Ideological bias

Definition: The idea that pre-existing opinions about the quality of research can depend on the ideological views of the author(s). One of the many biases in the peer review process, it expects that favourable opinions towards the research would be more likely if friends, collaborators, or scientists agree with an editor or reviewer’s political viewpoints (Tvina et al. 2019). This could potentially lead to a variety of conflicts of interest that undermine diverse perspectives, for example: speeding or delaying peer-review, or influencing the chances of an individual being invited to present their research, thus promoting their work.