A good survey question matches your goal, is fair, and lets people give a real answer. A leading question pushes people towards one answer. A yes/no question cannot tell you which choice is the favourite. The people you ask matter too: friends, or a group gathered in one place, often think alike, and a very small group can easily be unusual. Before believing a claim about everyone, ask who was surveyed.
Explore this idea with maths tools
Maths you can move
Build 8 + 5
Tap two gold counters to fill the ten-frame.
8 in the frame + 5 waiting. The total stays the same.
Words to know
- survey
- asking people questions to collect data
- sample
- the people who were actually asked
- bias
- something that pushes the results unfairly one way
Worked examples
Goal: the class's favourite sport. A: Do you like sport? B: What is your favourite sport? C: Don't you agree soccer is best?
- 1.A is yes/no and C pushes an answer.
- 2.B lets everyone name a favourite.
= B
How should you find how children at the school get there? A: ask children at the bus stop B: ask 5 children from every class C: ask 2 friends
- 1.A all catch the bus and C is too few friends.
- 2.B includes every class.
= B
9 of 12 chess club members chose chess, so 'most children love chess'. Problem? A: nothing B: only chess club members were asked C: 9 is not most
- 1.9 of 12 really is most of that group.
- 2.The problem is who was asked.
= B
For parents
Method: Check the question and who is asked
What to say: Does this question push people to one answer? Are these people like everyone else?
Common mistakes:
- Chooses a question that pushes people towards one answer.
- Chooses a yes/no question that cannot answer a 'which one?' goal.
- Chooses a question about a different topic.
- Surveys only friends, who tend to be alike.
- Surveys a group chosen by where they are, so they share a habit or interest.
- Accepts a sample that is far too small.
- Accepts a claim about everyone from a biased sample.
- Blames the arithmetic instead of the sample.
- Focuses on how results are recorded or shown, not on the sample.