Bias - Information Literacy Skill Development

Bias Definitions 

This comprehensive list of terms and definitions will help you start your bias inquiry to better connect you with bias information and resources.

Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from the norm.  They are based on the human brain’s ability to process information and produce decisions and/or judgement.

Glossary of bias terms – From the Washington University of St. Louis, most of the definitions are based on human bias concepts.

Wikipedia bias overview – Further divides bias into cognitive, contextual, and statistical, categories.

Cultural bias definitions – Presented by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, this resource identifies the most common human biases in a cause/effect format.

Source: "File:Cognitive Bias Codex - 180+ biases, designed by John Manoogian III (jm3).jpg." Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 27 Oct 2020, 05:22 UTC. 8 Mar 2021, 12:21 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cognitive_Bias_Codex_-_180%2B_biases,_designed_by_John_Manoogian_III_(jm3).jpg&oldid=503397534>.

These resources explore bias and bias-related topics:

Bias definition from Dictionary.com – This definition is a basic view of bias.

Bias basics from Psychology Today – Examines bias stereotypes and in relation to cognitive errors.

Bias Top-12 Everyday Decision-making – Looks at what biases affect everyday life.

Measurement Error and Bias Validity – Explores selection bias, information bias, and bias in validation (false positives, etc.)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Biases – Identifies data biases (example: credit scores and assumptions made based on them) and how to manage them.

Cognitive bias and poor decision-making – This Atlantic article looks at ways the human brain tricks itself to make poor decisions based on bias-based information.

Bias in data and analytics – Reviews such topics as confirmation bias, selection bias, outliers, and overfitting/underfitting concepts.

Explicit vs. implicit bias – Highlights the similarities and differences between explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) bias.

Cognitive bias top 10 – Ranks the top cognitive bias conditions including anchoring bias, herd mentality, loss aversion, etc.

Statistical bias overview – Discusses the top statistical bias types including recall bias, observer bias, cause-effect bias, etc.

Bias in the sciences – This resource from the ADVANCEGeo Partnership reviews bias in the sciences, geosciences, etc.

Bias Information Toolkit – Identifying Bias – This interesting resource from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay highlights topics related to information bias, including how to investigate and validate opinions for truthfulness and content.

Cultural bias definitions – Presented by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, this resource identifies the most common human biases in a cause/effect format.

Debiasing and fake news – This information from the American Library Associations’ Association of College & Research Libraries will help you learn how to identify fake news and seek fact-based answers.

News bias – This Cornell University LibGuide profiles fake news, propaganda, and disinformation and also includes tips and strategies to use to avoid and address these issues.

International fact-checking – Presented by the Poynter Institute, a journalism ethics organization, this resource establishes international criteria for media outlets to use when investigating and reporting information worldwide.

Understanding and Navigating Discrimination in America is a resource guide to help people identify and understand challenging conversations about race and discrimination.