Bias

Bias (medicine)

Bias (pronounced: /ˈbaɪəs/) in the context of medicine refers to systematic deviation from the truth or from the facts in medical research. It can lead to incorrect conclusions and misinterpretations.

Etymology

The term "bias" originates from the Old French word "biais" which means "slant, slope, oblique".

Types of Bias

There are several types of bias in medical research, including:

• Selection bias - This occurs when the participants selected for a study are not representative of the entire population.

• Information bias - This happens when there is systematic difference in the collection of data regarding the participants in a study.

• Confounding bias - This type of bias occurs when the effect of one factor (the confounding variable) on the outcome is mixed with the effect of another factor.

Related Terms

• Blinding - A technique used in research to eliminate bias by hiding the intervention from the researcher and/or the participant.

• Randomization - A method based on chance alone by which the participants of a study are assigned to groups.

• Placebo effect - A beneficial effect produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient's belief in that treatment.

See Also

• Epidemiology
• Clinical trial
• Evidence-based medicine

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Bias
• Wikipedia's article - Bias

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