What is Participant Bias in Qualitative Research?

A brief introduction to Participant Bias

For more best practices see our method overview
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Definition of Participant Bias

Participant bias is a type of systematic error that occurs when the participants of a study behave or respond differently than they normally would, due to their awareness of being part of the study. This can affect the validity and reliability of the research findings, as well as introduce ethical issues.
Decoration image for participant bias
Qualitative research is particularly prone to participant bias. This is because qualitative research often relies on methods such as interviews, focus groups, observations, or document analysis, which require a high degree of interaction and rapport between the researcher and the participants. Moreover, qualitative research usually aims to explore the subjective meanings, experiences, and perspectives of the participants, which can be influenced by their expectations, motivations, or social desirability.
In this article, we present some techniques you can employ to mitigate participant bias and improve the Trustworthiness of your research.


Sources of Participant Bias

There are different types of participant bias that can occur in qualitative research, such as:
  • Demand characteristics: The participants try to guess the purpose or hypothesis of the study and adjust their behavior or responses accordingly, either to confirm or to contradict it.
  • Social desirability bias: The participants try to present themselves in a favorable or acceptable way, by avoiding or minimizing negative or sensitive information, or by exaggerating or fabricating positive or desirable information.
  • Hawthorne effect: The participants change their behavior or performance simply because they are being observed or measured, regardless of the intervention or treatment being applied.
  • Observer-expectancy effect: The participants are influenced by the cues or feedback from the researcher, either consciously or unconsciously, which reflect the researcher's expectations or preferences.


Strategies to Mitigate Participant Bias

To mitigate participant bias in your qualitative research, you can adopt various strategies, such as:
  • A powerful tool you can use to mitigate participant bias is to use multiple sources of data to cross-check and corroborate your findings from different perspectives or methods. This is called triangulation and can be distinguished into the following types:
  • Use random sampling or assignment of participants to void any Self-Selection Bias of participants and increase the representativeness of the participants in your study.
  • Use blind or double-blind procedures to prevent your participants and/or yourself from knowing the details or conditions of the study.
  • Use standardized protocols or scripts to ensure consistency and objectivity in the data collection and analysis procedures.
  • Use open-ended questions or prompts to elicit spontaneous and authentic responses from the participants, rather than leading or suggestive ones. You should also consider starting the interview with an ice-breaker question. This helps the participant to feel comfortable in a study situation, and thus reduce the risk of the participant giving misleading answers due to the study situation. This question should be an open question about something a participant like and know.
  • You should practice Reflexivity to acknowledge and address the your own biases, assumptions, and influences on the participants in your study.
  • Use Member Checking to solicit feedback and verification from the participants on the accuracy and credibility of the data and interpretations.
  • Use Peer Debriefing to obtain independent and critical evaluation of the research design, methods, and findings.
Many of the practices above, which involve integrating multiple perspectives (i.e. through triangulation and Peer Debriefing) or confirming findings with participants (i.e. Member Checking) or make use of randomization also help mitigate Researcher Bias


Conclusion on Participant Bias

Participant bias is a common and inevitable challenge in qualitative research, but it can be minimized and controlled by applying rigorous and ethical research practices. By doing so, you can enhance the quality and Trustworthiness of your qualitative research and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in your field of research.


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