Question

a prestigious university wants to estimate the average starting salary of its graduates. the alumni outreach department sends an email to the most recent address they have on file for every graduate. the email asks the graduates to participate in a survey about their employment history and starting salary. which of the following is not a legitimate concern about their survey results being representative of all graduates?

Answer 1

The greatest concern for the survey results not being representative would be response bias, coverage error, and nonresponse bias; a graduate's major should not affect the representativeness of the overall average starting salaries.

Step-by-step explanation:

The primary concern that might invalidate the representativeness of the survey results is response bias. Alumni who have higher starting salaries may be more inclined to respond because they have positive outcomes to report, leading to an overestimate of the average starting salary. Other concerns might include outdated contact information preventing certain graduates from receiving the survey (coverage error), or if the survey is not designed to be easily accessible across all electronic devices, resulting in a lower response rate from people who access their emails through mobile devices (nonresponse bias). However, knowing the graduate's major and its potential effect on salary is not a legitimate concern in terms of the representativeness of the results since this survey aims to determine the overall average starting salary regardless of the major.