Question 1

A sample is
A) a subset of a population.
B) the group of elements from which a researcher samples.
C) a summary of variable characteristics in a population.
D) a summary of a variable in a sample.
E) none of these

Accepted Answer

A sample is a subset of a population, meaning that it is a smaller, representative group of individuals selected from a larger population of interest.

Question 2

Instances where all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected are known as
A) simple random samples.
B) probability samples.
C) stratified samples.
D) statistical samples.
E) percentage samples.

Accepted Answer

Simple random samples are the only method listed that ensure all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected. Probability samples may use random sampling techniques, but other methods such as stratification or clustering may be used as well. Stratified samples divide the population into subgroups and may oversample from certain groups, while statistical samples and percentage samples are not recognized sampling methods.

Question 3

The main reason that samples fail to accurately represent the population of interest is because
A) the population is not homogeneous.
B) there is sampling error.
C) the wrong sampling technique was used.
D) the sampling frame was too large.
E) the sample was biased.

Accepted Answer

A

Question 4

As a surveyor,you call households on your call list and 10% never answered the call.What kind of error have you encountered?
A) coverage error
B) sample error
C) measurement error
D) nonrespondent error
E) nonresponse error

Accepted Answer

The error encountered is a nonresponse error because the households on the call list did not answer the call, resulting in missing data. This type of error is a result of nonresponse bias, where the nonrespondents may have different characteristics than the respondents, leading to biased survey results.

Question 5

Sampling is a way to learn aboutby obtaining information fromof a larger population.
A) a larger population; the entire membership
B) a larger population ; a subset
C) a subset of a population; the entire membership
D) a subset of a population; a subset
E) a smaller population; a percentage

Accepted Answer

Sampling involves selecting a subset (B) of a larger population, rather than trying to gather information from the entire membership (A). Sampling typically doesn't involve selecting the entire population or smaller population (E), and isn't concerned with obtaining information from non-selected members of the population. Sampling can involve obtaining information about the entire subset or just a smaller portion of it, so it isn't limited to subset only (D) or the entire membership (C).

Question 6

The local television station conducted a study of TV viewers in the local TV station's viewing region.A list of all residential customers who subscribed to cable TV was obtained from the cable company.The list had 20,000 households as subscribers.The TV station sampled every 40th household on the subscriber list.An interviewer visited each household and conducted the survey on viewing habits of household members.What is the sampling frame of the study?
A) cable television viewers
B) all households in the community
C) all TV owners in the region
D) a list of all customers from the TV cable company
E) all Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) registrants

Accepted Answer

The sampling frame is the list of all customers obtained from the cable company.

Question 7

The larger the size of the samples taken from the population,the more likely that
A) the statistic will be an accurate estimation of the population parameter.
B) we will obtain identitical statistics and parameters.
C) we will gain an accurate picture of the variation within the samples.
D) our study will become very expensive.
E) accuracy will be less.

Accepted Answer

As the sample size increases, the sample mean becomes closer to the population mean, and the standard deviation of the sampling distribution becomes smaller. This means that the statistic will be a better estimation of the population parameter.

Question 8

If we were interested in understanding the relationship between level of education and lifetime earnings,what elements would you sample?
A) individuals
B) schools
C) cities and towns
D) occupational choice
E) all of these

Accepted Answer

To understand the relationship between level of education and lifetime earnings, we need to sample individuals who have completed different levels of education and determine their lifetime earnings. Sampling schools, cities and towns, or occupational choice will not be sufficient to understand this particular relationship.

Question 9

When two samples are drawn from the same population,there may occur,when the sample statistics differ.
A) coverage error
B) statistical bias
C) dual error
D) sampling variability
E) generalizability

Accepted Answer

When two samples are drawn from the same population, the differences in the sample statistics can be due to sampling variability, which refers to the natural variation that occurs due to random sampling. This variability can cause the samples to have different means, standard deviations, proportions, or other statistics despite being drawn from the same population. Therefore, option D, sampling variability, is the best choice to explain this situation. The other options are not relevant, as coverage error refers to problems with survey coverage, statistical bias refers to systematic errors in sampling or measurement, dual error is not a statistical term, and generalizability refers to the extent to which results can be applied to other populations or contexts.

Question 10

Members of a population,which are included in a sample,are referred to as
A) sampling units.
B) elements.
C) units of analysis.
D) both elements and units of analysis.
E) none of these

Accepted Answer

Sampling units, elements, and units of analysis are terms that can be used interchangeably to refer to the individual members of a population that are included in a sample. Therefore, both elements and units of analysis are correct.

Question 11

Aconsists of a group of elements from which a researcher samples and generalizes.
A) probability sample
B) target
C) sampling frame
D) population
E) unit of analysis

Accepted Answer

A population consists of the entire group of elements about which a researcher wants to make inferences. The sample is selected from the population, and the sampling frame is a list or description of the population. A probability sample is one in which each element in the population has a known, non-zero probability of being selected for the sample. The target refers to the specific group or subgroup within the population that the researcher is interested in studying. The unit of analysis is the entity or phenomenon that the researcher is analyzing or studying.

Question 12

The focal research by Keeter,Dimock,and Christian discusses the issue of increasing cell phone use and decreasing land line use.This affects sampling how?
A) It does not affect sampling in any way.
B) It has an effect on sampling when determining a sampling frame.
C) It has an effect on who can conduct research.
D) none of these
E) all of these

Accepted Answer

The increasing use of cell phones and decreasing use of land lines affects sampling when determining a sampling frame. Researchers must ensure they have a representative sample by considering cell phone-only households in addition to landline households. Therefore, the sampling approach must consider the changes in communication technology usage.

Question 13

A biased sample means
A) it is a prejudiced sample.
B) it is a sample that is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.
C) that there is limited generalizability of results.
D) that it is both a prejudiced sample and there is limited generalizability of results.
E) none of these

Accepted Answer

A biased sample is one that is not representative of the population from which it is drawn. It may have overrepresented or underrepresented certain groups, and therefore limits the generalizability of results. A biased sample may be unintentional or intentional, but it does not necessarily imply that the sample is prejudiced.

Question 14

What was the effect of sampling frames as shown in the focal research by Keeter,Dimock,and Christian?
A) there was no difference in results by surveys completed by land line users and surveys completed by land line and cell phone users.
B) there was a difference in results by surveys completed by land line users and surveys completed by land line and cell phone users.
C) land lines are becoming obsolete.
D) surveyors shouldn't call respondents on cell phones.
E) none of these are true.

Accepted Answer

The study found a difference in results between surveys completed by land line users and surveys completed by land line and cell phone users, indicating that sampling frames can have an effect on research outcomes.

Question 15

Nonresponse errors are
A) found only in nonprobability samples.
B) found only in probability samples.
C) found in both probability and nonprobability samples.
D) not problematic.
E) none of these.

Accepted Answer

Nonresponse errors can occur in both probability and nonprobability samples. Nonresponse occurs when respondents do not provide answers to survey questions or do not participate in the survey, which can lead to bias in the results.

Question 16

An unrepresentative sample is referred to as a
A) framed sample.
B) generalized sample.
C) biased sample.
D) coverage error.
E) sampling error.

Accepted Answer

An unrepresentative sample is biased, meaning that it does not accurately reflect the population it is intended to represent. A biased sample can be the result of many factors, such as selecting participants based on certain characteristics, using a sampling method that excludes certain groups or over-representing certain groups. A biased sample can lead to inaccurate conclusions and invalid research findings.

Question 17

A parameter refers to acharacteristic while a statistic refers to characteristics from a
_________________.
A) sample; population.
B) probability; nonprobability sample.
C) sampling error; population error.
D) population; sample.
E) sub-sample; probability.

Accepted Answer

A parameter is a characteristic of a population, while a statistic is a characteristic of a sample taken from the population. Therefore, the correct choice is D which refers to population and sample.

Question 18

If a series of samples are drawn from a population,it is likely that they will fall along a normal distribution and reflect
A) a nonprobability sample.
B) a population parameter.
C) a variable distribution.
D) sampling error.
E) a nonprobability sample and a variable distribution only.

Accepted Answer

If the samples are drawn from a population, they are likely to reflect the population parameter, which is usually normally distributed. Nonprobability sampling, variable distribution, and sampling error may also be present, but they are not necessarily reflected in the normal distribution of the samples.

Question 19

Many phone numbers are not listed in telephone books.How do surveyors combat this issue?
A) Surveyors call cell phones.
B) Surveyors call listed numbers and triangulate with another method such as face to face interviews.
C) Surveyors are going away from land line survey methods because of this issue.
D) Surveyors use random digit dialing to formulate their call lists.
E) all of these are ways surveyors combat this issue.

Accepted Answer

Surveyors use random digit dialing to reach both listed and unlisted numbers, including cell phones, to ensure a representative sample.

Question 20

In a probability sample,every element in the population has a(n)chance of being included in the sample.
A) equal
B) different
C) weighted
D) unknowable
E) none of these

Accepted Answer

In a probability sample, it is necessary that every element in the population has an equal and known chance of being included in the sample. This probability of selection should be greater than zero and should not depend upon personal judgment or choices made by the researcher. Therefore, choice A (equal) is the best option.

Quiz 5: Sampling

A sample is

Instances where all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected are known as

The main reason that samples fail to accurately represent the population of interest is because

As a surveyor,you call households on your call list and 10% never answered the call.What kind of error have you encountered?

Sampling is a way to learn aboutby obtaining information fromof a larger population.

The larger the size of the samples taken from the population,the more likely that

If we were interested in understanding the relationship between level of education and lifetime earnings,what elements would you sample?

When two samples are drawn from the same population,there may occur,when the sample statistics differ.

Members of a population,which are included in a sample,are referred to as

Aconsists of a group of elements from which a researcher samples and generalizes.

The focal research by Keeter,Dimock,and Christian discusses the issue of increasing cell phone use and decreasing land line use.This affects sampling how?

A biased sample means

What was the effect of sampling frames as shown in the focal research by Keeter,Dimock,and Christian?

Nonresponse errors are

An unrepresentative sample is referred to as a

A parameter refers to acharacteristic while a statistic refers to characteristics from a _________________.

If a series of samples are drawn from a population,it is likely that they will fall along a normal distribution and reflect

Many phone numbers are not listed in telephone books.How do surveyors combat this issue?

In a probability sample,every element in the population has a(n) chance of being included in the sample.