Questions: Dr. Wright is a professor at a large state university. He wants to study the views on career preparation and success of the five million people who live in his state. At his next meeting with university faculty, he asks the professors attending the following question: "Which do you think is more important for a successful career, a college education or military service?" Of the 15 professors at the meeting, 11 said a college education and the rest said military service. (a) Identify and describe the most prominent source of bias in Dr. Wright's study. Choose the best answer from the choices below. - The bias comes from the fact that the professors were not allowed to voluntarily choose to be in the sample. Volunteers are more likely to have characteristics that reflect the population as a whole. - The bias comes from the phrasing of the question and the context in which it is asked. The responses are unlikely to accurately reflect the professors' views. - The bias comes from having too many of the professors at the meeting who did not respond to the question. These professors might answer the question differently than those who did. - The bias comes from the sampling done in the study. Only professors at the meeting were asked the question instead of a sample of convenience. - There is no or very little bias in Dr. Wright's study. The sample size is smaller than 30, so samples of this size are very unlikely to have outliers, meaning that the sample will have characteristics that reflect the population as a whole. (b) Describe something Dr. Wright could have done to reduce the most prominent source of bias in the study. Choose the best answer from the choices below. - Modify the study by asking the question to a random sample of people living in the state instead of just the professors at the faculty meeting. This way the sample is no longer a sample of convenience. - Put up a poll asking the question on social media. This way Dr. Wright makes sure that the respondents are volunteers. - Change the phrasing of the question and make sure that the professors at the meeting could answer the question anonymously. That way the professors' answers would be more likely to accurately reflect their views. - Offer to buy any professor who answers the question a coffee at a local coffee shop. This way the number of professors not answering the question would be decreased. - As the sample size is sufficiently small, the study has no or very little bias, so, there is nothing Dr. Wright needed to have done to reduce bias.

Transcript text: Dr. Wright is a professor at a large state university. He wants to study the views on career preparation and success of the five million people who live in his state. At his next meeting with university faculty, he asks the professors attending the following question: "Which do you think is more important for a successful career, a college education or military service?" Of the 15 professors at the meeting, 11 said a college education and the rest said military service. (a) Identify and describe the most prominent source of bias in Dr. Wright's study. Choose the best answer from the choices below. O The bias comes from the fact that the professors were not allowed to voluntarily choose to be in the sample. Volunteers are more likely to have characteristics that reflect the population as a whole. O The bias comes from the phrasing of the question and the context in which it is asked. The responses are unlikely to accurately reflect the professors' views. O The bias comes from having too many of the professors at the meeting who did not respond to the question. These professors might answer the question differently than those who did. O The bias comes from the sampling done in the study. Only professors at the meeting were asked the question instead of a sample of convenience. O There is no or very little bias in Dr. Wright's study. The sample size is smaller than 30, so samples of this size are very unlikely to have outliers, meaning that the sample will have characteristics that reflect the population as a whole. (b) Describe something Dr. Wright could have done to reduce the most prominent source of bias in the study. Choose the best answer from the choices below. O Modify the study by asking the question to a random sample of people living in the state instead of just the professors at the faculty meeting. This way the sample is no longer a sample of convenience. O Put up a poll asking the question on social media. This way Dr. Wright makes sure that the respondents are volunteers. O Change the phrasing of the question and make sure that the professors at the meeting could answer the question anonymously. That way the professors' answers would be more likely to accurately reflect their views. O Offer to buy any professor who answers the question a coffee at a local coffee shop. This way the number of professors not answering the question would be decreased. O As the sample size is sufficiently small, the study has no or very little bias, so, there is nothing Dr. Wright needed to have done to reduce bias.