Unbiased Sample

Definition of Unbiased Sample  

• A sample is an unbiased sample if every individual or the element in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

   

Examples of Unbiased Sample

• Kathy wants to know how many students in her city use the internet for learning purposes. She used an email poll. Based on the replies to her poll, she found that 83% of those surveyed used the internet. Kathy’s sample is biased as she surveyed only the students those who use the internet. She should have randomly selected a few schools and colleges in the city to conduct the survey.

   

Solved Example on Unbiased Sample

Which one of the following sampling methods would give unbiased results, if you need to find out the number of people in your town liking vanilla or chocolate ice creams?

Choices:

A.  ask my neighbors

B.  randomly select a few ice cream shops in town, and question people coming there

C.  ask my friends

D.  ask my classmates

Correct Answer: B

Solution:

Step 1: A sample is an unbiased sample if every individual or the element in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Step 2: Among the choices listed, randomly selecting a few ice cream shops in town, and questioning people coming there would be a good sampling method as people of different age groups have a chance of being surveyed. It could be a representative of the entire population in the town.

Step 3: So, choice B is the correct answer.           

 

Related Terms for Unbiased Sample

• Sample
• Population

   

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