Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic provides some advice:
Yesterday, a participant in one of our workshops asked a question that I’ve been thinking about ever since. She works with researchers and statisticians, and the idea of telling a story with data can make some of them uncomfortable. Doesn’t telling a story mean choosing a perspective? And doesn’t choosing a perspective introduce bias? Wouldn’t it be more objective to simply show the data and let people draw their own conclusions?
Read on for Cole’s answer. Cole differentiates between “bias” and “perspective,” though I wouldn’t even go that far. Instead, I’d simply make it clear what your biases are. At its core, a bias is a preference for or against something. We normally think of bias as a negative, but that’s not strictly true. I do think it’s important to state where your biases come in, as they can undermine a point or attempt to drive people to a specific conclusion. But bias itself can extend to “I am showing you this information because I believe it will help you in making your decision,” even if that decision isn’t one you necessarily prefer.