Published on
December 8, 2021
by
Pritha Bhandari.
Revised on
March 31, 2022.
Observer bias happens when a researcher’s expectations, opinions, or prejudices influence what they perceive or record in a study. It often affects studies where observers are aware of the research aims and hypotheses. Observer bias is also called detection bias or ascertainment bias.
Observer bias is particularly likely to occur in observational studies. But it can also affect other types of research where measurements are taken or recorded manually.
Continue reading: Observer bias
Published on
November 1, 2021
by
Pritha Bhandari.
Revised on
May 10, 2022.
Attrition is participant dropout over time in research studies. It’s also called subject mortality, but it doesn’t always refer to participants dying!
Almost all longitudinal studies will have some dropout, but the type and scale of the dropout can cause problems. Attrition bias is the selective dropout of some participants who systematically differ from those who remain in the study.
Attrition bias is especially problematic in randomized controlled trials for medical research.
Continue reading: Attrition bias in research
Published on
October 20, 2021
by
Pritha Bhandari.
In research, demand characteristics are cues that might indicate the study aims to participants. These cues can lead participants to change their behaviors or responses based on what they think the research is about.
Demand characteristics are problematic because they can bias your research findings. They commonly occur in psychology experiments and social sciences studies because these involve human participants.
It’s important to consider potential demand characteristics in your research design and deal with them appropriately to obtain valid results.
Continue reading: Understanding demand characteristics
