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Identifying Bias

 

It is possible to find bias at some level in every form of communication as it determines the information selected and valued by the viewer. Research findings in every field will contain bias tied to the researcher’s agenda as to which questions are investigated and which conclusions are reported. 

 

Common Bias

 

While bias is not bad, it must be recognized and the information within, evaluated.  As stated by Callison, the most common forms of bias are: 

  • Bogus claims – a claim can be considered false when the speaker or the writer promises more than he or she can deliver.

  • Loaded terms – a term is loaded when it carries more emotional impact than its context can really support.

  • Misrepresenting facts – such may involve wrong data, false data, and oversimplification of facts. 

 

To better understand the various types of bias that students should learn to recognize, they have been grouped into three categories: Confirmation Bias, Bias in Media and Belief Perseverance.

 

Confirmation Bias

This is a selective manner of selectiving chosing information and/or ignoring information in a way that that confirms one's beliefs.  This tendency will give more weight to what is already a belief, even if the belief is not deeply formed.  This may be harmful is the belief is based on a set of prejudice assumptions.  The following are the bias types that fall into this category as per Callison.

 

Bias in New Media

New media, such as daily newspapers or television programs may present bias which is difficult to detect.  They are presented in the following table as determined by Callison. 

Belief Perseverance

Belief Perseverance is a person's refusal or inability to relinquish a belief despite new information discrediting it.  Often associated with belief perseverance is confirmatory bias (see above) as one may seek information to support his or her held belief while ignoring information supporting opposing beliefs.

 

One issue with belief perseverance is that, regardless of age or experience, the viewer may have problems with new information that is unfamiliar to the viewer.  With the development of critical thinking skills, a viewer may pause to give consideration to new information and seek additional advice in order to make judgements to accept or reject the new information.

 

Classroom Application

  • Teachers may provide exercises on a regular basis so that students may find problems in short peices of curriculum-relevant text.

  • As students practice and become more skilled at identifying bias, teachers may progress from well-structured problems to providing ill-structured problems, gradually releasing students to independantly researching and evaluating content of text or media.

  • Students should practice formal argumentation, including the evaluation of evidence.  Debates, mock trials and editorials are some ways to practice these skills.  Encourage students to be able to switch sides and be able to argue both sides of an issue.

  • Provide a checklist for students to evaluate online content. In a study done by Pence and Pence, students used various online resources to evaluate the quality and intent of the websites students used. 

 

 

Visual Examples

To illustrate how one may first present this topic to students, the following images represent the same issue but from different views.   As you view them, ask yourself what type of bias they represent. 

References:

 

Callison, D. (2005). Bias. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 21(5), 34-36. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/237133329?accountid=15115

 

Pence, L. E., & Pence, H. E. (2009). Assessing resource bias and engaging students to personalize class content through internet social tagging. Journal of Chemical Education, 86(1), 41. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/211965311?accountid=15115

 

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