Generalization

When reading chapter 7 in the Boss Text, the section that was talking about generalization stood out to me. Generalization is when we draw a conclusion about a certain characteristic of a group or population on the basis of a sample from the group. An example of generalization would be if you were to sneeze whenever you are around your friend’s dog, your roommate’s dog, and even your cousin’s dog.  Based on these experiences, you would conclude that all dogs would make you sneeze. It is said that scientists frequently use arguments based on generalization.  The use of polls, surveys, and sampling can help you to make inductive generalizations.  Polls are a type of survey that involves collecting opinions or information on a subject from a sample group of people for the purpose of analysis.  Polls help to provide a window into how people think and feel. Sampling entails selecting only some members of a class or group and then making a generalization abut the whole population that is based o the characteristics of these members. Sometimes if the sample is too big to poll, they use what is called a representative sample.  A representative sample is one that is similar in relevant respects to the larger population. To get a representative sample, most professional pollsters use a method known as random sampling.  Random sampling is when every member of the population a has an equal chance of becoming part of the sample.