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Social studies · Grades 9–12

Public decisions, surveys and representation

Public decisions involve affected people with different needs. Fair procedures identify whose views are represented and who is missing.

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Prerequisites

Relevant school subject foundations and careful reasoning.

Study notes

Participation

Public decisions involve affected people with different needs. Fair procedures identify whose views are represented and who is missing.

Surveys

A sample is not automatically representative. Recruitment, response rates, wording and access can influence results.

Tradeoffs

Compare benefits, costs and distributional effects rather than treating one aggregate preference as the only consideration.

Country context

Institutions and legal processes differ by jurisdiction. This lesson uses generic fictional community decisions, not a claim about every government.

Worked examples

Does an online volunteer poll necessarily represent all residents?

Self-selection and access can affect representation.

No

In a fictional 80-person meeting, 48 support an option. Find support percentage among attendees.

48/80×100=60%; this is not automatically the whole community's support.

60 %

Check your understanding

  1. Why should a decision report identify groups missing from consultation?

  2. Which survey question is less leading?

    1. Which transport option do you prefer, if any?
    2. Will you support the only sensible answer?
    3. Do you agree our obviously perfect plan is best?
    4. Why is the other plan terrible?

  3. A fictional proposal costs 120 units shared equally by 6 groups. Find cost per group.

  4. Why can an equal distribution of cost still affect groups differently?

Answers and marking guidance

Answers and marking notes
  1. Their needs or burdens may be absent from the recorded preferences, limiting the legitimacy and interpretation of results.

    Credit missing perspectives and effects.

  2. Which transport option do you prefer, if any?

    Neutral wording reduces pressure toward a selected response.

  3. 20 units

    120/6=20 under the equal-sharing assumption.

  4. Groups can differ in resources, needs or benefits received. Equal amounts do not imply equal burden.

    Credit context and distributional effects.

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