What biases are present in Mike’s results?

Discusson 1

Consider the following scenario:

  Mike is a sociology student at a local university in the Chicago area. He has decided to conduct and random poll to determine the political make-up of the community in general, including the city of Chicago.

Mike conducts his survey at the Woodfield Mall in the suburb of Schaumburg, IL. He interviews people at the local Barnes and Noble and asks questions about their political affiliation and beliefs. The interviews are conducted in one day on a cold January night when the temperature is -5 degrees below zero. On this particular occasion Barnes and Noble is hosting a special sale for Gay and Lesbian literature. Guest speakers are also present.
Discussion 1
Mike interviews about 25 people and declares the following: The Chicago area is mostly a mix of White Republicans and Gay and Lesbian Democrats, with neither cohort being more predominant than the other.

Discuss the following: What biases are present in Mike’s results? Identify as many biases as possible. Explain what factors create bias in this study. Be specific. Please give examples.

Discusson 2

In the 1980s, Pepsi and Coca-Cola engaged in what became known as the Cola Wars. During this time period Pepsi regularly conducted taste-tests to support their claim that more Americans preferred Pepsi than Coke. Initially Pepsi was successful in maintaining its claim as the preferred cola. Taste-tests were conducted at place like county fairs where the consumer was given blind taste-test and was asked to sample two cola beverages and declare which cola he/she preferred. If the participant chose Pepsi, he/she would be awarded some small trinket, like an “I took the Pepsi Taste Test Challenge” button or some type of coupon for a free Pepsi.

In this week’s discussion address the following:
Could Coca-Cola have conducted a similar study and produced the same results? Why was Pepsi able to produce results that theirs was the preferred cola? Be specific. Give examples. Please defend your response.