Question

Tina surveyed her classmates about their favorite type of television show. 18 of the 26 preferred reality shows. Explain why the following statement is misleading: More than two-thirds of television viewers prefer reality shows.

a) 18 of 26 is not more than two-thirds.
b) The sample is biased because it includes only people of Tina's age.
c) The statement is not misleading.
d) No one watches reality shows anymore.

Answer 1

The statement is misleading because Tina's survey only includes her classmates, representing a biased and small sample not indicative of all television viewers. Additionally, convenience sampling and self-selection bias present in other surveys also highlight the importance of having a representative sample in statistical claims.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement 'More than two-thirds of television viewers prefer reality shows' is misleading for several reasons, most notably because of sampling bias. Let's look at why this is misleading:

Convenience sampling, such as surveying the first 200 people at a music concert event, often doesn't provide a representative sample of the entire population.

In statistics, having a representative sample is essential to making generalizations about the entire population.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

b) The sample is biased because it includes only people of Tina's age.