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A researcher wishes to​ estimate, with 95​% ​confidence, the population proportion of adults who think Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Her estimate must be accurate within ​1% of the true proportion. ​

(a) No preliminary estimate is available. Find the minimum sample size needed. ​
(b) Find the minimum sample size​ needed, using a prior study that found that 22​% of the respondents said they think Congress is doing a good or excellent job.
​(c) Compare the results from parts​ (a) and​ (b).

User Ravikiran
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Answer:

Explanation:

(a) When no preliminary estimate is available, we use the worst-case scenario, which is 0.5 for the population proportion. We can use the formula:

n = (z^2 * p * (1-p)) / E^2

where:

z is the z-score corresponding to the desired confidence level. For a 95% confidence level, z = 1.96.

p is the population proportion.

E is the maximum error of estimate, which is 0.01 in this case.

Plugging in the values, we get:

n = (1.96^2 * 0.5 * (1-0.5)) / 0.01^2 = 9604

So the minimum sample size needed is 9604.

(b) When a prior study is available, we can use the sample proportion from the prior study as the preliminary estimate. In this case, the sample proportion is 0.22. We can use the formula:

n = (z^2 * p * (1-p)) / E^2

where:

z is the z-score corresponding to the desired confidence level. For a 95% confidence level, z = 1.96.

p is the sample proportion from the prior study.

E is the maximum error of estimate, which is 0.01 in this case.

Plugging in the values, we get:

n = (1.96^2 * 0.22 * (1-0.22)) / 0.01^2 = 723

So the minimum sample size needed, using the prior study, is 723.

(c) The minimum sample size needed in part (b) is much smaller than that in part (a). This is because the prior study provides some information about the population proportion, which reduces the uncertainty and the required sample size. Therefore, using a preliminary estimate can save time and resources in data collection.

User Lcarpenter
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