number of the noun (for example, een prospectieve studie, de prospectieve studies).

See also: prospective, retrospective, cohort study. While prospectieve and retrospective are often used to describe study designs, the word prospectieve is versatile enough to describe futures-oriented planning and analysis in broader contexts.