Question

LESSON 4.3 SAMPLING AND SURVEYS

Lesson App 4.3 Who did you say is calling? Literary Digest.
One of the most famous flops in survey history occurred in 1936. To predict the outcome of the
presidential election between Republican Alf Landon and Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, th
magazine Literary Digest sent over 10,000,000 "ballots" to its subscribers. They also sent "ballots"
registered owners of an automobile or telephone. About 2,400,000 of the ballots were returned, w
a large majority (57%) favoring Landon. The election turned out to be a landslide, but for Roose
(61%) instead of Landon.
1. Explain how undercoverage might have led to bias in this survey.

Answer 1

Undercoverage in the Literary Digest survey could have led to bias in the results. A large majority of the respondents favored Landon, but Roosevelt won the election. To mitigate undercoverage bias, it is important to ensure a representative sample through random sampling methods and including a diverse range of individuals.

Step-by-step explanation:

Undercoverage in the Literary Digest survey could have led to bias in the results. Undercoverage occurs when certain groups of people are not properly represented in the sample. In this case, the survey was sent to the magazine's subscribers, as well as registered owners of automobiles or telephones. This means that it excluded people who did not meet these criteria, such as those who did not have a subscription or did not own a car or telephone.

Since the majority of the respondents favored Landon, it suggests that there may have been a bias towards his supporters among the sample of respondents. This bias could have been influenced by factors like socioeconomic status or political affiliation, which may have been more prevalent among the magazine's subscribers or registered owners of automobiles or telephones.

To mitigate undercoverage bias, it is important to ensure that the sample is representative of the entire population by using random sampling methods and including a diverse range of individuals.

Learn more about undercoverage bias