Research Methods: Biases in Research - Omitted Variable Bias

Welcome to my new podcast episode. Today, I talk about the "omitted variable bias". This bias is one of the most impactful for your research and, unfortunately, there is no universal cure apart from reading as much as you can. Of course, some researchers would argue that this is not a bias but a "normal theory development" - we find a relationship that we cannot explain. And this motivates us to look further until we find the "missing variable".  I would agree if we talk about new phenomena. Yet, if a phenomenon has already been investigated and an important variable is not included because of not knowing about this research or with intent, then we talk about the omitted variable bias.

By the way, have you ever thought about it: many populist politicians use the omitted variable bias exactly to draw attention to the wrong relationships and "somehow forget" to report the true reasons for the issue?

Enjoy!

Best,

Eugene (Yevgen)