Canvas Content Repository: Avoiding Bias

Each of us has deeply held perspectives based on our lived experiences, our education, our belief system, and so on. That's OK! But college-level research requires us to hold some of these opinions at bay. Otherwise, bias - defined by the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology as "an inclination toward a position or conclusion" - can cloud our judgment and ability to find quality resources. 

Confirmation Bias

One of the most common instances of bias occurs when we seek out information or research that will supporting our predetermined ideas and opinions, or when we ignore facts that contradict our hypotheses. This is known as confirmation bias. 

News Bias

Most major news organizations make an effort to deliver news in an unbiased manner. Still, the stories they choose to cover (or not) and the questions they ask may reflect the organization's bias. If the owner of a media organization has a political or economic agenda, they may have an influence on coverage. 

Media Bias Charts and Their Context

Most news outlets fall onto a spectrum of political bias. As more of us receive news through social media, the source of news can be harder to detect and evaluate. News and media bias impacts how we receive news information. Depending on the source of the content, there is a spectrum of bias that needs to be evaluated and understood before a source can be used for academic research.

Below is a Media Bias Chart from Ad Fontes media, which analyzes coverage of different media outlets (TV networks, websites, podcasts) and determines where they fall on a spectrum of reliability and political persuasion. 

While media bias charts can be an introduction to an organization's political coverage, they should be used with limits and caution. 

Here are some important points to consider:

• Implication of Neutrality: These charts present political bias as a spectrum from left to right, suggesting that centrism is neutral. That's a common misconception when consulting these charts. But no bias is truly neutral. Centrism often supports the status quo, which can favor certain groups and disadvantage others. Additionally, centrist reporting may exclude important ideas from other parts of the spectrum in an attempt to appear neutral. While some sites address this in FAQs, the charts themselves often lack context.
• False Equivalence: Centrist sources often commit the logical fallacy of false equivalence, also called "bothsidesism." This involves giving equal time and weight to both sides of an issue, even if one side has less merit or support than the other. For example, the scientific consensus on climate change overwhelmingly supports that human activities are driving the rapid and dangerous rise in global temperatures. If news coverage of climate change events gives equal attention to climate change denial, readers might be led to believe that perspective has equal scientific support.
• What Counts as News: The charts include reputable news organizations alongside known conspiracy sites. Even if less reliable sources are labeled, their presence can mislead people into thinking they're part of a balanced news diet.

Remember that political bias isn't the sole factor to consider when evaluating a source. In many cases, it isn't even the most important. This is why we encourage using the SIFT Method to assess information more holistically.

Filter Bubbles

Would it surprise you to learn that:

• 54 percent of adults and 51 percent of teens in the U.S. receive their news from social media? (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2025; Deloitte, 2022)

And yet:

• 58 percent have little or no trust in social media as a news source (Morning Consult, 2022)

The rise of social media since the start of the century has coincided with a decreasing trust in legacy news media sources, such as radio, TV and news publications (print and online). Biases in social media algorithms are well documented, leading to many instances of confirmation bias. It has also given rise to what activist Eli Pariser has coined "filter bubbles," in which many internet users are less likely to encounter or interact with different people, ideas, and beliefs. The more you "like," "heart," click or comment on content with certain themes, you're less likely to come across content that counters what you've already seen and interacted with.

Combatting Bias

There are many ways you can avoid letting your biases influences your research process.

• Phrase your research topic as an open-ended question. For example, "What are the effects of social media on the mental health of adolescents?" is open-ended. "Social media is bad for teens' mental health" is more biased.
• Seek out other perspectives on topics that interest you. The "Viewpoints" section of each Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints topic page contains a range of opinion pieces related to the issue.