To estimate the proportion of city residents who shop online, a researcher visits a mall on a weekday morning and asks people she encounters to share their experiences with online shopping, including this question: "Do you shop online at least once each week?” The results show that 32 percent of shoppers shop online at least once per week. Which of these describes a likely source of bias present in the survey results?
A random sample of adults in a large US city responded to a series of questions about their use of public transportation. The results of the survey showed that 520 of the 838 adults in the sample open paren 62 percent close paren have used public transportation in the past week. How might the results of the survey be biased in obtaining an estimate of all US residents who use public transportation?
Many large cities use taxes on entertainment tickets to pay for improvements to public facilities, like stadiums, arenas, and concert venues. A city council proposal would increase the current ticket tax in order to raise funds for a new public concert hall. Council representatives plan to conduct a survey outside of a large concert in the summer and ask selected adults if they would support an increase in the ticket tax to pay for the new concert hall. Which type of bias will most likely affect the survey results?
An executive for a large company is considering a change to health insurance plans offered to the employees. To assess employee satisfaction with the current plan, the executive sends an email to all company employees asking their opinion of the current plan. A summary of the results received shows that 27 percent of company employees are "highly satisfied” with the current health insurance plan. Which statement about the results is most likely to be true?
A restaurant chain would like to measure the proportion of customers who are generally satisfied with the service provided by its staff. At the end of the meal, as the check is delivered to the table, the server asks those at the table to rate their satisfaction with the service provided as "Very Satisfied,” "Satisfied,” or "Not Satisfied.” During a one-week period, 147 customers were surveyed and 135 open paren 93 percent close paren reported they were either Satisfied or Very Satisfied. What type of bias may be present in the survey results?
Some government leaders propose allowing oil companies to drill in currently protected lands that may be rich in oil reserves. Environmental researchers argue that drilling in such lands would be harmful to the surrounding ecosystem. To measure support for drilling in such lands, an oil company representative uses random-digit telephone dialing to contact adults in the region and measure opinion for increased drilling. One question in the survey asks, "Given that an increase in drilling could result in increased tax revenue and additional jobs to the region, would you support a proposal to allow drilling in lands currently protected from drilling?” What type of bias could be most likely affecting the survey results?
A city government is considering raising the local income tax to pay for improvements to government facilities. A private citizen opposes the plan and stands on a busy street to survey residents with the question, "Do you agree that wasteful spending is a serious problem in our local government?” The results of the survey will most likely suffer from which type of bias?
To ease congestion in a downtown area, city planners are considering a plan to widen a major thoroughfare from two driving lanes to three driving lanes. This plan would require closing a section of downtown streets as the work begins. In order to assess public support for the plan, city planners provided a phone number to residents that could be used to register opinion for or against the plan. In total, 267 calls were received, with only 24 percent supporting it. Which statement describes the most likely type of bias in this setting?
Residents of a community currently pay a fee for recreational services in their neighborhood, such as tennis courts, running trails, and a pool. To assess whether there is support for raising the fee for the upcoming summer, a random sample of 50 residents is contacted and asked this question: "Would you support a $10 increase in the recreational fee to support programs for the health and well-being of children in the community?” Of the 50 residents contacted, 42 approved of the fee increase. Which statement describes a likely source of bias present in the survey results?
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