Suppose that you want to collect data on how frequently people in your community get sick. You decide to ask the first 100 people leaving a local doctor’s office. [ /1 mark]
What might you be able to conclude about your findings? Explain.
Based solely on the data collected from the first 100 people leaving a local doctor's office, we cannot make any definitive conclusions about the frequency of people in the community getting sick.
There are several reasons why this data may not be representative of the community as a whole. Firstly, the sample size of only 100 people is relatively small compared to the entire population of the community. This small sample size may not be a true representation of the overall population's health status.
Secondly, the fact that the data is collected from people leaving a doctor's office introduces a selection bias. This sample would likely have a higher proportion of individuals who are currently experiencing health issues or seeking medical attention. This bias might skew the findings towards a higher frequency of sickness compared to the general population.
Additionally, the data collected only provides information on the frequency of sickness among those who visit the doctor's office. It does not account for individuals who do not seek medical attention or those who visit other healthcare providers. Therefore, it cannot provide a comprehensive understanding of the overall health status of the community.
To draw meaningful conclusions about the frequency of people getting sick in the community, a more representative and unbiased sampling method, such as random sampling from a diverse range of locations and demographics, would be necessary.