Factors Affecting Data Collection

Free samples of sunscreen are sent to every home in fall and winter. A mail reply card asks people if they would use the product again.

Identify any influencing factors in this survey question.

• Bias and Cost

• Ethics

• Time, Timing and Cost

• Cost and Privacy

A sales representative conducts a telephone survey. As she poses the question, a person receiving the call says, “I am not interested, thank you.” The sales representative responds, “Why not? Your input provides useful information.” She begins to repeat the survey question.

Identify any influencing factors in this survey question.

• Bias

• Privacy

• Cost

• Cultural Sensitivity

Pransh wants to write an article for the newspaper on sport­related injuries. He believes that there is a correlation between contact sports and sports­related injuries. One day, he asks members of a football team the following question: “How many sports­related injuries have you had during your years of playing football?”

Identify any influencing factors in this survey question.

• Time and Bias

• Time and Privacy

• Ethics and Cost

• Cost and Language

In the month of January, a city planner administers a survey in a community to identify the need for a new outdoor park. The following survey question is asked: “How many times per week do you and your family visit outdoor parks?”

Identify any influencing factors in this survey question.

• None

• Timing

• Language

• Bias

Students in a Grade 9 physical education class are asked to complete a survey related to overall physical health. One of the questions on the survey is “What is your current body weight?”

Identify any influencing factors in the survey.

• None

• Language

• Time

• Privacy

A grocery store employee conducts a telephone survey of people living within 10 km of the store. To help determine what meat products to sell, she asks what type of red meat people prefer.

Identify the influencing factor in the survey.

• None

• Biased and Ethics

• Biased and Cultural Sensitivity

• Timing and Language

A sales representative sets up an online survey. The survey offers a free MP3 file of a song that was downloaded from the Internet to everyone who completes the survey. The company has not bought the rights to the song.

Identify any influencing factors in the survey.

• Bias

• Ethics

• Language

• Privacy

For a statistics project, Betty distributed a questionnaire and asked her classmates to fill it out. 17 of them did.

Is this sample of the students in the class likely to be biased?

• Yes

• No

Joseph did 45 random math problems from each math book in his library. Each math book in the library has an equal number of problems.

Is this sample of the math problems in the library likely to be biased?

• Yes

• No

Lola asked 10 random students in the lunch line if they would be willing to discuss what they planned to buy for lunch. 2 of them said yes.

Is this sample of the students in the lunch line likely to be biased?

• Yes

• No