A researcher wants to gather data on the average wing strength of all birds found in the American Northwest. The researcher only has one small net, so all large birds were excluded from the study. The researcher's results were different than expected, but he believes his data include enough birds to estimate the strength of all birds. For which of the following reasons should this data be rejected?
A. Data contradict the control group
B. Data were different than expected
C. Data are biased by the methodology
D. Data cannot be displayed graphically
The correct answer is c. Data are biased by the methodology. The researcher's data should be rejected because they are biased by the methodology used to gather them. By only using a small net, the researcher excluded all large birds from the study. This means that the data do not accurately represent the average wing strength of all birds found in the American Northwest.
A. The data contradicting the control group is not a reason to reject the data in this case.
B. The data being different than expected is not a reason to reject the data in this case.
D. The data not being able to be displayed graphically is not a reason to reject the data in this case.
Therefore, the Correct Answer is C.