Biases & Confounders

Question 1

Confirmation Bias

Answer 1

tendency to seek out information that supports something you already believe

Question 2

Dunning Kruger effect

Answer 2

people perceive a concept or event to be simplistic because their knowledge about is may be simple or lacking
- can lead people to think they are smarter than they are

Question 3

Cultural Bias

Answer 3

involves those who perceive other cultures as being abnormal, outlying or exotic, simply based on a comparison to their own culture
- created attitudes or stereotypes

Question 4

In Group Bias

Answer 4

refers to how people are more likely to support or believe someone within their own social group rather than an outsider

Question 5

Self serving Bias

Answer 5

assumption that good things happen to us when we have done all things right, but bad things happen to us because of circumstances outside our control or thing other people purport

Question 6

Selection Bias (personal/Cognitive Bias)

Answer 6

refers to the way individuals notice things more when something has happened to make us notice that particular thing more

Question 7

Confirmation Bias

Answer 7

selective gathering and interpretation of evidence consistent with current beliefs and the neglect of evidence that contradicts them

Question 8

Anchoring Bias

Answer 8

practice of prioritising information and data that support a clinicians initial impressions, even when first impressions are wrong

Question 9

Selection Bias (in research)

Answer 9

when individuals or groups in a study differ systematically from the population of interest leading to a systematic error in an association or outcome

• Preventative steps (true randomisation)

Question 10

Recall Bias

Answer 10

• Systematic error due to differences in accuracy or completeness of recall to memory of past events or experiences
• common problem in studies that use self-reporting, such as pain during the week

Question 11

Information Bias

Answer 11

• arises from systematic differences in the collection, recall, recording or handling of information used in a study

Question 12

Observer Bias

Answer 12

process of observing and recording information which includes systematic discrepancies from the truth

Question 13

Hawthorne Effect

Answer 13

when individuals modify an aspect of their behaviour in response to their awareness of being observed

Question 14

Lack of Blinding Effect

Answer 14

• blinding is to reduce bias due to knowledge of which intervention or control is being received by study participants
• blinding can be single, double or triple blinded

Question 15

Volunteer Bias

Answer 15

• Participants volunteering to take part in a study intrinsically have different characteristics from the general population if interest
• sample consists of volunteers
• can include attitudes towards the trial, interventions, and institutions involved

Question 16

Attrition Bias

Answer 16

unequal loss of participants from study groups in a trial

Question 17

Publication Bias

Answer 17

likelihood of a study being published is affected by the findings if the study

Question 18

Correlation

Answer 18

when two factors are related, but one does not necessarily cause the other

Question 19

Causation

Answer 19

when one factor causes another

Question 20

Confounders

Answer 20

• influence of an extraneous, third variable , which distorts the association between exposure and outcome variables
• occurs when observed exposure-outcome relationship is in part or wholly due to a third factor
• something than other than the thing being studied, that could be causing the results seen in a study
• commonly occurs in observational studies

Question 21

Criteria for Confounder

Answer 21

1. Independent predictor of the outcome
2. Associated with the exposure of interest
3. Not an intermediate link in the causal pathway between exposure and outcome

Question 22

Universal Confounders

Answer 22

Age
Gender
Socioeconomic