Discussion Prompt: Using survey data to calculate statistics can be extremely valuable, but you must also make sure that the sample and questions are unbiased. Design a pair of questions that are related to the same healthcare issue: one that is unbiased and another that would result in a bias in one direction or the other.
Examples:
- Do you think that the rate of type II diabetes diagnoses will increase over the next 10 years?
- Given the large increase in childhood obesity in the United States, do you think that type II diabetes diagnoses will increase over the next 10 years?
Discuss why it is important to create a truly unbiased sample and survey questions. Then, look at your classmates’ examples and comment on how their examples do or do not create a bias. Do not state which of your own questions is biased and which is unbiased. Your peers will determine which is which in their responses to you.
