Interpreting Epidemiologic Evidence

Abstract
This book offers a strategy for assessing epidemiologic research findings. Specific tools for assessing the presence and impact of selection bias in both cohort and case-control studies, bias from non-response, confounding, exposure measurement error, disease measurement error, and random error are identified and evaluated in this book. It is a difficult task to assess how much confidence one can have in a given set of findings. Two elements have been lacking in empirical tools for assessing a given study's susceptibility to specific sources of error. One is a link between methodological principles and the tools themselves, which involves taking stock of why the strategy for addressing the potential bias may or may not actually be informative, and how it could be misleading. The other is a full listing of the candidates to consider in addressing a potential problem, in the hope of improving the ability to draw upon one tool or another in an appropriate situation. This book aims to link methodological principles with research practice.

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