title: Improving the evidence base in surgery: sources of bias in surgical studies.
abstract: Clinical epidemiology, which is concerned with the application of epidemiological principles to patient care, provides the scientific basis for evidence-based medicine. The present paper reviews the epidemiological concepts of selection bias, measurement bias and confounding in surgical research and discusses ways in which these sources of bias can be minimized in surgical studies.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Outcomes Research Centre (SOuRCe), Central Sydney Area Health Service, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. jyoung@email.cs.nsw.gov.au
authors.forename: Jane M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Solomon
mesh_terms: D015982:Bias; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D015983:Selection Bias; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative