Question

A soft drink company calls 500 people at random and asks, “Isn’t it true that our product is better than our rival’s product?” and 75% of the people respond, “Yes.” Is this an example of bias? Explain.

Answer 1

Yes, this is an example of bias known as questioning bias or selection bias. The question is phrased in such a way that it leads the people being surveyed to answer in a particular way. It suggests that the company's product is better than its rivals' product, which can influence the person being surveyed to agree with the statement, regardless of whether they believe it to be true or not. Additionally, the sample size of 500 people may not be representative of the entire population, which can also skew the results of the survey. Therefore, it is important that survey questions are phrased in a neutral and unbiased manner to obtain accurate and reliable results.

Answer 2

Yes, this is an example of bias.

The question asked by the soft drink company is leading and suggestive in nature as it implies that their product is better than their rival's product. This can influence the respondent's answer and lead to biased results. Additionally, the sample size of 500 people may not be representative of the entire population, and the respondents may not be randomly selected.

Therefore, the results of this survey may not accurately reflect the true opinions of the population regarding the superiority of the soft drink company's product over its rival's product. To obtain more accurate and reliable results, the question should be more neutral and the sample should be randomly selected and representative of the population.