In evaluating the following generalization(s), identify sample, population, attribute of interest, and the extent to which the claims involved are knowable. Consider carefully the size and diversification of the sample and the extent to which the population differs or may differ from the sample; remember, what's important is that the sample be representative.Let's say that according to statewide studies done in Montana and Virginia, the infant mortality rate for these two states averaged 10.5 per thousand live births. Could this figure be generalized to the infant mortality rate in the United States? What factors might be relevant to the generalization?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Montana and Virginia provide a large and reasonably good sample, although there may be a bias toward rural areas and small towns over large urban areas. We would want to know about Montana's and Virginia's resident-to-doctor ratios, their ratios of residents to hospital beds, the level of prenatal education available in the two states, and similar matters. The more similar these possibly relevant factors are in Montana and Virginia to the remainder of the country, the stronger the argument.