ABSTRACT
If you are like most assessors, you give little thought to the influence of bias, fraud, or error in the data that you use or in your own work. Richard Feynman said that the proper attitude for a scientist is open-minded skepticism. In general, we are not skeptical enough. We tend to accept anything published in peer-reviewed literature and are only a little more skeptical of findings in unreviewed reports. We are also disinclined to question our own biases and reluctant to take the time to quality assure our work. This chapter discusses concepts that environmental assessors should keep in mind, such as bias, fraud, error, and political influence.
