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12.03 Bias in questioning

Worksheet
Survey questions
1

State whether the following questions are biased or fair:

a

Do you want a soup for lunch or a sandwich?

b

What do you do on a Sunday morning?

c

Do you like these shoes?

d

Do you prefer this shirt or the one on the shelves at the moment?

e

Do you think the government should be allowed to cut down some of the oldest trees in the area to construct a metro railway line in the city?

f

Do you prefer newspapers or news on television?

g

Do you prefer the full time degree program or part time degree program?

h

Should the government enforce a minimum drinking age for its citizens?

i

Do you eat at least the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables to ensure a healthy and long life?

j

Do you think bike helmets should be mandatory for all bike riders?

k

Do you prefer the natural beauty of hardwood floors in your home?

l

Do you exercise regularly?

m

Do you feel that the TV news is an inaccurate portrayal of life’s problems?

n

Don't you think this newspaper is biased?

o

Do you prefer the look and feel of thick lush carpeting in your living room?

p

Do you take these extra strength multi-vitamins to supplement your diet?

2

State whether each of the following biased questions are leading or emotive:

a

Do you want a nutritious risotto for lunch or the usual sandwich?

b

Do you watch TV on a Sunday morning like everyone else?

c

I don’t like these shirts. Do you?

d

Do you prefer this rad shirt or the ordinary one on the shelves at the moment?

3

State whether the following questions are closed or open.

a

Are you a girl?

b

Comment on the quality of the service.

c

How old are you?

d

Describe any improvements that can be made.

e

Rate the quality of the service on a scale from 1 - 10.

f

Rate the speed of the service as Poor, Satisfactory, Good or Excellent.

g

Describe your most memorable experience.

4

A survey of adult residents in the City of Stirling council were asked the following question: “How happy are you with the services provided by the City of Stirling?”

They were then asked to tick one of the following options: "Very happy" or "Very unhappy"

a

Select the type of measurement error this represents from the following three options:

  • The scale provided is inadequate.

  • This is an assumption based question.

  • Poor and/or leading question wording.

b

State whether the following would be a better way to collect results for this question:

i

Ask people from around Australia.

ii

Improve the scale for response.

iii

Ask questions about particular services.

5

Adults attending a local cinema were asked the following question: “How many times did you see a movie at this cinema last year?”

Determine whether the following statements explain why this question is poor:

a

The people being surveyed need more information.

b

Relies too heavily on respondent memory.

c

Poor and/or leading question wording.

6

A survey to assess Australian parents' attitudes towards private schools was conducted. Parents with young children enrolled at Pebbles Daycare centres around Australia were surveyed and asked the following question: “Which is better? Private schools or public schools?”

Identify some possible sampling errors with this survey.

7

Identify the type(s) of measurement error for each of the following scenarios from the three listed options:

  • This is an assumption based question.

  • The scale provided is inadequate.

  • Poor and/or leading question wording.

a

A survey of a large random sample with participants from all over Australia was taken and the following question asked: "Do you think the government is doing enough to stop the increase in violent crime on our streets?"

b

A survey of a large random sample with participants from all over Australia was taken and the following question asked: “Do you regularly recycle all your waste paper and plastic?”

8

In order to determine the most common non-English language spoken in Melbourne, adults and children at a football game were asked: “Other than English, what language do you speak at home?”

a

Explain why this situation represents a sampling error.

b

Explain why this question also represents a measurement error.

9

Explain why the following questions may result in response bias:

a

Do you not like to play basketball?

b

How much do you weigh?

c

Would you prefer this healthy apple or would you like this high-sugar junk food?

10

Explain why the following questions may result in non-response and hence biased survey results:

a

Asking an Australian teenager if they like Joe Biden's foreign policy platform.

b

Asking someone for their name, address and phone number in a survey.

c

Asking someone if they mind answering a survey of 35 questions.

d

Asking people to review a restaurant on a piece of paper and then post their review by mail to the head office.

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Outcomes

2.3.3.2

investigate questionnaire design principles, including simple language, unambiguous questions, consideration of number of choices, issues of privacy and ethics, and freedom from bias [complex]

2.3.4.1

describe the faults in the process of collecting data

2.3.4.2

describe sources of error in surveys, including sampling error and measurement error

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