Question

A survey paid for by makers of disposable diapers found that $84\%$ of the sample opposed banning disposable diapers. Here is the actual question:

It is estimated that disposable diapers account for less than $2\%$of the trash in today’s landfills. In contrast, beverage containers, third-class mail, and yard wastes are estimated to account for about $21\%$ of the trash in landfills. Given this, in your opinion, would it be fair to ban disposable diapers? Explain how the wording of the question could result in bias. Be sure to specify the direction of the bias.

Short answer

Because changing wording might slightly change the outcome of a survey, the ambiguous and leading question can induce substantial bias and result in non-response bias.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

Disposable diapers account for less than $2\%$ of all garbage in landfills today. Beverage containers, third-class mail, and yard wastes, on the other hand, are projected to account for around $21\%$ of rubbish in landfills.

Concept

A simple random sample (SRS) of size n is made up of $n$ people chosen from the population with an equal chance of being the sample that is actually chosen.

Explanation

According to the question, a survey funded by disposable diaper manufacturers revealed that the majority of respondents opposed banning disposable diapers. The question merely specified the amount of disposable diapers in today's landfills, as well as the percentage of other tiny waste generators. The problem in framing the question is that it was questioned whether it would be fair to ban disposable diapers, but the reaction from the public should be about the hygiene and non-hygiene of disposable diapers for society, not about fairness. The language of the questions has the most impact on the responses to the sample survey. Because modifying wording can softly change a survey's findings, a confusing and leading question can introduce severe bias and result in non-response bias.