Quantitative Concept
selection bias Audio
se·lec·tion bi·as [ seh-lek-shun by-us ]
Subclass of:
Bias (Epidemiology)
Definitions related to selection bias:
  • An error in choosing the individuals or groups to take part in a study. Ideally, the subjects in a study should be very similar to one another and to the larger population from which they are drawn (for example, all individuals with the same disease or condition). If there are important differences, the results of the study may not be valid.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • The introduction of error due to systematic differences in the characteristics between those selected and those not selected for a given study. In sampling bias, error is the result of failure to ensure that all members of the reference population have a known chance of selection in the sample.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
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