Referenced from lesson Threats to Validity

Some volunteers from the animal shelter surveyed a group of pet owners at a local dog park. They found that almost all of the owners were there with their dogs. From this survey, they concluded that dogs are the most popular pet in the state.

 

What are some possible threats to the validity of this conclusion?

 

 

 The animal shelter noticed a large increase in pet adoptions between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. They conclude that at the current rate, there will be a huge demand for pets this spring.

 

What are some possible threats to the validity of this conclusion?

These materials were developed partly through support of the National Science Foundation, (awards 1042210, 1535276, 1648684, and 1738598). CCbadge Bootstrap:Data Science by Emmanuel Schanzer, Nancy Pfenning, Emma Youndtsmith, Jennifer Poole, Shriram Krishnamurthi, Joe Politz, Ben Lerner, Flannery Denny, and Dorai Sitaram with help from Eric Allatta and Joy Straub is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.BootstrapWorld.org. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by contacting schanzer@BootstrapWorld.org.