Question 7.33

image 3. On the Hudson Valley, New York, Patch Facebook page, readers were asked to send in stories of awful Valentine’s Day gifts. The following were selected:

  • Leftover chocolate (and he had eaten one!)
  • Flowers purchased the day before Valentine’s because it was cheaper to buy them the day before
  • A recycled card from an ex-boyfriend with an open box of chocolates

Readers were then asked to vote on the best “worst Valentine’s Day gift ever” story.

  1. Describe the population.
  2. Describe the sample.
  3. Do you think the response to this poll is representative of the views of the residents of the Hudson Valley, New York? Explain.

3.

(a) The population would be all the Hudson Valley Patch Facebook readers or it could be all residents of the Hudson Valley region in New York State. [If the latter, the sample in part (b) will miss all of the non-Facebook readers in Hudson Valley.]

The sample would be the readers who went to the Facebook page and voted for the worst Valentine’s Day gift.

(c) No. First, not all Hudson Valley residents are on Facebook with the Hudson Valley Patch. In particular, the votes do not represent the opinions of non-Facebook users.