The owner of a large company is conducting a survey about job satisfaction, including questions about salary, hours, stress, and other conditions. There are about eight hundred employees in the company, including one hundred executive positions, six hundred fifty middle-management positions, and fifty custodial positions. The owner wants to include about ten percent of his employees in the survey sample.

Identify a sampling method that might produce a biased sample. Explain why using the method for this survey would be a poor choice.

I am completely confused with this problem

Question

The owner of a large company is conducting a survey about job satisfaction, including questions about salary, hours, stress, and other conditions. There are about eight hundred employees in the company, including one hundred executive positions, six hundred fifty middle-management positions, and fifty custodial positions. The owner wants to include about ten percent of his employees in the survey sample. 

Identify a sampling method that might produce a biased sample. Explain why using the method for this survey would be a poor choice.

I am completely confused with this problem

jacksonjrb · Answer

By taking the 10 percent from only one branch of the company. It's not showing the results for the company, as a whole. Only one "section" or branch.

jacksonjrb · Answer

Does that make any sense?

sammixboo · Answer

I get most of it, the only part I just don't get is the actual question

Identify a sampling method that might produce a biased sample. Explain why using the method for this survey would be a poor choice.

jacksonjrb · Answer

Well, it's asking for a way that the owner of the company could produce biased results in his survey. And then to explain why.

jacksonjrb · Answer

The executives might love their job while the janitors may hate it.

jacksonjrb · Answer

If he surveyed only the janitors or only the executives, he would get different and biased results.

jacksonjrb · Answer

While if he surveyed the entire company equally, he would get an overall unbiased result.

jacksonjrb · Answer

The way he carries out his survey is the sampling method.

sammixboo · Answer

But it is saying

'Identify a sampling method that might produce a biased sample'

I know a biased sample is that some members of the group are more likely to be represented than others.

jacksonjrb · Answer

Okay.

jacksonjrb · Answer

So what are you confused about?

sammixboo · Answer

Would that sampling method be stratified sampling?

sammixboo · Answer

Systematic?

jacksonjrb · Answer

I would assume so.

sammixboo · Answer

Which one? Systematic or Stratified? 

I think stratified, because it is a way of selecting a population sample that includes a certain number of members from each subgroup.

jacksonjrb · Answer

I agree.

sammixboo · Answer

Okay thanks

jacksonjrb · Answer

Your welcome, glad I could help.