About Truncation Types

Truncation (Pemancungan): A selection mechanism by design. Only subjects satisfying certain conditions regarding their survival time are included.

Left Truncation (Delayed Entry)

Subject enters study after time 0; only observed if .

Examples:

  • Nursing home: Subjects must survive long enough to enter
  • Life insurance: Policyholders must be alive when signing up

Right Truncation

Subject exits study before event; only observed if .

Example: Historical death records—only people who have already died are included.

Comparison with Censoring

FeatureCensoringTruncation
NatureMissing information about exact timeSelection bias by study design
AwarenessResearcher knows subject existsResearcher may not know excluded subjects exist