Greenberg E R
Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH.
Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Jan;131(1):1-5. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115462.
Random digit dialing is an effective method for creating a probability sample of households for telephone interviews. Epidemiologists have successfully used the technique to select controls for population-based case-control studies. However, a modified version of random digit dialing used in some institution-based studies of childhood cancer etiology involves a selection process which is biased against children from families with closely spaced births. The author discusses alternative approaches to reducing this bias in control group selection.
