ideas1

Response to the following ideas. 100-125 word maximum, no citations.

· If you have a related idea, then share it. 

· If you think you have another idea to defend their point of view, offer it. 

· If you  have a concern, express it

The ideas are based on the following:

There is currently a lot of debate in some states about whether sex education should be taught in high school. Your local school system wants to put out a survey to find out the opinions of parents on this debate.

· Is selection bias potentially an issue?

· If so, would it be of concern in terms of survey results?

· What might the school system do if it is concerned about potential selection bias?

· Any other statistical concerns? 

Idea1:

Selection bias could be a potential issue if the sample does not properly represent the population being observed, if the survey does not reach the intended population, then the survey data is skewed and that is a major problem. Selection bias would be a concern in term of a survey because results could be skewed based on the survey that was collected. Respondents should be randomized in order to collect nonbiased data about the population, and this can be a major concern in terms of a survey. Selection bias in terms of a survey is very common because of the way surveys are distributed and if the survey is not being presented to a wide variety of your population, then the observations are bias. The school system can avoid selection bias by giving respondents equal chances to take your survey, present the survey in more than one form and make sure it is distributed to get the best random sample of your population. Sending surveys home with students, emailing or texting parents’ electronic surveys, distributing surveys at open houses or PTA events is a great way to avoid selection bias and ensure that the survey is reaching the target audience. Do not only use online surveys because it limits your responses to people with access to the internet and this is an example of selection bias, diversify the way the survey is given to the target population. Religion could influence the survey results, so make sure that the survey is presented in a way that is reaches all religions. It is important that feedback isn’t from a certain segment of our population, or the data will be bias and that will affect observations.

Idea2:

1. Is selection bias potentially an issue?

Selection bias could potentially be an issue in this survey as this local school system does not represent the entire population of parents who have children in high school. This is a biased sample of data, as it is not randomized due to the lack of the balance of people. The survey participants don’t go across the spectrum that represents the population, only those in that particular school system.

2. If so, would it be of concern in terms of survey results?

This inaccurate depiction of the population would be of concern in terms of survey results. The results in this survey could potentially be skewed as there is only a small portion of the population that provided feedback and it is not randomized. These results don’t mirror the population because it is not a diverse sample of participants and is not representative of the population at large.

3. What might the school system do if it is concerned about potential selection bias?

It would not be the most feasible to collect data on every single high school parent in the United States. However, if the school system is concerned about selection bias, a way to avoid this is by randomly selecting a group of high school students’ parents across states. While it could be more difficult to gather data, this would ensure they get a more accurate sample of the population.

4. Any other statistical concerns?

Other statistical concerns could potentially skew the survey results. Demographics such as socioeconomic status, political party affiliation or race all play an important role in a person’s view. Those with a high socioeconomic status may have opposing opinions than those of low socioeconomic status. As a collective, those who share the same political affiliation usually share similar opinions and beliefs. Lastly, diversity in samples is important in avoiding selection bias. All these factors can be influential in the way individuals view the importance of sex education.

Idea3:

As a parent I think, whether taught or not to taught; sex education in high schools is one of the big issues that can cause great debate among parents. It will be difficult to get a satisfactory answer to this discussion. Therefore, although it seems logical to use the survey method, if participation in the survey is based on volunteerism, the results may be biased.

What if majority of the volunteers are the group who wants sex education should be taught in high school or the group who does not want it. Depending on this fact we can easily assume it would be a concern in terms of survey. School system can use randomization of sampling method to avoid from the potential selection bias issue. By selecting the sample randomly, school system gives equal probability to every group of parents to be chosen. Also, another key point to avoid from selection bias in volunteered surveys is to make sure that everybody is informed equally about the survey. For example, if school system put the survey in its website than it will be inaccessible for the parents who does not follow with the website of does not have access to the internet. Instead of only using internet for this survey, school can also send survey as a document to all students address and ask to send the survey document back.

Another potential selection bias might be repeated surveys. Repeated surveys might give wrong statistics. For example, if a parent has 5 children in the same school system and fills the surveys 5 times by saying no to sex education 5 times, this data will end up statistically wrong. To avoid from bias, it is really important to make sure there will be one survey for one family only. Honesty is another key factor to avoid from selection bias when working on a volunteered survey. It is really imported that parents will answer the questions honestly so we have to make sure them their or their children’s identity is not be publicly reviled.

Idea4:

Sex education should certainly be taught in school, but the schools also should be aware of how to best implement and teach this topic as it is important for the kids’ future. Selection bias may potentially be an issue because the survey would be taken by those parents who care (positively or negatively) about the topic. Those who generally don’t think the subject is important won’t "waste" their time responding to the survey, as it is indifferent for them. The school should find a way to recruit all parents and try to convince them to answer the survey; they could also ideally propose the survey for all parents from elementary and middle school as well, as their kids will eventually go to high school. The world is in constant evolution, so this survey could possibly be taken once a year or every two years because plans and ideas usually change. A parent who is positive about the idea may change his or her mind a year later. There are three sides to the question: parents who agree that sex education should be taught in high school, parents who don’t agree, and those parents who are still undecided (between agree and disagree). All sides have a strong opinion, and they should express that, but parents who are undecided will definitely change the desired result of the survey because without their answer, the outcome won't be 100 percent accurate or complete. The school system should study and base their ideas and thoughts on those of other school systems that have already done this or are progressing with it.