Final answer:
D. Representative Sample
The best sample for Lucy's study on social anxiety would be a Representative Sample, which mirrors the characteristics of the overall population and allows her findings to be generalized to all first-year Laurier students.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best sample for Lucy to use in her study on social anxiety in first-year Laurier students would be a Representative Sample. This type of sample would best reflect the overall population of Laurier's first-year students, ensuring that any conclusions drawn from the study can be generalized to the entire group.
A representative sample is chosen to mirror the characteristics of the larger population, such as age, gender, socio-economic status, and other relevant factors, making it the most suitable option.
By contrast, an Experimental Group or Control Group would be part of an experimental setup where some students receive a particular intervention and others do not, which is not the focus of Lucy's inquiry on social anxiety prevalence. Random Assignment is used to allocate participants into these experimental and control groups, ensuring that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to either group, but it is not a sampling method in itself.