Question

In Samuel's allergy medicine study, what biases might be present in the research design? Select all that apply:

A. Sampling bias in selecting every 25th student from the list
B. Response bias due to the 10% response rate from contacted students
C. Random assignment bias when assigning participants to Group 1 or Group 2
D. Observer bias as participants self-report their allergy symptoms
E. Confirmation bias in recording allergy symptoms for 6 weeks

Answer 1

Possible biases in Samuel's allergy medicine study may include sampling bias, response bias, random assignment bias, observer bias, and confirmation bias.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Samuel's allergy medicine study, biases that might be present in the research design could include:

• A. Sampling bias in selecting every 25th student from the list. This method may lead to a non-representative sample if there's an underlying pattern among students that correlates with their positioning on the list.
• B. Response bias due to a 10% response rate from contacted students. This could occur if the students who choose to respond are somehow systematically different from those who do not.
• C. Random assignment bias when assigning participants to Group 1 or Group 2. This would only be a concern if the assignment to groups wasn’t properly randomized.
• D. Observer bias as participants self-report their allergy symptoms. Participants may report symptoms in a way that they think is expected.
• E. Confirmation bias in recording allergy symptoms for 6 weeks. This could manifest if results are interpreted in a way that confirms the researchers’ expectations.