Element element element element element what should be investigated?

51
1.4
ELEMENT 1.4
ELEMENT 1.2
ELEMENT 1.5
ELEMENT 1.1
ELEMENT 1.3
ACTIVITY
What sort of pressures do you feel an investigator will need to deal with if they operate in an organisation 
with a blame culture?
Bias
KEY TERMS
Bias
"Inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair."
Oxford Dictionary of English
Bias is sometimes referred to as ‘strong inclinations’, and it 
is particularly important that any internal investigation is not 
affected by bias, as it can mean that important issues that 
could be uncovered during an investigation go unquestioned or 
unnoticed.
Bias among the investigation team can also sometimes greatly 
affect the outcome of an investigation.

---

NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation
52
1.4
ELEMENT 1.1
ELEMENT 1.4
ELEMENT 1.2
ELEMENT 1.3
ELEMENT 1.5
Biases can cause someone to feel or display an inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something. Perception bias 
can occur in an incident investigation as people perceive things in different ways. When people are rapidly making decisions 
and forming thoughts based on the facts in front of them, they can subconsciously form a perception bias based on the 
shorthand the brain develops to help us make those decisions quickly. Other factors, such as social pressure, can affect how we 
perceive situations or people, even when we believe we are being impartial, by making assumptions.
Cherry picking bias
Cherry picking is a type of confirmation bias, where a person 
will overlook sometimes vital elements, and focus only on 
elements that confirm the notion that they already believe to be 
correct. This type of bias can be very detrimental to an effective 
investigation. People can cling on to their perceived beliefs even 
when evidence has been brought to light that challenges that 
perception or belief.
It is vitally important that these assumptions are challenged 
by the investigation team to ensure the conclusions made are 
not affected by perceived beliefs, and the wrong conclusions 
drawn. This type of bias can very often be present in smaller 
organisations where familiarity with the workforce, work areas 
and equipment can result in opinions being cemented prior to 
any incident.