For each of the following, identify the both the major type of bias (selection o

Question

For each of the following, identify the both the major type of bias (selection or information) and the bias subtype (e.g. non-response bias, volunteer bias, recall bias, etc.).

An epidemiologist examines the association between the use of diet pills and migraine headaches using a case-control study design. His participants are outpatients at a large community hospital. He finds that those using diet pills are more likely to complain of migraines, but he also discovers that those who have migraine headaches and use diet pills are more likely to be referred to the community hospital for out­patient diagnostic testing than those who have migraines but are not using diet pills

Explanation / Answer

This is a case of selection bias, since his participants are from the community hospital which has majority of patients who have migraine headaches and are taking diet pills, rather than a random mix of people who are taking and not taking pills.

Also, the subtype is observer bias, since the epidemiologist already knows that hose who have migraine headaches and use diet pills are more likely to be referred to the community hospital for out­patient diagnostic testing than those who have migraines but are not using diet pills. This would not have been an observer bias if the epidemiologist had not discovered this prior to his research.

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