Chapter_8 Sampling
45. The size of the sample and the standard error are related in which of the following ways?
a. the standard error is not related to the size of the sample
b. when the sample size increases so does the standard error
c. when the sample size increases the standard error decreases
d. when sample size decreases the standard error decreases
46. A recent political poll showed that the findings reported were accurate to within 4 percentage points. This is likely to
mean what?
a. the findings are only correct 4 percent of the time
b. the findings are only correct 8 percent of the time
c. the findings are accurate 95 times out of 100 and the confidence interval is plus or minus 4 points
d. the findings are accurate 68 times out of 100 and the confidence interval is plus or minus 4 points
47. When a researcher uses a multistage cluster sampling technique they must repeat several sets including:
a. listing and stratifying
b. listing and counting
c. listing and sampling
d. listing and analyzing
48. This is the range of sample statistics obtained when many samples are selected?
a. random numbers
b. sampling distribution
c. selection interval
d. quota
49. An RA at a local university devised a plan to spot check the dorm for illegal drinking by knocking on every 5th door
on each floor. What technique was the RA using?
a. stratified sampling
b. simple random sampling
c. quota sampling
d. systematic sampling
50. With the use of stratified sampling a researcher wants to reduce the:
a. sampling error
b. standard error
c. number of dependent variables
d. time it takes to draw a sample
51. If you did not have the sampling frame of your population but still wanted to use a probability sampling technique for
statistical reasons, you should select what type of sample?
a. quota
b. snowball
c. cluster
d. stratified
52. National Crime Victimization Survey and the British Crime Survey both use the following technique to gather data?
a. simple random samples
b. stratified sampling
c. multistage cluster sampling
d. quota sampling
53. Under what conditions would it be appropriate to use a snowball sampling technique?
a. when the characteristic of interest to the study is a deviant one and only a small number of people who know
one another are required
b. when your questionnaire can be administered in a narrow geographic area
c. when all you need to do is interview persons from a population where the sampling frame is known
d. when the researcher absolutely must have a sample that is representative of the population from which it is
drawn
54. Following the model of London, England Center City, USA decided to install closed circuit television (CCTV)
cameras in a downtown park in hopes of reducing the public’s fear of crime. Which technique would be the best
choice to determine if fear has in fact decreased?
a. send out a questionnaire to all citizens living in Center City, USA
b. select, via simple random sampling, 20 citizens to interview
c. interview, via reliance on available subjects, citizens that are in the park
d. because you want to measure a “feeling” there is no accurate way to do this
55. You want to know why some states that have the death penalty as a punishment use it more than other states. In
order to develop your design, you identify those states that have capital punishment and those that do not. Among
those that do have capital punishment, you separate states by the following criteria: annual executions over the last
20 years; states with less than annual executions over the last 20 years; and those states that have not executed in
the last 20 years. What sampling method are you using?
a. convenience
b. quota
c. stratified
d. purposive
56. If a researcher has a list of 10,000 elements and wants to sample 1000 and selects every 10th element she is using:
a. simple random sampling
b. cluster sampling
c. systematic sampling
d. Quota sampling
57. If the variable that you are interested in studying is so rare that it is unlikely to be discovered using random sampling,
what is the best alternative?
a. accidental sampling
b. quota sampling
c. stratified sampling
d. purposive sampling
58. Sampling is used because:
a. it may not possible to collect information from the entire population
b. it is necessary to collect information from the entire population
c. samples are useful tools only in experimental designs
d. it is easier and you can guess if your data reflects the larger population
59. Which of the following is accurate?
a. the reason that researchers use probability samples is because they guarantee representativeness of the
sample
b. in general, the more heterogeneous a population, the smaller the sample needed for representativeness
c. a simple random sample is appropriate when the researcher wants to over-represent a characteristic in the
population
d. a sample is representative of the population from which it is drawn if the aggregate characteristics of the
sample approximate those of the general population
60. The way to remember the percentages of samples that will fall within one, two and three standard errors of the
parameter are the following:
a. 68–95–99
b. 50–50–50
c. 50–75–100
d. 50–70–90
61. What factors are not accounted for when using probability sampling?
a. each member of the populations has a known chance of being selected
b. knowing that each member of the population has a chance of being selected allows the researcher to
generalize back to the population
c. there is less need to be careful in the sample selection when the population is homogenous
d. when the population is homogeneous there is a greater need to use probability sampling than when the
population is heterogeneous
62. Which of the following is not a concern about bias when selecting a sample?
a. selecting a sample based upon convenience
b. using probability statistics for drawing a sample
c. drawing a sample on a first come, first serve basis
d. the researcher’s personal bias
63. Which of the following are true with respect to representativeness?
a. a sample represents a population’s if it is exactly the same on all relevant variables
b. a sample is representative if it approximates the population
c. a sample needs to be representative of the population on all variables
d. a representative sample is only obtained when a simple random sample is used
64. Which of the following is not a probability sample characteristic?
a. probability samples are never perfectly representative
b. probability samples are usually more representative than other sampling techniques
c. probability sampling lets us estimate the accuracy of the sample
d. probability sampling is always representative of the population.
65. If a researcher has a population of college students from which a sample has been drawn and concludes that on
average there are higher grades achieved by those students who live on campus than those who commute, higher
grades is an example of what?
a. a sample element
b. a population parameter
c. a sample statistic
d. an unreliable result
66. Which of the following is not accurate with respect to probability sampling?
a. enhances the likelihood that the results reflect the population from which the sample was drawn
b. probability sampling offers a way to measure the degree of success in accomplishing a representative sample
c. randomization is the key to probability sampling
d. it helps draw a sample but makes generalization to other populations more difficult
67. A variable which has two attributes such as gender, is what type of variable?
a. sampling variable
b. binomial variable
c. sampling frame
d. representative variable
68. Which of the following statements is not accurate with respect to standard error?
a. standard error is a function of the size of the sample
b. standard error indicates how closely the findings fit the sample
c. standard error tells how sample statistics are dispersed around the population parameter
d. standard error tells us that over one-third of all sample estimates will fall within one standard error above the
population parameter
69. What is the relationship between sampling error and sample size?
a. there is no relationship between sampling error and the size of the sample
b. sampling error relates to the confidence interval, not the sample size
c. sampling error will let us know the size of the sample once we decide upon how much error the study can
tolerate
d. all are relationships
70. You are doing research on inmates leaving your state’s prison system during the calendar year 2006 with respect to
their living arrangements upon release. It is assumed that inmates living with their families will have lower recidivism
rates, therefore what sampling technique would do best to obtain a representative sample?
a. simple random sample
b. quota sample
c. stratified sample
d. snowball sample
71. The use of sampling helps the researchers generalize to a larger population.
72. When a sample closely reflects the population in terms of aggregate characteristics, the sample is said to be
of the population.
73. The unit about which information is collected and that provides the basis of analysis is called the sampling
______________________.
74. Summary data describing a population is called a parameter while summary data describing a sample is called a
___________________.
75. When each element of a population has an equal chance of selection to the sample this process is known as
___________________ selection.
76. The sampling is the range of sample statistics we would obtain if we selected many
samples.
77. When the researcher can list each element of a population, that list is known as the sampling
______________________.
78. In probability theory, the standard indicates how closely the sample estimates will be
distributed around the population parameter.
79. The correspondence between a target population and sampling frames affects the of the
samples.
80. Estimates of population parameters, standard error, and confidence intervals assume unbiased sampling the
foundation of unbiased sampling is the random sample.
81. To ensure that variables that occur rarely in a population will be represented in a sample, the researcher would want
to employ a sampling technique.
82. The primary goal of is homogeneity.
83. When it is not possible to obtain a list of elements in a population, sampling procedures are
called for.
84. When the researcher must rely upon available subjects such as stopping people on the street to ask opinions about a
recent crime, the technique is called .
85. sampling is a technique that begins by identifying a single or small number of subjects and
asks them to identify others who may be willing to participate.
Chapter_8 Sampling
Essay
86. Discuss how the NCVS and The British Crime Survey use different strategies form sampling to produce sufficient
numbers of respondents.
87. Identify and discuss the different probability and nonprobability sampling methods discussed in the text.
88. You are asked to do a study on the traffic on your campus. As part of this study you have been asked to identify the
frequency of speeding by those using the campus roads. What type of sample would you use? How would you pull
that sample?
89. Use the city that your university is located in for this question. You have been given a grant to study the citizens’
attitudes to your university with respect to noise, traffic, and minor property crimes. How would you draw a
multistage cluster sample that would be representative of your city?
90. Your research methods class has been given the assignment to measure the student body of your university with
respect to their attitudes about the death penalty. To ensure equal representation of undergraduates, graduate
students and all majors, what sampling technique would you use? How would you go about pulling that sample?
What would you need to know before that sample is pulled?