From July to September, 2013, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press carried out a national survey to determine use of social networking by African American
Internet users. It found that 73% used a social networking of some kind. This is a
A) statistic.
B) parameter.
C) target population.
D) sampling frame.
E) census.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A statistic is a numerical value that describes a sample, which is what the Pew Research Center's survey collected. The parameter would be the numerical value that describes the entire population of African American internet users, which is unknown and cannot be directly measured. The target population is African American internet users, which is not a numerical value. The sampling frame would be the list of African American internet users that the researchers drew their sample from, which is not a numerical value. A census would be a survey that collects data from every member of the population, which is not what the Pew Research Center's survey did.