Evaluate the following generalization(s), identifying 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.Hamilton City was considering annexing a portion of land adjacent to the city limits where construction of a subdivision was planned. To determine what the residents of the town thought about this annexation and about municipal growth in general, the city council had a poll taken. One thousand of the city's fifteen thousand registered voters were randomly selected and asked three questions: (1) Do you favor no growth, modest growth, or

Question

accelerated growth for Hamilton City? (2) Do you favor annexation of the eight-hundred-acre Osborne parcel north of town and its planned subdivision? (3) Should the city enter into agreements with developers promising to supply city services, such as sewers and street maintenance, in return for the added tax revenue the developer's projects will produce? The results of this survey were taken to be the "official" opinion of the voters of Hamilton City.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There is clearly nothing wrong with the sample size, and, if the selection was indeed random, this poll can be taken as a reliable indicator of what the voters of Hamilton City think about the questions asked. The problem is the questions: The first is much too vague (we'd bet the great majority of responses favored modest growth, whatever that means); the second can be intelligently answered only by voters who understand the implications of annexation-we can imagine a voter responding yes to the question and living to regret the annexation later (or responding no and living to regret that). The third question is also too vague to be helpful. How expensive will the services be? How much tax revenue will be generated? What kinds of commitments would the agreements involve, and over how long a period? Without carefully thought-out questions, no adherence to the rules of statistical generalization can produce a reliable result.