In selecting the sample size to estimate the population proportion p, if we have no knowledge of even the approximate values of the sample proportion $\hat { p }$ , we:
A) take another sample and estimate p.
B) take two more samples and find the average of their $\hat { p }$ values.
C) let $\hat { p }$ = 0.50.
D) let $\hat { p }$ = 0.95.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When there is no knowledge of the approximate value of the population proportion or the sample proportion, it is conservative to assume that $\hat { p }$ = 0.50, which yields the largest sample size. This is because 0.50 is the least biased estimate of p when we have no prior information about the possible values of p.

In Selecting the Sample Size to Estimate the Population Proportion p^\hat { p }p^​

In Selecting the Sample Size to Estimate the Population Proportion $\hat { p }$