Each month, the census bureau mails survey forms to 250,000 households asking questions about the people living in the household and about such things as motor vehicles and housing costs. Telephone calls are made to households that don't return the form. In one month, responses were obtained from 240,000 of the households contacted. The sample is:
A)the 250,000 households initially contacted.
B)the 240,000 households that responded.
C)the 10,000 households that did not respond.
D)all U.S. households.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sample consists of the 240,000 households that responded. These are the households that provided data to the survey, and are therefore included in the analysis. The 10,000 households that did not respond are not included in the sample, so they cannot be considered part of the population being studied. The 250,000 households initially contacted by mail and phone are the population, but the sample only includes those that responded. The sample does not include all U.S. households, since the survey only covers a subset of the population.

Each Month, the Census Bureau Mails Survey Forms to 250,000