Webinar with Q&A
Connect & Let's Combat Bias!
- Datum
- dinsdag 26 mei 2026
- Tijd
- Toelichting
- De voertaal van de sessie is Engels.
- Bezoekadres
- Online
For our May session, we focus on how to avoid bias in research data. We are very pleased to have Amber Zijlma speak about the outcomes of the Combatting Bias project.
Abstract
In the field of the social sciences and humanities (SSH), research is increasingly relying on computational methods – from handwritten text recognition to automated metadata extraction. Much of the data used is overwhelmed with biases, inherited from individual and institutional biases, discriminatory language in archives, unequal representation in collection practices, and algorithmic biases in AI-assisted processing. This harmful inheritance is perpetuated again throughout the research process. How, then, should researchers create data(sets) that do not further perpetuate harm, but that instead prioritise transparency, inclusivity and respect for diverse perspectives?
The Combatting Bias project (2024-2025, funded by the TDCC-SSH) centered around this question, working predominantly with case-studies based in colonial archives. Instead of approaching ‘bias’ as an error that should be eliminated – an impossible task – it can productively be used as a critical tool for systematic analysis. For this, the project created practical handholds to guide researchers to understand, identify, and address biases throughout the dataset creation process: the Bias Aware Toolkit. It consists of three parts, a Bias Vocabulary; a Bias Aware Data Lifecycle Model; and Practical Guidelines.
This webinar will introduce the Bias Aware Toolkit, present its creation and background, and discuss examples of good practices.
This session
This Connect & session takes place online and will last one hour. After the talk there will be time for questions and informal discussion. Everyone interested in thet topic is very welcome to join. If you are part of the Leiden University Research Data Management Community you will have received a calendar invite. If you are not on the contact list, you can register by filling out the form.
About the Connect & sessions
This event is part of the “Connect and …” series arranged by, and for, the Leiden University Research Data Management Community, on everything data management-related. The sessions take place every month at different days and times, so as to maximize access according to people’s different working hours, and are normally online. Topics and speakers are proposed by members of the Community. You can post a suggestion in the Community's MSTeams space, or write to datamanagement@library.leidenuniv.nl, if you have a topic you would like to discuss in a future meeting and the CDS team will help to make it happen.