A student interest group posed the following question on its

A student interest group posed the following question on its Facebook page: \"Do you agree that there are circumstances under which abortion should be legal, to protect the rights of the mother?\" They received 310 responses, of which 300 people agreed. From this, the group concludes that a clear majority of college students are Pro-choice. Which of the following could be possible sources of bias for this survey?

Select one or more:

1. The question wording will elicit a particular response.

2. The group has 314 followers on Facebook, but only 310 responded.

3. The sample was a convenience sample.

Solution

both 1 and 3 are correct. The question is worded in a way to elicit one type of responsese, as well as, this was convenience sample. Another issue with this was that the sample was self selected, and might over represent views of people with strong opinions.