Many large cities have considered or passed proposals that ban the use of plastic grocery bags in stores. A concerned student would like to measure if residents of her hometown would consider a similar ban on plastic bags. Standing in a busy shopping area, the student approaches adults and asks, "Items made of plastics are a dangerous, growing source of pollution to our world’s oceans and threaten many animal species. Given this, would you support a ban on plastic shopping bags in our city stores?” How might the results of this survey be biased in estimating the proportion of all town residents who would support a ban on plastic bags?
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?
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?
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 (62%) 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?
A local baseball team is struggling this season, and many fans of the team believe it may be time to replace the head coach. To estimate support for firing the current head coach, a television news station provides a link on its website where fans of the team can respond to the question: "Do you feel the current head coach should be fired?” After 2,367 votes on the website, 79% of those who responded felt the coach should be fired. Which of these describes the type of bias in this survey and a likely direction of the bias in estimating overall support for firing the coach?
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 business developer would like to purchase an abandoned corner lot in a small town and build a small convenience store with gasoline pumps on the site. Town leaders are concerned about potential traffic and noise impact to the adjacent neighborhood and send printed surveys to 500 homes in the affected area. Of the 123 surveys returned, 87% oppose the plan to develop the corner lot. How could the sampling design cause town leaders to overestimate or underestimate overall support of the development plan?
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?
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 (93%) reported they were either Satisfied or Very Satisfied. What type of bias may be present in the survey results?
A large retirement community provides many activities for its residents. The activity director is considering adding a trivia night on Tuesday evenings if there is enough interest from the residents. To measure interest in the trivia night, the activity director leaves a printed survey in residents’ mailboxes, on which the resident can express whether they are interested. Of the 68 surveys returned, 55 expressed interest. Which of these describes the type of bias in this survey and a likely direction of the bias in estimating overall community support for the trivia night?
Did you find these answers helpful?