Bias in Prospective Research and How to Avoid it.

Abstract

Prospective research studies answer clinical questions via randomized control studies or prospective cohort studies. Bias is defined as any deviation from the truth when interpreting data. Broadly speaking, bias is categorized into 3 categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding bias. Furthermore, misinterpretation of presented statistics in research studies causes acceptance of conclusions which may not necessarily be true. This paper identifies sources of bias in prospective research and instructions to avoid bias.