Question 1

To estimate the mean number of hours a student at a major university spent in the library, a researcher obtained the list of students from the registrar's office, from which she can select a random sample 200 students. This list is a ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of To estimate the mean number of hours...

Question 2

To gather opinions on the efficacy of U.S. foreign policies, a sample of 50 faculty members is selected from the pool of university professors who have taught political science at the graduate level. This is an example of a judgment sample.

Accepted Answer

A judgment sample involves selecting participants based on an expert's opinion or judgment about who would be a good representative sample. In this case, the university professors who have taught political science at the graduate level would be considered experts in the field and their opinions would be valuable in evaluating U.S. foreign policies.

Question 3

Measurement error will become an ethical issue when the findings are presented without reference to sample size and margin of error.

Accepted Answer

Measurement error becomes a ethical issue when it is not acknowledged or addressed, regardless of whether sample size and margin of error are referenced. However, referencing sample size and margin of error can help minimize the impact of measurement error and reduce the potential ethical concerns.

Question 4

Coverage error can become an ethical issue if a particular group is intentionally excluded from the frame.

Accepted Answer

Intentionally excluding a particular group from coverage can be considered unfair and unethical, as it may perpetuate biases and represent a form of discrimination.

Question 5

The question "Is your household income last year somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000?" will most likely result in coverage error.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The question "Is your household income last...

Question 6

If you randomly select a student from the first row of a business statistics class and then every other fifth student thereafter until you get a sample of 20 students, this is an example of a convenience sample.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of systematic sampling, not convenience sampling, because it involves selecting every nth individual from a list or queue.

Question 7

An electronic appliance chain gathered customer opinions on their services using the customer feedback forms that are attached to the product registration forms. This is an example of a convenience sample.

Accepted Answer

A convenience sample is one where the data is collected from individuals who are easiest to reach or are readily available. In this case, the electronic appliance chain is collecting feedback from customers who have already registered their products, which is a subset of the entire customer base, but still a convenient way to gather opinions.

Question 8

Measurement error can become an ethical issue when an interviewer purposely guides the responses in a particular direction.

Accepted Answer

Purposely guiding the responses in a particular direction can lead to biased data, which can have serious implications for decision making. This is an ethical issue as it violates the principle of honesty and integrity in research.

Question 9

The sampling process begins by locating appropriate data sources called ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The sampling process begins by locating appropriate...

Question 10

Coverage error results in a ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Coverage error results in a ________....

Question 11

When participants are allowed to self-select into the sample, you have a nonprobability sample.

Accepted Answer

When participants are allowed to self-select, it is not a random selection process and therefore, it is a nonprobability sample.

Question 12

You stand at the main entrance to a department store and pick the first 20 customers that enter the store after it has opened its door for business on a single day. This is an example of a systematic sample.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a convenience sample, not a systematic sample, as it involves selecting individuals who are easiest to reach rather than following a fixed, systematic method.

Question 13

Systematic samples are less efficient than a stratified sample.

Accepted Answer

Systematic sampling may be less efficient than stratified sampling because it does not ensure that the sample is representative of various subgroups within the population, potentially leading to higher sampling error compared to stratified sampling, which is designed to improve representativeness by including known subgroups.

Question 14

________ results from the exclusion of certain groups of subjects from a population frame.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ________ results from the exclusion of certain...

Question 15

________ results from the failure to collect data on all subjects in the sample.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ________ results from the failure to collect...

Question 16

The professor of a business statistics class wanted to find out the mean amount of time per week her students spent studying for the class. Among the 50 students in her class, 20% were freshmen, 50% were sophomores and 30% were juniors. She decided to select 2 students randomly from the freshmen, 5 randomly from the sophomores and 3 randomly from the juniors. This is an example of a systematic sample.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a stratified sampling method, not a systematic sampling method.

Question 17

The only way one can eliminate sampling error is to take the whole population as the sample.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Sampling error is the difference between the sample statistic and the population parameter. It is caused by chance variations that occur when a sample is selected from a population, rather than using the entire population. By taking the whole population as the sample, there would be no random variations and therefore no sampling error. However, it is not always feasible or practical to survey or measure an entire population, so sampling is used as an approximation.

Question 18

The question "How many times have you abused your spouse in the last six months?" will most likely result in nonresponse error.

Accepted Answer

This type of question is sensitive and personal, and asking it directly may make the respondent uncomfortable or defensive. They may choose not to answer or provide inaccurate information, leading to nonresponse error.

Question 19

In a business statistics class, students sit randomly without particular preferences. A sample is selected by including everybody who sits in the first row. This is an example of a cluster sample.

Accepted Answer

A cluster sample involves dividing the population into "clusters" or groups and then selecting all individuals within randomly chosen clusters. In this case, the first row is a cluster and all individuals within that cluster (students sitting in the first row) are included in the sample.

Question 20

Measurement error can become an ethical issue when a survey sponsor chooses leading questions that guide the responses in a particular direction.

Accepted Answer

Choosing leading questions can result in intentional or unintentional bias, which compromises the accuracy and validity of the survey results. This can potentially misrepresent the opinions or behaviors of the population being studied and can result in unethical decision-making based on faulty data.

Quiz 7: Sampling and Sampling Distributions