What is Bias?
According to Dictionary.com, the definition of bias is:
a particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especially one that is preconceived or unreasoned:illegal bias against older job applicants;the magazine’s bias toward art rather than photography;our strong bias in favor of the idea.
unreasonably hostile feelings or opinions about a social group; prejudice:accusations of racial bias.
Bias
Types of Media Bias
Scholarly Bias Part 1
This video explains how important it is to really dig into the purpose of a source to see if they have any biases, and why failing to account for purpose can lead to you using less reliable sources than you might have intended.
Scholarly Bias Part 2
In addition to bias within an organization like we saw in the video to the left, it's also very important to consider whether a source's information is rooted in facts, or whether this source wants to convert you to a specific viewpoint. College-level research should not use biased language or be based in opinion, but should try to stick to facts and data. Watch the following video to see an example.
Funding Bias
"Funding bias, also known as sponsorship bias, funding outcome bias, funding publication bias, and funding effect, refers to the tendency of a scientific study to support the interests of the study's financial sponsor" -Wikipedia (Links to an external site.)
According to Johnathan Dorwin of the State Science and Technology Institute (Links to an external site.), "Around two-thirds of basic research is privately funded" (qtd in "Adam Ruins Science (Links to an external site.)"). This has significant implications for scientific research.
Implicit Bias
Why Flawed Studies Get Published: Adam Ruins Everything
Retracted Studies
The following website tracks retracted studies and can be helpful for students to check to see if certain studies have been retracted: