epidemiology question

Question

A survey is sent to homeowners through email: “Do you prefer the look and feel of thick lush carpeting in your living room or just old hardwood floors?” What source of error/bias may interfere most?

a. Random Error

b. Selection Bias

c. Recall Bias

d. Interviewer Bias

Answer 1

The question as phrased, "Do you prefer the look and feel of thick lush carpeting in your living room or just old hardwood floors?" introduces a source of bias known as interviewer bias, though in this case, it might be more specifically referred to as question wording bias or response bias, which is a subset of interviewer bias. The choice of words here suggests a preference or a value judgment ("thick lush carpeting" vs. "just old hardwood floors"), which may lead respondents to answer in a way that aligns with what they perceive to be the more desirable or socially acceptable option. The wording makes the carpeting option sound more appealing, which could influence the responses.

Here's how the given biases might or might not fit:

a. Random Error: This is the variability in the data that arises by chance and is equally likely to go in any direction. It is not likely the primary issue with the question as stated, as the problem is more about systematic bias introduced by the question's wording.

b. Selection Bias: This occurs when there is a systematic difference between those who are selected for the study and those who are not. While selection bias could be an issue in any survey depending on how participants are chosen, the problem indicated by the question's wording is more directly related to the way the question influences the response, not how participants are chosen.

c. Recall Bias: This occurs when participants do not remember past events accurately or fail to report them accurately. Recall bias is not particularly relevant to this question, as it doesn't ask about past events or rely on memory.

d. Interviewer Bias: This type of bias occurs when the interviewer's behavior or the way questions are presented influences the responses of the interviewee. While traditionally it refers to biases introduced by the person conducting an interview, in the context of a survey question, it can also refer to the way questions are worded or presented leading to biased responses. The leading nature of the question suggests this type of bias is at play.

Therefore, the most fitting option for the source of error or bias in the given survey question is:

d. Interviewer Bias

However, it's important to note that in the context of survey design and methodology, this might be more precisely categorized as "Question Wording Bias" or "Response Bias," both of which are forms of interviewer bias.

Answer 2

The question posed in the survey about homeowners' preferences for carpeting vs. hardwood floors seems leading and could be suggestive due to the wording used ("thick lush carpeting" vs. "just old hardwood floors"). This could introduce bias in the survey responses because the adjectives used ("thick lush" vs. "just old") could influence the homeowners' answers by making one option seem more appealing than the other.

The most significant source of error/bias in this case could be:

d. Interviewer Bias

Even though the survey is sent through email and an "interviewer" in the traditional sense is not present, the term interviewer bias here extends to the construction of the survey itself. How the questions are framed can lead respondents towards a certain answer. The way the question is worded can be seen as a form of interviewer bias because it's not neutral and suggests a value judgment between the two choices.

Selection Bias (b) might also play a role if the survey is only sent to a certain group of homeowners who are more likely to have one type of flooring or the other or if the survey recipients are not a random sample of all homeowners. However, with the information given, we cannot determine if selection bias is present without knowing more about how the survey was distributed.