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Bias Definitions Content
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary online defines BIAS as follows:
3 a : BENT, TENDENCY b : an inclination of temperament or outlook;
especially : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment : PREJUDICE c
: an instance of such prejudiced (1) : deviation of the expected value
of a statistical estimate from the quantity it estimates (2) :
systematic error introduced into sampling or testing by selecting or
encouraging one outcome or answer over others.
synonyms: PREDILECTION, PREPOSSESSION, PREJUDICE, BIAS
PREDILECTION implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or
experience (a predilection for horror movies). PREPOSSESSION suggests a
fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything
counter to it (a prepossession against technology). PREJUDICE usually
implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in
suspicion, fear, or intolerance (a mindless prejudice against the
unfamiliar). BIAS implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of
judgment in favor of or against a person or thing (the common bias
against overweight people).
This tool will adopt the definition above that “bias implies an
unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a
person or thing.” On this basis, reasoned policies or actions based on
open faculty deliberations that entertain diversity of views, or
consistently derived, explained, publicized and applied institutional
objectives are not biased because they represent reasoned, fairly
judged, corporate responses. However, it is recognized that some
individuals may not agree with such reasoned policies or actions
because they may not coincide with their own closely held personal
views.
Bias involves unreasoned judgments or actions that reflect preferences
or predilections, typically held by individuals and expressed either in
overt or subtle ways. This is the definition of bias that is of most
concern in mentoring, P&T deliberations and career development.
Common forms of bias include, but are not limited to, unreasoned
preferences related to:
- Age
- Allocation of financial, space and equipment resources
- Assignment of graduate students
- Assignment of committee and other service duties
- Disability
- Economic Status
- Engaging in interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research
- Ethnicity
- Forums for publishing and presentation
- Gender
- Race
- Religious affiliation/preference
- Selection of mentors and methods of guidance
- Selection of review committee representations
- Teaming versus independent investigation
- Utility and expectations of mentoring processes
A significant objective of this tool is to assist in identifying
unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment (i.e., bias) that might
affect faculty development and case deliberations in P&T processes,
how to guard against expressing it, and how to respond appropriately to
it when manifested.
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