Is the Question Biased? Yes. Explanation: See solution. Example Rewording: Do you think the government should address the issue of arsenic in tap water?
Practice makes perfect
First let's determine whether the given survey question is biased.
The tap water coming from our western water supply contains twice the level of arsenic of water from our eastern supply. Do you think the government should address this health problem?
When we call something a health problem, people immediately have a negative attitude towards the topic, which can influence the respondent's answer. Therefore, this question is biased because it encourages a particular response. Let's try to rephrase the question so that it does not influence respondents' feelings.
The tap water coming from our western water supply contains twice the level of arsenic of water from our eastern supply. Do you think the government should address the issue of arsenic in tap water?
Additionally, we should provide some legitimate information about the consequences of using each of these levels of arsenic. This is only one example of an unbiased question — there are many other ways to rephrase the question.
