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“The methodology of positionality requires researchers to identify their own degrees of privilege through factors of race, class, educational attainment, income, ability, gender, and citizenship, among others … Doing so helps them understand how their way of making meaning, of framing research, within their conceptual universe is tied to their positionality within an unjust world.”
Marisa Elena Duate, Network Sovereignty
Historically, we have separated the research from the researcher and assumed that people could do research without their own viewpoint affecting their subject. But our viewpoints are why we choose to research certain things over others. Our life experiences shape what we research, and influence how we research them.
Positionality statements are more and more being included in the methods sections of research papers. They seek to locate the researcher in the following areas:
“Bias is any trend or deviation from the truth in data collection, data analysis, interpretation and publication which can cause false conclusions”
(Simundic, 2013, p. 12).
There are many different types of bias, here are some common ones to look for in your research
Confirmation bias is seeking information that already supports your belief. To help avoid this, we can make sure our search terms do not lead our search in a particular direction, and try to find sources that oppose our hypothesis.
We can also make sure that when we analyze our data, we do so objectively, without presupposing conclusions.
Confirmation bias can also appear as filter bubbles, a situation where algorithms show us only the information and opinions we already believe. For example, Google tailors your search results based on your previous search history. It also makes assumptions based on your IP address. While this can make life easier, the danger is that you will only see one side to something. Try using Duck Duck Go, a search engine that does not track your searches.
Publication bias refers to the bias in what studies actually get published. A lot of research is conducted and never published, and some of that is because publication is an industry that chooses what it wants to publish based on what will sell. Research has shown that research with positive and statistically significant findings are more likely to be published (Florczak, 2022). We need to consider that we might not be seeing all of the research done on a subject - only the research that has been published.
Selection bias is found when participants are selected for studies. We need to consider who we are inviting to participate in our research, as well as where we are recruiting from, in order to obtain a randomized and representative population.