FSC100H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Confirmation Bias
Document Summary
Lecture #19 junk science & contextual and confirmation bias. Spotting the difference: good science, clear defined methodology, backed up by research, allows for independent testing and verification, admit and learn from errors, junk science, unproven or questionable research, driven by personal gain. The challenge: hard science vs. soft science (behavioural science, abuse excuse syndrome. Scientific methods under fire: fire investigations, arson. Biases: contextual bias, the effect of information or outside influences on the evaluation and interpretation of data, e. g. : handing someone a phone for forensic analysis and specifically telling them to have a look at the home button . Surely, a more experienced examiner would not make a mistake. Now the identification that needs to be verified was made at 5 pm on friday afternoon and the verifying analyst has unchangeable plans for 5:30 pm that he/she had been waiting on all year. Why does confirmation bias occur: confirmation bias occurs when we lose our ability to be objective.
