In the absence of any information concerning the population proportion the conservative researcher should use which of the following estimates when calculating sample size?
A)1.00
B)0.20
C)0.50
D)0.80
E)0.00

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The conservative estimate for the population proportion when there is no information available is generally considered to be 0.50, as this assumes the greatest level of uncertainty and variability in the population. Using a proportion of 1.00 or 0.00 assumes that the entire population either has or does not have the characteristic being measured, which is almost never the case. A proportion of 0.20 or 0.80 may be appropriate in certain situations where there is some prior information or reasonable assumption about the population proportion, but without any information, a proportion of 0.50 is the safest choice.

In the Absence of Any Information Concerning the Population Proportion