Chapter 6 Practice Quiz

. What is the key feature of probability sampling that distinguishes it from nonprobability sampling?

selection of very large samples

use of random selection

elimination of sampling error

contribution to theoretical understanding

. Consider the variable cumulative grade-point average (GPA). Suppose you select a random sample of 100 students of all currently enrolled students at your college. A sampling distribution would consist of the distribution of

GPAs for all currently enrolled students.

GPAs for the random sample of 100 students.

average GPAs for all possible samples of 100 students.

average GPAs for two or more subsamples, such as male and female students.

. Which of the following principles applies to probability sampling?

The larger the population, the larger the standard error.

The larger the population, the larger the sample necessary for a given margin of error.

The larger the sample, the smaller the standard error.

. To measure women's leadership in local government, a researcher obtains a list of all cities in the United States, randomly selects 100 cities, and identifies whether the mayor of each selected city is a man or woman in the year 2015. What is the researcher's sampling frame?

list of all U.S. cities

list of all mayors in 2015

list of all women mayors in 2015

the 100 selected cities

. Suppose you want to estimate the average number of courses that students at your school take in the natural sciences. The registrar provides a complete list of student names, along with each student's major and campus or local address. Assuming that you can only select 100 students, which of the following samples should produce your best estimate?

simple random sample

stratified random sample, stratifying on student major

cluster sample, with student residence halls serving as the clusters

. A multistage cluster sample would be most appropriate for an interview study of which of the following populations?

all rape victims in your state during the year 2015

all students currently enrolled at your college

followers of the Grateful Dead rock group

all first-year law students in the United States

. Which of the following considerations is least important in determining sample size?

degree of error tolerated in the sample estimate

size of the population

cost per case

type of sampling design

. When pollsters conduct telephone polls, they typically use random-digit dialing; however, some people refuse to cooperate and answer the questions, and others are not at home when called. This may result in

coverage error due to an incomplete sampling frame.

an increase in random sampling error.

measurement error.

nonresponse error or sample bias.

. In general, nonprobability sampling is a two-step process. The first step consists of __________; the second step consists of __________.

constructing a sampling frame; choosing a method of case selection

defining the target population; selecting cases nonrandomly

selecting research sites; deciding on whom or what to observe

purposive sampling; theoretical sampling

. In theoretical sampling, sample size is determined by

sampling cases until no new information can be extracted from the data.

estimating the number of cases needed to represent the theoretical population.

selecting the number of cases required for a specified level of statistical significance.

sampling as large a sample as time and other resources can support.