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The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior

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Page 32<br />

OF ANALYSIS. Time-aggregation bias is a particular form that arises in POPULATION ECOLOGY<br />

or similar work where continuous durations are rounded, either solely up or down, to discrete intervals.<br />

Model-selection bias occurs when an investigator presumes the relationship between the predictor and<br />

outcome variables follows a certain form without verifying that form for a particular set <strong>of</strong> data. Often a<br />

convention emerges to use a particular model for reasons <strong>of</strong> expediency, and it becomes taken for<br />

granted. Omitted-variable biases are extremely difficult to eliminate. <strong>The</strong>se occur when an important<br />

predictor variable is unobserved, but at least partially correlated with other variables in a model.<br />

Simulation (see SIMULATION COMPUTER) is <strong>of</strong>ten used to demonstrate the bias <strong>of</strong> a statistical<br />

procedure or to explore ways <strong>of</strong> reducing biases in statistical methods. Other biases are <strong>of</strong> a<br />

nonstatistical nature. Foremost among these are personal biases. Personal biases can only be mitigated<br />

through careful scrutiny <strong>of</strong> an investigator's entire methodology.<br />

See also Errors; Reliability; Research design; Research methods; Validity<br />

Bibliography<br />

Oakes, M. W. (1986). Statistical inference: A commentary for the social and behavioral sciences. New<br />

York: Wiley.<br />

KENNETH W. KOPUT<br />

Big Five Personality Model<br />

see PERSONALITY; PERSONALITY TESTING<br />

Biodata<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are many selection situations where the ratio <strong>of</strong> candidates to posts available is so high that many<br />

have to be screened out on the basis <strong>of</strong> biographical data contained in the application form (see<br />

SELECTION METHODS). Not only is the process <strong>of</strong> reading large numbers <strong>of</strong> application forms very<br />

time-consuming, but also the judgments made are highly subjective and <strong>of</strong> doubtful validity. Biodata<br />

<strong>of</strong>fers an alternative method <strong>of</strong> dealing with biographical data which is both economical in time and<br />

objective in terms <strong>of</strong> the method used to evaluate the information.<br />

file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/<strong>Blackwell</strong>%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_32.html (1 <strong>of</strong> 2) [2008-04-01 01:25:03]

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