-MSNBC, NBCBayArea.com, February 6, 2009 by John Boitnott
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29017531/from/ET/
“Findings that support our political beliefs are seen as objective facts about the world,” said Robert MacCoun, a Cal professor of public policy, law and psychology. “But study outcomes that conflict with our views are more likely to be seen as expressions of an ideological bias by the researcher…. If we really want to inform citizens and affect public policy, American social scientists need to learn more about how conservatives view our research in order to root out hidden assumptions and communicate our research more effectively.”
-KGO AM 810, Consumer Talk, February 7, 2009 Host Michael Finney
http://www.kgoam810.com/sectional.asp?id=31284
“People find research much more believable when it supports their own point of view. When we find research findings we don’t really like, and we’re reluctant to change our views, we can avoid changing our views by blaming the researcher for being biased.”
-KQED Forum, February 11, 2009 Host Michael Krasny
http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R902111000
“When the findings are congenial, we find that people find social science quite credible, and if the study comes out in the direction of people’s own beliefs, they say, “No, that sounds right.” On the other hand, if the finding conflicts with what we know to be their beliefs from questions we’ve asked them, the people start saying, “If the study found this the researcher must be biased in some way.”