Perspectives in Human Sciences

Starter: fact or opinion? Make a list of facts and opinions in this…

1. What is the difference between perspective, opinion and bias? Define, discuss then search up here or here.... Why might this be important to be aware of when considering the value of knowledge in the human sciences?

2. How can perspectives influence our view of the world? Here are some examples of different perspectives on the American Revolution or consider how maps can provide different perspectives (maybe you want to look at some terrible maps).

3. Take the Harvard Implicit Bias test. How might the implicit biases present in a researcher impact the impartiality of their studies? Does this matter?

4. Can you make sense of this?

What impact could cognitive biases have on the search for knowledge in social sciences?

5. What other forms of bias exist and what protections against research error and bias are available to human scientists?

Here's a link to help understand biases more generally, and how to avoid them. Maybe you would like a TED....

PLENARY: If two competing paradigms give different explanations of a phenomenon, how can we decide which explanation to accept?