In a poll question, compare the target population, the whole group the claim describes, with the people who actually responded. To extend a result to that whole group, the respondents need to be representative of it. Watch how they were selected: a large number of voluntary responses doesn't fix a sample that may favor certain opinions.
Hints
- Hint 1
The target population is the full group the claim describes. Compare who the website claims to describe with who actually answered. Does the poll reach the same group the conclusion names?
- Hint 2
In a voluntary-response sample, people decide for themselves whether to answer. People with strong opinions may be more likely to respond. Could who chooses to answer affect the reported percentage?
Step-by-step
Compare the respondents with the claimed group
Step 1Identify the gap between the two groups
No Desmos needed. A calculator can't tell you whether poll respondents represent a country. The target population, or everyone the claim is about, is all adults in the country. The result comes from visitors who responded, so the claim reaches beyond the group measured.
- Step 2
Check how respondents entered the poll
Only website visitors could answer, and they chose whether to respond rather than being randomly picked from the country's adults. This makes it a voluntary-response sample. People with strong opinions about voting laws may be more likely to reply, so their views may be overrepresented. More replies can't fix who gets included.
- Step 3
Limit the conclusion to what the poll supports
The describes the respondents, not necessarily all adults. The website's conclusion may be invalid because those respondents might not be representative, meaning they might not reflect adults across the country. Choice C.