An inclination that influences judgment. The term bias may be
used in a merely descriptive way to mean an inclination, but more
often it is used as a term of evaluation to mean an inclination
that inflluences judgment and ought not to. Prejudice is a
synonym for bias in this pejorative sense. However, bias that
cannot be completely eliminated in the work of scientific
investigators, in contrast to bias or prejudicce that can and
should be eliminated, is also an important topic in research
ethics. For example, the way disciplinary training inclines people
to interpret the results of an experiment in terms of the
established categories of that discipline is a feature of research,
and one that must be taken into account in assessing
responsible behavior in research.
Since undertaking research requires undergoing advanced training in
a discipline, it is impossible to eliminate all preconceptions from
one's interpretation of the data. Of course, researchers may hold
disciplinary biases and still be unbiased in other respects. For
exmample, they may be impartial on the question of the truth or
falsity of a particular research hypothesis.