Recognising Confirmation Bias in Your Own Research
Launch library · evergreen read
Once a writer has formed a working theory about a story, there is a natural, largely unconscious tendency to notice evidence that supports it more readily than evidence that complicates or contradicts it, a bias that operates quietly regardless of a writer's genuine, sincere intentions.
Deliberately searching for disconfirming evidence, actively looking for the source that would complicate the working theory rather than simply confirm it, is one of the more reliable countermeasures available, even though it can feel counterproductive in the middle of an otherwise promising and productive research process.
Building this check into a project's routine, rather than trusting to good faith alone, treats confirmation bias as the predictable, well documented pattern it actually is, rather than a failure specific to any one particular writer or personal shortcoming. Naming the bias openly within a team, rather than treating its existence as an uncomfortable accusation, makes it far easier to catch collectively than any single writer working entirely alone.