Bias
Bias generally means "bias," "prejudice," or "preconceived notion," and is a term that describes a distortion of perception or bias in thinking, clinical research and real-world data the term bias, when used in conjunction with data-related terms such as "clinical research" and "real-world data," refers to the tendency for data to not accurately reflect the truth due to some factor.
Bias in data can lead to erroneous conclusions, so when collecting data in surveys and research, bias should be avoided as much as possible.
In research in medicine, bias can be described as a bias that distorts the results of a study. Typical examples include "selection bias" and "information bias. In order to correctly interpret research results, it is necessary to consider the possible effects of bias.
Biases can arise from a variety of factors. Selection bias" refers to the fact that, for example, when conducting a health awareness survey, the characteristics of the target population (e.g., age, presence of underlying medical conditions, etc.) may differ depending on whether the survey is conducted in a hospital or via the Internet, and the response trends are likely to change accordingly. In addition, depending on the text of the question, there is a possibility of inducing respondents to choose a particular option more easily. This is one example of "information bias.
When conducting surveys and research, we must understand the factors that may cause bias and consider ways to avoid bias as much as possible.
Randomized clinical trials is one way to reduce bias by balancing patient characteristics that affect the effectiveness of a drug.