Bias Flashcards
Sampling bias
Assessing a sample with an over-representation of one particular category of people
Research bias
any deviation from the truth, causing distorted results and wrong
conclusions.
Types of bias in research
- Selection bias
- Information bias
- Response bias
- Interviewer bias
- Publication bias
- Researcher bias
- Cognitive bias
Types of selection bias
- Sampling bias/ Ascertainment bias
- Attrition bias
- Self-selection bias
- Survivorship bias
- Nonresponse bias
- Undercoverage bias
What is attrition bias?
when participants who drop out of a study systematically differ from those who remain in the study
How do you minimize attrition bias?
- offering incentives for participants to complete the study
- recruit more participants than the researcher needs,
- minimize the number of
follow-up sessions or questions.
What is self-selection bias?
when individuals voluntarily choose to participate in a study rather than being randomly selected by the researcher. This can introduce bias because the characteristics of people who choose to participate may differ systematically from those who do not.
How do you avoid self selection bias?
by using random assignment
What is survivorship bias?
you do not evaluate your data set in its entirety - focusing on “survivors” (i.e., who have passed some sort of selection process) and
forgetting those who went through a similar process and did not survive.
What is non-response bias?
when the individuals who choose not to participate in a study differ systematically from those who do participate, and this difference affects the results of the study.
How can you avoid non-response bias?
- by offering surveys in different formats
- ensuring confidentiality
- sending reminders
What is under coverage bias?
when you only sample from a subset of the population you are interested in.
What is information bias?
when key study variables are inaccurately measured or classified.
What are the types of information bias?
- Recall bias
- Observer/ detection bias
- Performance bias
What is recall bias?
Infrequent events will be more memorable for a longer period of time than routine events
What is observer/ detection bias?
the tendency of researchers or observers to perceive, interpret, or report study outcomes in a manner consistent with their expectations or hypotheses.
What is performance bias?
participants in a study modify their behavior because they are aware of what is the control and
what is the treatment.
What is response bias?
refers to several factors that can lead someone to respond falsely or
inaccurately to a question.
What are the types of response bias?
- Acquiescence bias
- Demand characteristics
- Social desirability bias
- Courtesy bias
- Question order bias
- Extreme responding
What is acquiescence bias?
Tendency of respondents to agree with a statement when faced
with binary response options like “agree/disagree,” “yes/no,”
What are demand characteristics?
Cues that might indicate the research objectives to participants.
What is social desirability bias?
Tendency of participants to give responses that they believe will be viewed favorably by the researcher.
What is courtesy bias?
Reluctance to give negative feedback, so as to be polite to the person asking the question, may involve fear of repercussion too.
What is question order bias?
The order in which interview questions are asked influences the way the respondent interprets and evaluates them.
What is extreme responding?
The tendency of a respondent to answer in the extreme, choosing the lowest or highest response available
What is a population?
entire group to which results are to be applied
What is a sample?
subset of population yielding results
