Anastasia Humphers-Ginther and Kristen Paulsen

FAIRNESS IN SAMPLING

• Sampling and voting methods are used universally

• All methods have many flaws

• Fairness is always an issue

INTRODUCTION

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• Multiple sampling methods• Fairness based on population representation• Prove that all sampling methods are flawed

by misinterpretation through:- Method used- Ballot content- Promotion and advertisement misconduct- Question manipulation

THESIS

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• Convenience Sampling

• Random Sampling

• Quota Sampling

• Stratified Sampling

SAMPLING METHODS

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• Most convenient and cost effective to data collector• Examples:

- Website

- Booths

- Self Selection

- Friends/Family

• Unrepresentative of population

CONVENIENCE SAMPLING

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• Sample obtained is completely selected at random• Problems:

- All samples may be taken from

same group

- Unrepresentative of population

RANDOM SAMPLING

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• Quota: Minimum number of votes required to pass a motion

• Quota Sampling: Forcing the sample to be representative of a population through quotas

• Unrepresentative of population

• Examples of quotas:- Gender

- Race

- Economic situation

QUOTA SAMPLING

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• Breaking sampling frames into categories then further dividing by random samples: - Strata

- Substrata

- Etc.

• Predetermined number of steps

• Represents each individual part of the population

• Unrepresentative of population

STRATIFIED SAMPLING

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• Conducted on April 12, 2011 by popular vote• Proposed by Men’s swimming and diving team• In support of keeping the following sports:

- Men’s Tennis

- Women’s Tennis

- Women’s Bowling

- Men’s Swimming and

Diving

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO REFERENDUM

• Increase student activity fees by $0.75 per credit hour• Affects 53 student athletes

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• 14,383 eligible voters

• 22% of students participated

• Results:- 1796 students voted for raising student fees and not cutting sports

- 1287 students voted against raising fees and cutting sports

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO REFERENDUM CONT.

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• Popular Vote

• Three choices : Yes, No, or Abstain

• Majority wins

• Vote took place online

• April 12, 2011 from 8am-6pm

• Advertised through open talks, fliers, and emails

VOTING METHOD OF REFERENDUM

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• Referendum was an online convenience sample

• Could not require eligible voters to participate

• Unrepresentative of student population

VOTING FACTORS:CONVENIENCE SAMPLING

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• More representative of entire student population • Stratify school population into subgroups of grades

• Then further into substrata of

gender

• Lastly, substrata of athletic vs. non-

athletic students

WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED: STRATIFIED SAMPLING

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• Adjoined Ballot- Sporting Referendum

- MSUM senate positions

- Student union board committee

• Normal voter turnout = 11%-15%

• Ballot response rate in 2011 = 22%

- High turnout due to 4 parties running for office

VOTING FACTORS:BALLOT CONTENT

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• Men’s Swimming and Diving team violations:

- Guaranteed free rock wall

- Threatened elimination of all sports

- Provided computers to vote on in resident halls

- Provided cupcakes for votes

- Said that professors would offer extra credit

- Advertised with copyright infringements

• Created bias, affecting outcome of referendum

VOTING FACTORS:PROMOTION AND ADVERTISEMENT MISCONDUCT

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• Questions can be made biased towards one side or another

• Sways voter opinions• Not a factor in MSUM referendum

- Ballot showed completely unbiased question

VOTING FACTORS:QUESTION MANIPULATION

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Proposition for a referendum to increase student fee support for MSU, Mankato Athletics

The proposed ballot proposition would assess MSU, Mankato students an additional $0.75 per credit hour fee, for the fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, to fully support the cost of 4 sports proposed for elimination due to University budget reductions. Those sports are: Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Women’s Bowling, and Men’s Swimming/Diving. The amount would be adjusted for each of the three years based on any cost fluctuations related to compensation, travel, and administrative costs.  Currently, students pay $3.33 per credit hour to support operational and travel costs of 21 sports offered by the University.

-          Voting yes on this referendum will result in an increase in student fees of $0.75 per credit, for a maximum of an additional $9 each semester or $18 each year to support the 53 student athletes participating in these programs: Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Women’s Bowling, and Men’s Swimming/Diving.

-          Voting no on this referendum will not allow student fees to be raised, and the Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Women’s Bowling, and Men’s Swimming/Diving teams will remain subject to elimination.

 

QUESTION MANIPULATIONS:ORIGINAL BALLOT

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Proposition for a referendum to increase student fee support for MSU, Mankato AthleticsThe proposed ballot proposition would assess MSU, Mankato students an additional $0.75 per credit hour fee, for the fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, to fully support the cost of 4 sports proposed for elimination due to University budget reductions. Those sports are:: Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Bowling, Men’s Swimming and Diving Currently, students pay $3.33 per credit per semester, which equals $39.96 towards MSU per semester and a total of $79.92 for the whole school year. With $0.75 increase, students would pay $4.08 per credit, which is an increase of $9 per semester and $18 per year for the support of only 53 student athletes. With the passing of this referendum, students would be paying $97.92 for student fees, even if said student is not involved in athletics.Also, it is projected that tuition may increase by 12% within the next two years. I, a student of Minnesota State University, Mankato who pays for activity fees, would comply to paying higher student activity fees for the four sports listed above, and I understand that this would directly benefit only 53 athletic students. Please mark your vote on the line below corresponding to your choice.Yes ________No ________

QUESTION MANIPULATION:BIASED WORDING AGAINST REFERENDUM

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Proposition for a referendum to increase student fee support for MSU, Mankato Athletics

The proposed ballot proposition would assess MSU, Mankato students an additional $0.75 per credit hour fee, for the fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, to fully support the cost of 4 sports proposed for elimination due to University budget reductions.

Those sports are: Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Bowling, Men’s Swimming and Diving

Voting yes on this referendum will result in an increase in student fees of $0.75 per credit for only the next three to four school years.

Voting no on this referendum will not allow student fees to be raised, and the Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Women’s Bowling, and Men’s Swimming/Diving teams will be eliminated, cutting out 53 student athletes and potential profits from said sports.

 

I, a student of Minnesota State University, Mankato and member of the community, would comply to paying $0.75 more per credit fee to allow the said sports to maintain a position in the University’s athletic program and to give support to the University as a whole.

 

Please mark your vote on the line below corresponding to your choice.

Yes ________

No ________

QUESTION MANIPULATION:BIASED WORDING FOR REFERENDUM

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• Stratified sampling within convenience sampling- Convenience: Within residence hall and courses

- Stratified: Gender, Athletic vs. Non-Athletic

• Word bias against referendum

- 8 votes for, 12 votes against

• Word bias for referendum

- 11 votes for, 9 votes against

QUESTION MANIPULATION:CONDUCTION OF EXPERIMENT

AND FINDINGS

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• President Richard Davenport of MSUM has veto power

- Mathematical Dictator

• Students who voted had little power

- Mathematical Dummies

• Parameter unknown after vote

• Only supported 53 student athletes

- Increasing student payments to

athletics by 23% to support less than

8% of student athletes

FAIRNESS:PRESIDENTIAL VETO

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• There is no sampling method that can be fair in all aspects for all parties involved

• Methods can vary in effectiveness according to the situation

• Sampling methods are easily flawed due to: - Method used

- Ballot content

- Promotion and advertisement misconduct

- Question manipulation

• It is impossible for a sampling method to satisfy a population in its entirety.

CONCLUSION

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Brennan, Nate. “An Open Letter to President Richard Davenport.” The Reporter [Mankato] 14 Apr. 2011. Print.

Chida, Matt. “Consider the Athletes.” The Reporter [Mankato] 5 Apr. 2011. Print.

Denton, Joey. “Four Athletic Teams on the Chopping Block.” The Reporter [Mankato] 29 Mar. 2011. Print.

Hebrink, Josh. “Thoughts on the Referendum.” The Reporter [Mankato] 31 Mar. 2011. Print.

“Interview With the MSSA Vice President Moriah Miles.” Personal interview. Anastasia Humphers-Ginther, Kristen Paulsen. 15 Nov. 2011.

Rosemeyer, Ryan. “MSU President Vetoes Athletic Referendum.” The Reporter [Mankato] 21 Apr. 2011. Print.

Tannenbaum, Peter. Excursions in Modern Mathematics. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.

Williams, Tom. “Vote Today.” The Reporter [Mankato] 12 Apr. 2011. Print.

BIBLIOGRAPHY