An environmental group wants to use a survey to determine the extent to which its members would be willing to protest a recent decision of the governor of a particular state. Which of the following procedures would be most appropriate for obtaining a statistically unbiased sample?
A) Survey a selection of people whose names are randomly chosen from the telephone directory.
B) Have sign-ups for workers to gather signatures at local malls throughout the state.
C) Survey members attending the annual convention of the environmental group.
D) Survey a selection of people whose names are randomly chosen from a list of members of the environmental group.

Question

An environmental group wants to use a survey to determine the extent to which its members would be willing to protest a recent decision of the governor of a particular state. Which of the following procedures would be most appropriate for obtaining a statistically unbiased sample? ​
A) Survey a selection of people whose names are randomly chosen from the telephone directory.
B) Have sign-ups for workers to gather signatures at local malls throughout the state.
C) Survey members attending the annual convention of the environmental group.
D) Survey a selection of people whose names are randomly chosen from a list of members of the environmental group.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best choice for obtaining a statistically unbiased sample would be to survey a selection of people whose names are randomly chosen from a list of members of the environmental group, as this would ensure that only members of the group who are interested in environmental issues are included in the survey. Surveying people from the telephone directory or sign-ups at local malls may include individuals who are not interested in environmental issues, and surveying only members attending the annual convention may not be representative of the views of all members of the group.

An Environmental Group Wants to Use a Survey to Determine