Citation
Kaufman, Jay S. (2009). Interaction Reaction.
Epidemiology, 20(2), 159-160.
Abstract
A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but this is no license to ignore the importance of precise language in scientific writing. Many of the technical terms used in epidemiology have alternate meanings in common parlance. Statisticians are particularly clever at transforming mundane words into apt metaphors (eg, “bootstrap,” “kernel,” “jackknife”). But, multiple meanings can also create confusion. Our use of the word “bias” frequently raises eyebrows among nonepidemiologists. To “confound” means something different in ordinary English than in the context of epidemiology.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0b013e318197c0f5Reference Type
Journal Article
Year Published
2009
Journal Title
Epidemiology
Author(s)
Kaufman, Jay S.