Klarinet Archive - Posting 000257.txt from 1999/02

From: Jack Kissinger <kissingerjn@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: [kl] Women and orchestras
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 14:42:26 -0500

DHmorgan@-----.com wrote:

> DOUBLE-BLIND AUDITIONS MIGHT NOT TOTALLY SCREEN OUT UNFAIR BIASES.
>
> It's just something to keep in mind and look out for.

I don't think it's enough to leave it at that. Simply keeping the possibility in
mind and looking out for it means trying to control for a factor one can only
observe indirectly, at best, (unconscious bias) and which may not exist. It seems
to me that, in the course of this thread, you have laid the groundwork for a
meaningful doctoral thesis (not simply a dissertation). The research question is
obviously:

DO (DOUBLE?) BLIND AUDITIONS TOTALLY SCREEN OUT UNFAIR BIASES?

(I've heard of "double-blind" research designs but only "blind" auditions. If
there is a difference between a "double-blind" and a "blind" audition, would
someone please explain the difference.)

Your earlier posts are an eloquent statement of a theory that blind auditions do
not screen out all unfair biases -- a theory based on the notion that there can be
two types of bias, conscious and unconscious. While the blind audition, may
eliminate conscious bias it does not eliminate unconscious bias. Your previous
posts also point the researcher to relevant literature in the form of previous
studies. Whether the results of these earlier studies are generalizable to the
issue of musical auditions is an empirical question. Factors (cues) present in
the grading of legal writing, e.g., may or may not be present in a musical
performance.

Several list members have articulated the premise of an opposing theory, i.e.,
that the nature of a musical performance precludes hidden cues that would trigger
unconscious bias. (I'll leave the complete development of this theory to the
researcher. ;^) .)

The test, in essence, would consist of having a large number of qualified judges
rank a set of performances. The judges would have to include a sufficient number
of members of each group of interest (e.g., white male, white female, black male,
black female, etc. -- again up to the researcher to determine the breadth of the
study) and a sufficient number of performers/performances (possibility of multiple
performances from the same performer) to allow statistical analysis. One
possibility might be to create a tape of performances that could be sent to judges
around the country. Their rankings could then be compared to determine whether or
not (e.g.) men tend to rank the male performances higher while women tend to rank
female performances higher.

The difficult issues, IMO, would be:

1. deciding on the independent variables, i.e., would the research study sex,
race, age, nationality, performance level (e.g., is there a difference between
unconscious bias in judging state high school competitions, college juries and
professional auditions), other variables.

2. maintaining control over potentially confounding variables (instrument,
instrument manufacturer and model, any of the above variables to be excluded from
the scope, other considerations that take much longer than I have to write this
message)

3. keeping the cost within feasible limits.

Previous studies would undoubtedly be of help, here. In general, however,
arriving at an acceptable balance of internal and external validity within a
feasible study is the kind of thing that doctoral students (and their professors)
have to wrestle with.

What are the implications? How about this? Assume that an important criterion in
the selection process is that there be no bias based on the variable(s) studied
(e.g., sex, race, age, nationality). If the elimination of bias is not a goal, of
course, the issue is moot.) Then, if the study concludes that a blind audition is
unbiased, existing practice is adequate. On the other hand, if bias is
demonstrated, then the audition process needs to be modified (and the researcher
has a followup study to figure out how.)

IMHO, this would be a more meaningful (and likely more publishable) piece of work
than an analysis of Hindemith's use of the clarion register vs. the chalumeau and
altissimo registers in works featuring clarinet (with frequency analysis for each
note). But what do I know?

Best regards,
Jack Kissinger
St. Louis

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