Question

The Web site of the PBS television program NOVA Science Now invites viewers to vote on issues such as re-creating the virus responsible for the deadly flu epidemic of 1918. This online poll is unusual in offering detailed arguments for both sides. Of the 790 viewers who read the arguments and voted, 64% said that re-creating the virus was justified.3 Explain to someone who knows no statistics why these 790 responses probably don’t represent the opinions of all American adults.

Answer 1

Since the 790 viewers read the arguments and then voted, the poll became biased. The 790 viewers had a lot more information about re-creating the virus responsible for the deadly flu epidemic of 1918 and detailed arguments for both in favor and against re-creating the virus. This sample selected, therefore, suffers from selection bias.

The normal American adult would not be privy to the arguments for/against the deadly flu epidemic of 1918. They will have limited information based on their pre-formed opinions. A normal adult if hears about the recreation of a virus would be most likely against the notion. So we cannot make inferences without selecting a random sample from the population about the opinions of all American adults, regarding the recreation of the virus.

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