Which technique used in Exercise 7 could lead to a biased stud...

Question

Which technique used in Exercise 7 could lead to a biased study? Explain.

Accepted Answer

Below there. Today we're gonna solve the following practice problem together. So first off, let us read the problem and highlight all the key pieces of information that we need to use in order to solve this problem. A company wants feedback on a new product and sends a survey to all employees, but only those who are interested respond. What sampling method is being used and what is a potential problem with this approach? Awesome. So it appears for this particular problem we're asked to identify what particular sampling method is being used. That's our first answer we're ultimately trying to solve for. And our second answer we're ultimately trying to solve for is we're asked to determine what is a potential problem with this particular approach. So now that we know that we're ultimately trying to solve for two separate answers. Our first step that we need to take in order to solve this particular problem is we need to recall. Are different types of sampling and as we should recall of some different types of sampling include simple random sampling, then stratified sampling, systematic sampling, and voluntary response sampling. So now, let's take a moment to define each of these different types of sampling, and we also need to provide an example to help us understand what type of sampling methods are and how to differentiate them from each other, and then let us also follow it up with when is it considered best used, so when is it best used? So, with that in mind, let's start with simple random sampling. So as we should recall, the definition of simple random sampling is every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected. And an example of this particular type of sampling is drawing names from a hat. And this is best used when, or this particular sampling method is best used when the population is small and hoogeneous, which hoogeneous is just a fancy way of saying like consistent and same throughout. Awesome. And then secondly, for stratified sampling, as we should recall, it's defined as the population is divided into subgroups, strata, which is based on shared characteristics such as age, gender, and location. And a random sample is taken from each subgroup, and an example of stratified sampling is when sampling students from each grade level within a school, And this is best used when, or rather this particular sampling method is best used when you want representation from all key subgroups. And as for systematic sampling, as we should recall, it's defined as select every case item. Where K is some integer value, so select every case item from a list or ordered population after choosing a random starting point. And an example of this particular type of sampling method is surveying every 10th person who enters a particular store. And this particular sampling method is best used when the population is organized in a list and is fairly uniform. Awesome. And lastly, as we should recall, the definition of voluntary response sampling entails that individuals choose to participate in the survey or study. And this is often used in online surveys, call-in polls, or feedback forms, and a major drawback of voluntary response sampling is it is considered high risk of bias because only those who feel strongly are likely to respond. So, with that in mind, Our next step is we need to take the information that is provided to us by the prom itself, and we need to identify what type of sampling method is being used. So that's our first step. So we need to note that when only interested people choose to respond to a survey, this is considered a voluntary response sampling method. Awesome. So I'll make sure to highlight that, and then we could do a pointed arrow, a green arrow up to voluntary response sampling. So once again, because we're told by the problem itself that only interested people choose to respond to the survey, that would mean that we're dealing with a voluntary response sampling method for this particular problem. And our second step now is we need to explain our particular prompt. So as we should note, we need to explain why this is a has potential problems with this approach. So voluntary response sampling can be biased, as we mentioned before, because people with strong opinions are more likely to respond while others may not participate at all in the survey. So that will mean that in conclusion, the method is voluntary response sampling, and it may not accurately reflect the opinions of all the employees because only people who usually typically feel strongly enough will want to participate in the survey where some people might not be interested in in participating in the survey at all. So with that in mind. Our final answer without a doubt, or rather answers will have to be once again voluntary response sampling as our first answer, and our second answer has to be results may be biased because only motivated individuals respond, and that's it. We've officially solved for this problem. Thank you so much for watching. Hopefully that helped, and I can't wait to see you in the next video. Bye.

Which technique used in Exercise 7 could lead to a biased study? Explain.

Key Concepts

Bias in Research

Sampling Techniques

Confounding Variables

Watch next