Near the end of a US cable news show, the host invited viewers to respond to a poll on the show’s website that asked, “Do you support the new federal policy discussed during the show?” At the end of the show, the host reported that 28% responded (“Yes,”) and 70% responded (“No.”) Which of the following best explains why the results are unlikely to represent the sentiments of the population of the United States?

Random samples are crucial in polls to ensure that everyone in the population has a fair chance of being included. This helps to get a more accurate picture of what the whole population thinks

People who watch cable news and choose to respond to online polls are a self-selected group. They might have stronger opinions (either for or against the policy) compared to the general population

So that’s why, Option 2 is correct (Those who responded to the poll were not a random sample of the population of the United States).

Percentages not adding up to 100% wouldn’t necessarily invalidate the poll, it could just mean a small number of people picked "other" or there were rounding errors

The percentages do not add up to 100%, so any possible conclusions from the poll are invalid

This option correctly identifies the potential problem with the sample selection. If respondents to the poll are not a random sample of the population, the results may not accurately reflect the broader sentiment. This is a common pitfall in polling where self-selection bias can significantly skew results

Those who responded to the poll were not a random sample of the population of the United States

A \$50/50\$ split doesn’t necessarily indicate a representative sample either

There were not 50% “Yes” responses and 50% “No” responses

The time to respond might influence the number of participants but not necessarily the representativeness of the sample itself

The show did not allow viewers enough time to respond to the poll

Option

B

Can you summarize what you’ve understood in the above steps?