So, what is bias? There are many and varied types - I could spend another entire thread on just a handful - but the easiest way to think of it is anything that could've influenced the outcome
What do I mean by this? Well, here's an example from the recent study on carbs and health in the Lancet: reporting biaspic.twitter.com/ef2Q4Kw7Hg
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We know that people under-report their food intake to medical professionals This is not surprising. No one likes to admit to their doctor that they aren't following the diet they're supposed topic.twitter.com/7MMFIzIlGe
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But, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, this reporting bias impacts every single person in the study in a similar way Thus, it shouldn't impact the results, except to potentially make them seem LESS meaningful than they actually are
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If someone is bashing a piece of research, take a look at their arguments and think: "Is this really going to influence the results?" "Will it impact all groups equally?" "WHAT impact will it have?" These are all vital questions to answer
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They are also important for you yourself if you want to know more about the research and its usefulness
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This has been my brief thread on bias. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll do another on different sources of bias or expand on this one
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End of conversation
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