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?

Options

A. The percentages do not add up to 100%, so any possible conclusions from the poll are invalid.
B. Those who responded to the poll were not a random sample of the population of the United States.
C. There were not 50% “Yes” responses and 50% “No” responses.
D. The show did not allow viewers enough time to respond to the poll.

Answer

B

Explanation

In order for the poll results from a sample of a population to represent the entire population, the sample must be representative of the population. A sample that is randomly selected from a population is more likely than a sample of the type described to represent the population. In this case, the people who responded were people with access to cable television and websites, which aren’t accessible to the entire population. Moreover, the people who responded also chose to watch the show and respond to the poll. The people who made these choices aren’t representative of the entire population of the United States because they were not a random sample of the population of the United States.
Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because they present reasons unrelated to whether the sample is representative of the population of the United States.