Bias can significantly impact the validity of epidemiological studies. Common types of bias include selection bias, information bias, and confounding.
- Selection bias occurs when the participants selected for the study are not representative of the target population. - Information bias arises from inaccuracies in data collection. - Confounding happens when an extraneous variable is associated with both the exposure and the outcome, distorting the true relationship.
Epidemiologists use various methods to mitigate bias, such as randomization, blinding, and statistical adjustments.
