Question

1. a sample of college students is surveyed about their political beliefs, and researchers are concerned that some of the survey responses might not be accurate or truthful. does this describe what we would consider to be a sampling error, or does it describe what we would consider to be a nonsampling error? please explain.

Explanation:

1. First, recall the definitions:

• Sampling error: Error due to the sample not perfectly representing the population (e.g., random chance in who is selected).
• Nonsampling error: Error not related to sampling, like response bias (people not answering truthfully), measurement errors, etc.

1. In this case, the concern is about survey responses being inaccurate/untruthful. This is a response bias, which is a type of nonsampling error because it's not about the sample selection but about how responses are given.

Sampling error relates to the sample not perfectly representing the population (due to random sampling issues). Nonsampling error includes errors not from sampling, like response bias (here, untruthful/inaccurate responses from participants), measurement errors, etc. The concern about untruthful survey responses is a response - related issue, not a sampling - related one, so it's a nonsampling error.

Answer:

This describes a nonsampling error.