Give one specific example of how the following kinds of biases could arise in the study and explain how you would avoid them. a) Participation Bias (2 points) b) Publication Bias (2 points)

Question

A study is performed to determine the effect of nicotine on attention span. Nicotine is the addictive component of tobacco. The sample is divided into a group that is required to wear a nicotine patch and a control group that is required to abstain from all forms of tobacco consumption. At the end of the study, the two groups are tested to evaluate their attention span and the results are compared.

Answer 1

Publication bias is not laid out in the example, but happens when only studies that show significant results get published, making an intervention appear more effective than it is. How can you see this applying here?

Answer 2

Hi, Zoe.

When it comes to participation bias, think about how the groups are divided. While you do have an experimental group and a control group, there is still a design flaw present. One of the cornerstones of good research is the construction of a double-blind experiment. In your example, both the subjects and the researchers know which subjects are in the experimental group vs the control group. You can use this information to finish answering the question about how you, as the researcher, could avoid participation bias and publication bias.

I hope this helps.