The "dirty slate": An analysis of political bias in the evaluation of parliamentary debates

Among many biases that exist in the evaluation of academic debates, one of the least studied but most controversial is that of political or ideological bias. The researcher completed a two-part study that analyzed both the existence of bias from existing tournament data and perception of bias through use of survey instruments. In both cases, results are indicative of political bias. The differences between stated expectations and outcomes are discussed along with institutional and personal recommendations.