Question

A reporter from one of the three local news stations introduced herself as a reporter from Channel 12 to the attendees of a city council meeting. After the meeting recessed, the reporter decided to randomly survey some of the attendees, asking them to name their favorite local channel. She concluded that the city’s favorite is Channel 12. Is her conclusion valid? Justify your answer.

Answer 1

No, the reporter's conclusion is not necessarily valid.

The fact that the reporter introduced herself as being from Channel 12 before conducting the survey could have influenced the responses of the attendees. This is known as response bias. People may feel obligated to say they prefer Channel 12 because the reporter identified herself as being from that channel.

Additionally, the sample of attendees that the reporter surveyed may not be representative of the entire population of the city. The attendees at a city council meeting may not be representative of the general population in terms of demographics or preferences for local news channels.

To draw valid conclusions about the city's favorite local news channel, a more representative sample of the population would need to be surveyed, and steps would need to be taken to reduce response bias.