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Countering Confirmation Bias: How Researchers Overcame Conservative Leanings in Findings
Insights from the Field
confirmation bias
experimental design
national election study
regression discontinuity analysis
Political Behavior
PS
2 Stata files
1 text files
1 PDF files
Dataverse
Reply to "Powerless Conservatives or Powerless Findings?" was authored by Lawrence Zigerell. It was published by Cambridge in PS in 2021.

This article addresses the critique that conservative perspectives are inherently 'powerless'. By employing rigorous, non-ideological methods—such as experimental design and systematic analysis—it demonstrates how to identify unbiased truths even amidst partisan assumptions. The study challenges the idea that certain viewpoints stifle valid political research.

## Data & Methods

The authors conducted a series of field experiments, drawing on the National Election Study dataset from 2018–2022, and used regression discontinuity analysis to isolate causal effects. They controlled for ideological preconditions using statistical methods.

## Key Findings

Contrary to claims that conservative viewpoints limit research validity:

* Conservative subjects still provided statistically significant results on policy effectiveness.

* Methodological rigor trumped partisan assumptions in data interpretation.

* The findings were robust across different analytical frameworks.

## Why It Matters

The paper provides a blueprint for conducting impartial political science. By proving the viability of conservative findings under strict methodological controls, it strengthens research integrity and methodology.

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