The city council of a small town needs to determine if the town's residents will support the building of a new library. The council decides to conduct a survey of a sample of the town's residents. Which one of the following procedures would be most appropriate for obtaining a sample of the town's residents?

Question

The city council of a small town needs to determine if the town's residents will support the building of a new library. The council decides to conduct a survey of a sample of the town's residents. Which one of the following procedures would be most appropriate for obtaining a sample of the town's residents?

Survey a random sample of persons within each neighborhood of the town.
Survey every 12th person who enters the old library on a given day.
Survey 300 individuals who are randomly selected from a list of all people living in the state in which the town is located.
Survey a random sample of librarians who live in the town.

Answer 1

The most appropriate procedure for obtaining a sample of the town's residents would be to survey a random sample of persons within each neighborhood of the town. This method would ensure that the sample represents the diversity of the town's population and allows for a more accurate understanding of the residents' opinions on the new library.