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(5) Which of the following is not a source of bias in sample surveys? (A) non-re

ID: 3071369 • Letter: #

Question

(5) Which of the following is not a source of bias in sample surveys? (A) non-response (B) wording of questions (C) voluntary responseAll are sources of bins. III. Critical Thinking (1) Seventy-two percent of Americans squeeze their toothpaste tube from the top. This and other not- so-serious findings are included in The first Really Important Survey of American Habits. Those results are based on 7000 responses from the 25, 000 questionnaires that were mailed. (a) As stated, the value 72% refers to all Americans, so that is that 72% a statistic or a parameter? b) Does the survey constitute an observational study or an esxperiment? (c) What is wrong with this survey? included responses from 575 adults, and 24% of (2) A survey sponsored by the American Laser Centers the respondents said that the face is their favorite body part. What is wrong with this survey?

Explanation / Answer

Solution: (1) Seventy-two percent of Americans squeeze their toothpaste tube from the top. This and other not-so-serious findings are included in The first Really Important Survey of American Habits. Those results are based on 7000 responses from the 25,000 questionnnaires that were mailed.

(a) As stated, the value 72% refers to all Americans, so that is that 72% a statistic or a parameter?

Answer: Since 72% refers to all Americans, so 72% is a parameter. A parameter is a number that summarizes data for an entire population. In this case 72% represents the 72% of whole population. Therefore, 72% is a parameter.

(b) Does the survey constitute an observational study or an experiment?

Answer: The given survey is an observational study because the respondents were observed without any manipulations and interventions.

(c) What is wrong with this survey?

Answer: The given survey involves the voluntary response sample, and those with strong opinions would be more likely to respond, so it is very possible that the results would not reflect the true opinions of the population of all adults and also out of 25,000 questionnnaires mailed, only 7000 respondents responded, which means there is high non-response bias in the survey.

(2) A survey sponsored by the American Laser Centers included responses from 575 adults, and 24% of the respondents said that the face is their favorite body part. What is wrong with this survey?

Answer: Since the survey was sponsored by the American Laser Centers and 24% said that the favorite body part is the face, which happens to be a body part often chosen for some type of laser treatment. Therefore, the source is questionable.