User:AprilIsTrying/Recall bias

Recall bias is a bias (specifically a form of information bias) that occurs when study participants don't recall preceding events or experiences correctly or expunge details about those aforementioned events or experiences, as succeeding events or experiences may influence the accuracy of memories. Consequently, the study participants who fall victim to the bias inadvertently make the study less accurate. This bias frequently occurs in case-control studies and cohort studies; typically ones that are retroactive. It may also be referred to as a form of response bias.

Recall bias worsens if the subject participant has sub-par memory and if the events or experiences in question occurred some time ago. Recall bias may be affected by the age, class and education of the study participant, but beliefs gained anterior to the study can also influence the bias.

Actions that are unhealthy (such as smoking) typically are under-reported, ergo they are subject to this bias.

Examples
If someone has a serious illness, they might be more likely to remember earlier illness(es) in their life. This can lead the patient into thinking that their erstwhile illness(es) are associated with their subsequent serious illness. If the illness in question happened a long time ago (say all the way back a few months or years), recall bias is exacerbated, meaning the memory is more likely to be inaccurate.

Prevention
Recall bias is rather difficult to avoid, but there are ways to thwart off the bias. One solution is to utilize the hospital records of study recipients rather than accept whatever the aforementioned recipients claim.

https://catalogofbias.org/biases/recall-bias/

https://books.google.com/books?id=RPaQY8cG4N4C&pg=PA153#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1755823/pdf/v087p00493.pdf