Question

Before taking this class, a student visits the "Rate my Professors" website to read comments about the professor. The student should:

A) be confident that these responses are based on a representative sample.
B)be cautious, as these responses involve a non-representative sample.
C)be confident that these responses are completely unbiased.
D)conclude that these responses are completely useless.

Answer 1

Students should be cautious when relying on ratings from 'Rate my Professors' as these are based on a non-representative sample and may not accurately reflect the full spectrum of opinions about the professor.

Step-by-step explanation:

When reading comments about a professor on the Rate my Professors website, the student should B) be cautious, as these responses involve a non-representative sample. Reviews on such websites are typically voluntary, which means they are subject to self-selection bias. This means that they may not accurately reflect the opinions of all students who have taken classes with that professor. The responses are more likely to be from students with strong opinions, either positive or negative, and not every student who had the professor is equally likely to leave a review.

It is important to recognize that relying on a non-representative sample for opinions or data can lead to skewed perceptions that are not fully reflective of reality. Students can use the feedback as one of many factors to inform their decision but should acknowledge the potential biases and limitations of such information.

Answer 2

B)be cautious, as these responses involve a non-representative sample.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hello! Sites like these have personal comments, and since each person has different perspectives, there are often malicious comments that are not reliable and can cross out a teacher with something that is not true, since they are mostly rumors. Students should be careful not to get carried away by comments that may not be true.