In a case-control study that found an association between breast cancer and air pollution, 500 women who had recently been diagn
osed were asked what industries were within a mile of their home twenty years ago. The controls were 500 healthy women. What is the most likely source of error in this study?
The most likely source of error in this study will be reporting bias. This is a type of error that occurs when there is selective reporting of some outcomes. The author was only concerned about asking what industries were within a mile of their homes twenty years ago and would probably use their response to come to a conclusion. There are several causes of cancer and picking only industries as one to base the study upon, would definitely lead to reporting error. The information sort for the sake of this study by the researcher is only a fraction of relevant evidence and could lead to wrong findings and inappropriate decisions.
