STATISTICS

When you write questions for a survey, it is important to be sure that the questions are not biased. That is, the questions should not assume anything or influence the answers. The following two questionnaires are designed to find out what kind of books your classmates like and what they like to do in the summer. The first questionnaire uses biased questions. The second questionnaire uses questions that are not biased.

Survey I

A. What mystery novel is your favorite?

B. What TV programs do you like to watch in the summer?

Survey 2

A. What kind of books do you like to read?
B. What do you like to do in the summer?
Check It Out
1. Why is A in Survey 1 biased?

2. Why is B in Survey 2 better than B in Survey 1?

3. Write a question that asks the same thing as the following question but is not biased: Are you an interesting person who reads a lot of books?