Question 16 • Probability and Statistics with Applications Honors Sem-1-FL-1210300 (2024-2025)
Research suggests that students could benefit from later school starting times. A school administrative team is considering a proposal to move the starting time of the local schools one hour later than the current start time. To measure interest in the proposal, members of the team randomly select subjects attending a large high school soccer tournament played on the high school grounds on a Saturday morning. The team finds that 58% of those surveyed support a later high school start time. Which type of bias is most likely to be present in the survey results?
Answer
A
This is undercoverage bias because adults with older children are more likely to be included in the sample.
B
This is question wording bias because the phrasing of the later start times question may be confusing to some subjects.
C
This is nonresponse bias because some of those selected may choose to not provide their opinion on later start times.
D
This is voluntary response bias because vocal supporters of later start times will be more likely to offer their opinion.
Explanation
The team sampled only people attending a Saturday morning high school soccer tournament, so people who were not there had no chance of being selected. This can underrepresent groups outside that setting and make adults with older children more likely to appear in the sample. That is undercoverage bias, making choice A correct. Randomly selecting people at the tournament does not make the sample representative of the broader population.
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