Uittreksel
Observers in applied ethological research are rarely blinded despite mounting evidence that
expectation biases may affect, and even invalidate, research outcomes. We surveyed delegates
of the ISAE-2014 congress shortly before (n=39 respondents) and after (n=51 respondents)
a combined congress plenary lecture and workshop on expectation bias in applied ethology.
During the lecture some examples of how expectancy effects influenced scores of animal
behaviour and welfare were presented. The aims were to evaluate the effect of the plenary lecture
and workshop on the opinion of the congress delegates on blinding observers and alternative
debiasing techniques. Awareness about expectancy effects and debiasing techniques was lower
before than immediately after the congress plenary lecture and workshop. Research situations
considered as most susceptible to expectation bias – i.e. when the data-collector uses subjective
methods and has strong expectations about the research outcome – were perceived to be more
common in applied ethology than in other scientific disciplines (29.8 vs 16.9%, P<0.001). Nonblinded
data collection in such research situations was viewed more disapprovingly after the
plenary lecture and workshop as compared to before (lsmean of 6.8 vs 7.8 on a 10-point Likert
scale, P<0.05). The main reasons why blinded observations are uncommon in applied ethology
seem to relate to a limited awareness about expectancy effects and to logistic constraints of
blinded observations rather than that the susceptibility of the research field is perceived to be
low. In addition to the immediate effect of the plenary lecture and workshop, a more sustained
and concerted effort throughout all stages of the research process seems warranted in order
to avoid expectation bias affecting research findings and in order to safeguard the scientific
credibility of the field of applied ethology
Oorspronkelijke taal | Engels |
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Titel | Proceedings of the 50th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology |
Editors | Cathy Dwyer, Marie Haskell, Victoria Sandilands |
Aantal pagina’s | 1 |
Plaats productie | Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
Uitgeverij | Wageningen Academic Publishers |
Publicatiedatum | 12-jul.-2016 |
Pagina's | 114 |
ISBN van geprinte versie | 978-90-8686-287-0 |
Publicatiestatus | Gepubliceerd - 12-jul.-2016 |
Evenement | 50th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology - United Kingdom, Edinburgh, Verenigd Koninkrijk Duur: 12-jul.-2016 → 15-jul.-2016 |