Introduction
In 2022, Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety (PDS)launched a new section titled “Core Concepts in Pharmacoepidemiology.” The purpose of this section was to publish articles highlighting some of the key concepts in pharmacoepidemiologic study design and analysis. The need for this section was motivated by the desire for PDS to be recognized as a prominent source of educational information on foundational pharmacoepidemiologic topics. In addition, the collection of these articles could be cited as methodological references in future original research articles and grant proposals to provide strong justification for important research design and analytic decisions. The target audience for this collection of review papers includes individuals currently enrolled in pharmacoepidemiology training programs and related fields, researchers and practitioners who may not have a focused background in pharmacoepidemiology, as well as established pharmacoepidemiologists seeking to review key pharmacoepidemiologic methods. To ensure the educational content would be accessible and interpretable by the target audience, the journal’s editors requested that each author team include a trainee, preferably as first author.