Evaluating Research:
Publisher's Bias
Each publisher has a bias about the type of material they publish. This bias is not, in and of itself, bad. For example, the mission--or bias--of Wayne State University Press is:
Wayne State University Press is a leading publisher of Great Lakes books, Judaica, and African American studies, as well as a wide range of other scholarly and general interest titles. The Press disseminates research, advances education, and serves the local community while expanding the international reputation of the Press and the University.
As with other university presses, the focus of the Wayne State University Press is on academic publications; publications that are well researched and documented. And although they have a series of books concerning humor, you will not find joke books bearing their imprint. Instead, you find titles such as
- Performing Marginality: Humor, Gender, and Cultural Critique by Joanne R. Gilbert
- Humor in Borges by René de Costa
- Taking Penguins to the Movies: Ethnic Humor in Russia by Emil A. Draitser
- Laughing Feminism: Subversive Comedy in Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth, and Jane Austen by Audrey Bilger
Although Taking Penguins to the Movies might sound like a joke book in the flavor of Dave Barry, we know that Wayne State University Press does not publish books written in Dave Barry's style. Instead, Dave Barry's Boogers Are My Beat: More Lies, but Some Actual Journalism (2004), was published by Crown.
Discussion
Gayle Morrison's To Move A Mountain: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America was published by the Bahai Press. Because of this, we can be pretty certain that Morrison does not paint a negative picture of Gregory, a prominent Bahai. This is not to suggest anything negative about Morrison's research. But knowing the publisher helps the researcher known what to expect.
Special Notes on Web Pages
Web sites also have biases. For example, information on the The American Nazi Party web site will be filtered through the prism of white supremacy.
Some individuals would argue that the American Nazi Party is a hate site that should be banned. But Amy S. Glenn, author of Critical Surfing would disagree. Glenn claims that "Freedom of speech "“ even stupid speech "“ is the cornerstone of a democracy." She argues that "The only time stupid speech is dangerous is if the reader is not critical "¦ if the reader believes everything that is read." She then provides a list of things that a critical reader needs to consider when visiting a web site.
