• What could have been done during the sample selection process to ensure the sample was representative of the population?
• What additional undesirable consequences do you see from the inaccurate reporting of data from a non-representative sample?

In 2003 Trident Gum ran a commercial for their sugarless gum with the slogan "4 out of 5 dentists surveyed would recommend trident for their patients." In the commercial the reason the 5^th dentist did not recommend it was because he was hit in the head with a clipboard when a fly landed on his. Most people can probably deduce that this is a misleading statistic because most dentists would not recommend chewing gum at all because it can cause cavities, sore jaw, bad breath and digestive problems (Do Dentists Recommend Gum, n.d.).

I do not believe this sample was representative of the population because of the size. The supposed sampling size was far too small. For a population to decide on whether they use a product of only 5 "professionals" is absurd. This statistic of 4 out of 5 would translate to 80%, obviously there are many more ranges that could achieve this percentage. For example, 80 out of 100, but for this commercial the sample size of 4 out of 5 is easy to grasp for the average consumer.

The undesirable consequence of this poor sampling technique is the consumer is fooled into thinking that their dentist would recommend this gum. Causing consumers to purchase more of the product, potentially worsening preexisting conditions such as cavities. There isn't much of a consequence for the company as this will boost their sales.

The inaccurate reporting of this data could have been easily prevented by putting a disclaimer in the commercial, sort of like they do on packages of cigarettes. There could have also been some mention of the American Dental Association. The ADA is an association of 159,000 dentists that have provided their seal of approval on more than 200 over-the-counter products. So, this is a better indication of what your dentist may be recommending (About the ADA, n.d.).