Question

The government of a large city needs to determine whether the city's residents will support the repair of several roads. The government decides to conduct a survey of a sample of the city's residents. Which one of the following procedures would be the most appropriate for obtaining a sample of the city's residents?

A) Surveying only residents living in affluent neighborhoods.
B) Surveying only residents who work for the city government.
C) Surveying residents randomly selected from a list of registered voters.
D) Surveying only residents who have previously participated in government surveys.

Answer 1

The most appropriate procedure for obtaining a sample of the city's residents would be to conduct a random sampling, which ensures a diverse range of opinions and perspectives are represented.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to obtain a sample of the city's residents, the most appropriate procedure would be to conduct a random sampling. This means that every person in the population should have an equal chance of being chosen for the survey. Surveying only residents who work for the city government (B) or only residents who have previously participated in government surveys (D) would introduce bias into the sample and may not accurately represent the views and opinions of the entire population.

For example, if the goal is to determine whether the city's residents will support the repair of several roads, surveying only government employees or previous survey participants may lead to results that are skewed in favor of the government's viewpoint. A random sampling, on the other hand, would ensure that a diverse range of opinions and perspectives are represented in the survey.