Discuss if this kind of selection results in a biased survey. Vocabulary margin of error the plus or minus range of variation that the survey answers will have with respect to the true answers, if the entire population were asked the same questions random sampling the process of selecting individuals from a population so that each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the survey selection bias the exclusion, often unintentional, of certain members of a target population because of the way the selection process has been established or conducted statistics a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, interpretation, and presentation of numerical data Resources Converse, P., and M. Traugott. Assessing the accuracy of polls and surveys. Different polls, different results. Mitofsky, W., and M. Plissner.
Reporters guide to published polls.
Spence, J., et al. You will discover how bias in questioning affects the outcome of a poll. By asking two sets of questions, you might get two different conclusions. Prepare two questionnaires that will poll your schoolmates about their favorite foods to have in the school lunchroom. Select one grade level to be polled and get permission to poll two classrooms, one with the bias survey and the other with the unbiased one.