Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Discover how selection bias impacts decision making in this 5:08 minute video lesson.

Selection bias is a common problem that can occur when analyzing data that is not fully representative of the information intended to be studied. This can lead to inaccurate conclusions and decisions that are not based on the full picture. A classic example of selection bias is the story of the statistician Abraham Wald and the missing US Air Force planes.

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This video was made with the support of our Patrons: Alex Rodriguez, Andrea Basillio Rava, Angela, ArkiTechy, Artur, azad bel, Badrah, Bernd Gaertner, Cedric.Wang, Daniele Diniz, David Markham, Delandric Webb, Digital INnov8ors, Dr. Matthias Müller-Mellin, Duane Bemister, Eva Marie Koblin, Fatenah G Issa, Floris Devreese, Frari63, Gerry Labelle, Ginger, Harmoniac Design, ICH KANN DEUTSCH UND ES WAR EINFACH!, Izzy, Jana Heinze, Jannes Kroon, Jeffrey Cassianna, Jim Pilgrim, Joanne Doyle, John Burghardt, Jonathan Schwarz, Jorge Luis Mejia Velazquez, jun omar ebdane, Khadijah Sellers, Leonel, Linus Linderoth, Lucia Simone Winston, Marcel, María, martin, Mathis Nu, Mezes.Macko, Michael Paradis, Mindozone, Natalie O’Brien, Nick Valerio, Nicki, Okan Elibol, Oweeda Newton, Peter Bishop, Povilas Ambrasas, Raymond Fujioka, Roel Vermeulen, Scott Gregory, scripz, Sebastian Huaytan Meder, Si, Stefan Gros, Stephen Clark, Stuart Bishop, Susan Schuster, Takashi HIROSE, Thomas Aschan, Tristan Scifo, Victor Paweletz, Yassine Hamza, Yvonne Clapham and all the others.Thank you! To join them visit patreon.com/sprouts

ORIGINAL TITLE
The Selection Bias

COLLABORATORS
Script: Jonas Koblin
Co-Author: Ludovico Saint Amour Di Chanaz
Artist: Pascal Gaggelli
Voice: Matt Abbott
Coloring: Nalin
Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa
Production: Selina Bador
Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda

SOUNDTRACKS
Magical Keys - Studio Le Bus
Midnight Mischief - Jonathan Boyle
Nice Toys - Studio Le Bus

DIG DEEPER with these top videos, games and resources:
Read about Simpson’s paradox
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpson%27s_paradox

Read this article about the different possible types of selection bias
scribbr.com/research-bias/selection-bias/#:~:text=Example%3A%20Selection%20bias%20Health%20studies,ability%20to%20generalize%20your%20findings.

Read about why a Hospital is the most dangerous place on earth.
link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-51729-8_1

Read this article on how to avoid selection bias in geriatric research.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31211407

SOURCES
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_bias
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Wald
cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db118.htm

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
Visit our website to see suggested activity for classroom on this topic.

CHAPTER
00:00 Introduction
00:20 Selection Bias
00:34 Abraham Wald's story
01:38 The missing planes
02:22 The simpson paradox
02:38 The real example
03:19 Conclusion
03:33 What do you think?
04:23 Patrons credits
05:29 Ending

#sproutsschools #selectionbias #bias #psychology