Evaluating Research:
Author's Bias
When we speak of "bias" in evaluating an author's credibility, we are not assuming anything negative about the person because there is no such thing as a bias free text. All author's write from a point-of-view and therefore write from a bias.
For more information about bias, please consult the entry on "bias" which appears in our glossary.
Discussion
While reading Kevin Sinclair's Culture Shock, you will find that he is sympathetic to the Chinese government's reaction to the 1989 student protests in Tiananmen Square. He would disagree with CNN's characterization that the government's reaction was a "bloody suppression of the students."
Sinclair's pro-government position does not make him loose his credibility for it is possible for intelligent people to disagree on their interpretation of events as long as they do not distort their research. However, because his primary audience for Culture Shock is businessmen and businesswomen who are dealing with the Chinese government, his bias makes the book more valuable to them.
Please note: Although bias is not a negative term, there are authors whose bias gets in the way of quality research. These are the authors who ignore evidence that contradicts their point of view, use logical fallacies, lie, and so forth. Such bias is unacceptable.
Special Notes on Web Pages
Example 1: Hate Sites
Tolerance.org argues:
The wonder of the Internet has been tarnished by hundreds of Web sites that spew hate. Using the Net, hatemongers can now reach into the room of any child who has a home computer. Their sites are often deceptive. Many attempt to disguise their message under a veneer of respectability. They use manipulation and lies to make their ideas sound almost reasonable.
Specific examples of deception, manipulation, and lies--which are all unacceptable forms of bias--can be found on the Tolerance.org website.
Example 2: Writing Fellows Web Site
You can identify bias in the Writing Fellows web site that springs from our commitment to serving the needs of the students and faculty at Schoolcraft College. As a result, we are more likely to cite the local Holocaust Memorial Center instead of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as our example of a special collection in which research could be done.
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Hate on the Internet." nd. Tolerance.org.
