Question

Advice columnist Ann Landers once asked her divorced readers whether they regretted their decision to divorce. She received approximately 30,000 responses. Of the 30,000, about 23,000 came from women. Nearly 75% said they were glad they divorced. Of these, most said they wished they had divorced sooner.
Which is the most accurate statement?
A. This sample is large (approximately 30,000) so the results are representative of the population of divorced people in the U.S.
B. The results are believable, so the survey is not biased.
C. This is a convenience sample and is biased by an unequal number of males and females.
D. This survey is biased by voluntary response and probably overestimates that percentage who are glad they divorced.

Answer 1

Option D. This survey is biased by voluntary response and probably overestimates the percentage who are glad they divorced.

Eppie Lederer known best known as Ann Landers was a famous nationwide columnist in the U.S. for the second half of the 1900's. She had an estimated audience of 90 million readers. The level of response to this particular survey was voluntary and did not represent a statistically valid amount of responders.