Bias is “the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment” as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary.
It is important to recognise its existence so that you can actively avoid it as far as possible when doing research.
Recognising your own bias
When searching for information, it is important to acknowledge that our own bias can affect which information we trust and which we discard, indeed which sources we search out in the first place. There are different types of bias within us that we need to be aware of before embarking on a research project:
Unconscious bias, according to the definition provided by the Royal Society, is "when we make judgements or decisions on the basis of our prior experience, our own personal, deep-seated thought patterns, assumptions or interpretations, and we are not aware that we are doing it".
Confirmation bias is "people's tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs".
Watch this video for tips on how to avoid unconscious bias: