Question

classify the bias in each of the following scenarios. Explain your answer.

a. student at university are asked if the first year is as hard as others claim it to be.

b. a travel magazine wants to know the annual travel budget of its subscribers. it sends a survey at 1000 randomly selected subscribers.

please explain you answer. and tell which bias is it?

Answer 1

Answer :

a. Type of Bias : Response Bias

Remarks : Response bias refers to the bias where there is tendency of a person to provide inaccurate or false answers due to some form of external or internal pressure. Pressure here can mean anything, for e.g., pressure to provide answers that are socially acceptable.

In the present scenario, students at the university might feel pressurized from the college teachers/staff/principle or from their friends and other students to provide answers that are more preferable for the college. Hence this is a form of response bias.

b. Type of Bias : Non-Response Bias

Remarks : Non-response bias refers to the bias where the person who has been asked to fill in the survey or provide some information is either unwilling or unable to participate in such survey. It is often a problem in surveys with indirect communication like mail surveys where it is uncertain as to whether the other person will respond or not.

The above mentioned case (B) also represents non-responsive bias because not everyone who reads the magazine would be willing to respond and provide his annual travel budget with the travel magazine.