Drawing a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is biased, or chosen in order to make it appear the population on average is different than it actually is. This differs from the hasty generalization fallacy , where the biased sample is specifically chosen from a select group, and the small sample is just a random sample, but too small to get any accurate information.
Examples:
- Based on a survey of 1000 American homeowners, 99% of those surveyed have two or more automobiles worth on average $100,000 each. Therefore, Americans are very wealthy.
Synonyms: biased statistics, loaded sample, prejudiced statistics, prejudiced sample, loaded statistics, biased induction, biased generalization, biased generalizing, unrepresentative sample, unrepresentative generalization