Text Readings:

Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health, Chapters 10 & 11.

Web Readings:

Bias & Confounding Lecture Slides

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this class, students will be able to:

1. Describe the key features and provide examples of selection bias, including control selection bias, self-selection bias; and differential surveillance, diagnosis, or referral.
2. Describe the key features and provide examples of observation bias, including recall bias, interviewer bias, loss to follow-up, and differential and non-differential misclassification.
3. Discuss how the magnitude and direction of bias can affect study results.
4. List the ways that selection and observation bias can be avoided or minimized.
5. Define and provide examples of confounding.
6. Describe the methods for assessing the presence of confounding.
7. Describe the methods for controlling confounding, including restriction, randomization, matching, and stratified multivariate analysis.

Assignment for Session Eleven

Again go to the "Epiville" site provided by the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and complete the simulation exercises on Bias and the one on Confounding through the section entitled "Dr. Shapiro's study." Do not complete the discussion questions for this simulation exercise. Thereafter, complete  study questions 1, 2 and 5 at the end of Chapter 10 and questions 1, 2 and 5 at the end of Chapter 11 in  Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health. Finally, in preparation for the final exam, be sure that you can answer all of the questions posed in the learning objectives.