Hello Reader,

Today we discuss bias in research and how we can deal with it.

It is good to have an opinion, but we don't want the result of our research to be "just our opinion". Instead, we want to understand a phenomenon in a "realistic" manner. We try to be "objective".

Unfortunately, it is impossible to see the world without having a perspective. So, on a personal level, objectivity is impossible.

Instead, every time we see things from a given perspective, we are introducing bias.

Every time you interpret your results, you are biased by your conceptual framework or method.

Every time you interpret a source, you are biased by your current knowledge and goals.

Every time you observe something, you are biased by your instruments, current knowledge, and goals.

Research is always biased.

So if we want research that is "realistic" (i.e. unbiased) but all research is biased, how can we deal with this dichotomy? And, even better, how can we use our notes to help us with that? 😉

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The best way to remove bias is by making bias explicit.

The more we look at a situation from multiple perspectives and using different frameworks, the less bias we have. But there is just so much a single person can do.

So, instead of pretending your research is objective and unbiased, do the opposite.

Make all your biases explicit and invite others to explore the same phenomenon from a different perspective (and cite you in the process, of course 😉).

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Exploring your biases

And how can you explore your own biases (using your notes)?

By creating objects of attention.

Let's see what objects of attention are and how they work with an example from the Prolific Researcher Mentorship programme.

Let us suppose you read the sentence below in a paper, or heard it in an interview. How would explain this sentence to someone else?

How would you paraphrase it?

The answer to these questions lies in how you read the sentence and what you focus your attention on.

Today, let’s investigate the attention part of things.

How many "things" can you focus on in the sentence above?

Here is a short list:

• Dolly - a toy doll you are observing
• doll - what it means to be a toy doll
• is - what it means to be
• Dolly (reference) - the person the doll is mimicking
• Dolly is a doll (meaning) - the fact that Dolly is a toy doll
• Dolly is a doll (meaning) - the fact that someone is as beautiful as a doll
• Dolly is a doll (meaning) - the fact that someone is as artificial as a doll
• Dolly - a person or animal (that is as beautiful or as artificial as a doll)
• doll - what it means to call a person or animal a "doll"
• is - what makes a person or animal be called a doll

A simple sentence and at least 10 possible objects of attention you can extract from it.

As you set your attention to something (often without noticing), the mind starts working.

If we set our attention to Dolly (reference) we may question who Dolly is, and what makes her so famous as to have a doll in her name. Then we go away from the initial sentence into studying the history and identity of Dolly (Dolly Parton?).

But if we choose to focus our attention on the idea that Dolly is a toy doll then we may start questioning the beauty standards dolls set for children worldwide, start thinking about body image, and follow an entirely different train of thought.

Depending on where you focus, you build a different network of ideas.

This network reflects your bias.

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Making your bias explicit

So, how can objects of attention and your notes help make your biases explicit?

1. Stop quoting! Quoting and highlighting won't show your bias, so your bias will remain within your mind.
2. Write down your thoughts. Your bias shows in how you think and interpret what you read.
3. Identify objects of attention in YOUR text. Objects of attention are created by you, with how you direct your attention. So use your text (from step 2) to identify which objects come out of that.
4. Give each object a name and its own note (I call them "idea notes"). Idea notes will make your objects explicit and enable you to address them directly.

As we focus on something, something else gets ignored. That’s how bias is created.

By making your objects of attention explicit, you can question which objects you ignored and invite others to provide a different focus for attention.

Objects of attention also help with the retrieval of notes, finding your sources, synthesising information from multiple sources, and coming up with original ideas.

But these are topics for many playbook issues to come.

Ok.. time to address a counter-argument.

Some people may argue that the real meaning of 'Dolly is a doll' is given by the context in which the sentence appears. But that's not the case.

I could say: "I want to buy a gift for my niece. Dolly is a doll, so I think I will buy that one". One could hear me saying that and still think that dolls create a standard for girls or question who Dolly is for having a doll made with her name.

Meaning is given by how you interpret that sentence.

The context may just bias your attention towards one focus or another (or constraint possible interpretations), but in the end, you are the one who chooses where your attention goes.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Until then, take care.

Bianca

P.S.: I don't have ADHD but my students say that "objects of attention" help them respect and guide how their attention works.

When it is time to express yourself, you can let your attention go wherever it goes. Then when it is time to focus, having an object of attention provides enough constraints to not let the mind wander around too much. In the end, you can SEE the multiple ideas you have created rather than having a feeling of scattered thoughts.

If you have ADHD and want to learn more, send me a reply and let's have a chat.