Deck 8: Sampling

Question 1

A scientific technique that allows a researcher to learn something about a population by studying a few members of that population is called:

A) benchmarking.
B) polling.
C) sampling.
D) baselining.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A researcher is interested in whether participants in a drug treatment program are successful in their rehabilitation. He asks for volunteers to participate in a long-term study of post-treatment success. Twenty of the 130 participants volunteer to participate in the four-year follow up study. The bias in this sampling plan is best described as:

A) random sampling error.
B) selection bias.
C) discrimination.
D) error.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A researcher wants to study a drug use prevention program targeted at high school freshmen in Chicago. The student population is around 200,000 and is extremely diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. The researcher makes a list of all the high school freshmen in the city and randomly draws 100 names from the list. The bias in this sampling plan is best described as:

A) random sampling error.
B) selection bias.
C) discrimination.
D) error.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The measure of a sample's representativeness and therefore its ability to accurately predict conditions with the population from which it was collected is referred to as its:

A) accuracy indicator.
B) estimated error.
C) level of precision.
D) overall reliability.

Question 5

What can be said about the following statement: Results from a non-probability sample can be inferred to the larger population from which the sample was obtained.

A) This statement is always true.
B) This statement is always false.
C) The statement may be true or false.
D) This statement is sometimes true.

Question 6

A researcher draws names out of a hat to see which police officers in a particular precinct will be interviewed for a study on workplace satisfaction. This probability sampling technique is best defined as:

A) simple random sampling.
B) systematic random sampling.
C) cluster sampling.
D) stratified random sampling.

Question 7

A researcher randomly selects ten drug treatment centers in the state and then randomly selects twenty patients at each of the drug treatment centers to survey. This probability sampling technique is best defined as:

A) simple random sampling.
B) systematic random sampling.
C) cluster sampling.
D) stratified random sampling.

Question 8

A researcher divides the residents of a low-income housing project into two groups: those age 30 and under, and those over age 30. Ten people from each group are randomly selected for interviews. This probability sampling technique is best defined as:

A) simple random sampling.
B) systematic random sampling.
C) cluster sampling.
D) stratified random sampling.

Question 9

A researcher selects every 20th name from a list of probation officers in the state to create a sample for a study of officer education and training. This probability sampling technique is best defined as:

A) simple random sampling.
B) Systematic random sampling.
C) cluster sampling.
D) stratified random sampling.

Question 10

A researcher interviews a member of a dangerous religious cult that she has been introduced to. At the end of the interview, she asks for the name of other members of the cult that she might interview. This non-probability sampling technique is best defined as:

A) convenience sample.
B) snowball sample.
C) typical case sample.
D) extreme case sampling.

Question 11

A researcher conducts an in-depth study of a town experiencing rapid population growth to understand the relationship between population growth and crime. This non-probability sampling technique is best defined as:

A) convenience sample.
B) snowball sample.
C) typical case sample.
D) extreme case sampling.

Question 12

A researcher writes a life history of a reformed repeat sex offender to see if the offender's life provides any insight into rare cases of rehabilitation among repeat sex offenders. This non-probability sampling technique is best defined as:

A) convenience sample.
B) snowball sample.
C) typical case sample.
D) extreme case sampling.

Question 13

Any condition that causes a sample to be less than representative of the population from which it came is referred to as:

A) bias.
B) discrimination.
C) error.
D) prejudice.

Question 14

A complete list of the population from which a researcher will draw a sample is referred to as a sampling:

A) frame.
B) plan.
C) scheme.
D) unit.

Question 15

The individual units of analysis in a population that constitute a sample are called the:

A) cases.
B) elements.
C) members.
D) All of the above.

Question 16

A police officer who draws ten business cards from a hat containing the business cards of 100 officers is conducting what type of sampling technique?

A) Random sampling
B) Cluster sampling
C) Convenience sampling
D) None, this is not a sampling technique

Question 17

A researcher who divides a population into two groups (male and female) and then randomly selects a sample from each group is conducting what type of sampling technique?

A) Cluster sampling
B) Snowball sampling
C) Random sampling
D) Stratified random sampling

Question 18

After completing an in-depth interview with a burglar, a researcher who asks the burglar to give him the name of other burglars in the area is conducting what type of sampling technique?

A) Cluster sampling
B) Convenience sampling
C) Random sampling
D) Snowball sampling

Question 19

A researcher who interviews psychopaths who have murdered at least five people is using what type of sampling technique?

A) Typical case sampling
B) Outlier sampling
C) Extreme case sampling
D) Convenience sampling

Question 20

The entire set of individuals that are relevant to a research project are called:

A) a sample.
B) a frame.
C) a population.
D) a census.

Question 21

The actual list of members of a population that a researcher uses to draw a random sample is called:

A) a sampling frame.
B) a list.
C) a population parameter.
D) a census.

Question 22

The individual components of a population are called:

A) members.
B) cases.
C) elements.
D) All of the above.

Question 23

The difference between the results a researcher gets from a sample and what the results might have been had the entire population been polled is called:

A) random sampling error.
B) standard error.
C) standard deviation.
D) sampling shift.

Question 24

Any process that systematically increases or decreases the chances that a member of a population will be selected into a sample is called:

A) bias.
B) selection bias.
C) discriminatory bias.
D) error.

Question 25

The scientific basis that allows researchers to use samples to predict conditions within a larger population is called the:

A) central limit theorem.
B) normal curve.
C) probability.
D) pythagorean.

Question 26

A researcher contacts every police department in the United States and asks them what color of uniforms their officers wear. What is the researcher doing in this case?

A) Conducting a census
B) Drawing a sample
C) Inferring to a population
D) Selecting random cases

Question 27

A researcher wants to understand how serial killers justify their murders. He interviews convicted serial killers who are currently on death row. This non-probability sampling technique is best described as:

A) convenience sample.
B) snowball sample.
C) typical case sample.
D) extreme case sampling.