COMMON BIASES IN RESEARCH Flashcards
Rhetorical techniques used to convince the reader without reference.
Bias of rhetoric
Knowledge of a subject’s prior exposure may influence subject selection or
the outcome of an intervention.
Suspicion Bias
Authors may restrict references to only those works which
support their conclusions.
One-sided reference
When a topic is “hot”, investigators and editors may not be able to resist
publishing additional results
Hot Stuff Bias
Authors are more likely to submit and publish positive results.
Positive Result Bias
Samples which are too small can prove nothing; samples which are too
large can prove anything.
Sample size bias
When hospitalization rates differ for different
exposures/diseases, the relation between exposure and diseases can become distorted.
Admission rate
Certain clinical procedures may be preferentially offered to those
at low risk or those expected to have a favorable outcome.
Procedure selection bias
Certain clinical procedures may be preferentially offered to those
at low risk or those expected to have a favorable outcome.
Procedure selection bias
When an investigator knows what treatment the subjects are
receiving the outcomes or measurements may be influenced.
Therapeutic Personality Bias
Bias: Certain clinical data may be missing because they were normal,
negative, never measured, or never recorded.
Missing Clinical Data
When outcome measures are incapable of detecting clinically
significant differences.
Intensive Measure Bias
Certain measurements may be altered from usual values when the
patient is apprehensive.
Apprehension Bias
Subjects may alter their responses based on what they perceive to be
desired by the investigator.
Obsequiousness bias
Defects in the calibration or maintenance of measurement instruments
may lead to systematic deviations in results.
Instrument Bias
