Question

For the following statement about a statistical study, identify the following items (if possible):

A sample of farmed Atlantic salmon is caught by net from one of the farm’s sea cages, and their weights are recorded:
a. The intended population of interest
b. The population parameter
c. The sampling frame
d. The sample
e. The sampling method, including whether or not randomization was employed
f. Who (if anyone) was left out of the study
g. Any potential sources of bias you can detect and any problems you see in generalizing to the population of interest

Answer 1

The population of interest is farmed Atlantic salmon in sea cages, the parameter is the mean weight, the sample is the caught salmon, and the sampling method is unclear.

Step-by-step explanation:

The population of interest in this study is the entire farmed Atlantic salmon in the sea cages.

The parameter is the mean weight of all farmed Atlantic salmon in the sea cages.

The sampling frame is the sea cages in the farm.

The sample is the group of farmed Atlantic salmon caught in the net.

The sampling method is not specified, so it is unclear whether randomization was employed.

Nobody was left out of the study since all the farmed Atlantic salmon caught in the net were included in the sample.

One potential source of bias is that the sample is taken only from one farm's sea cages, which may not be representative of all farmed Atlantic salmon populations. Another potential bias could arise from non-random sampling if the sampling method was not randomized.

Generalizing to the population of interest may be problematic due to potential bias and the limited scope of the study which includes only farmed Atlantic salmon from one farm's sea cages.