ABSTRACT
Tool bias, in other words, is as serious a hindrance to the development of discipline when the tools are theoretical as when they are technological. The structural bias in social science theory arises from convenience: it is easier to count data at two points in time than to observe and explain how the differences in what we measure came about. Just as real as any bias in data gathering are those biases which are theoretical and substantive: pressures which influence the selection of a research problem, the formulation of a research design, and the interpretation of data. The consequences of such occupational socialization are readily evident in the lengthy disclaimers with which social scientists customarily conclude their contributions to the professional journals. The principal weakness of the equilibrium functionalist's model of social order is its failure to correspond to observed social reality. The chapter analyzes data on desegregation of education in ten American communities.
