A researcher wants to estimate the percentage of all adults that have used the Internet to seek pre-purchase information in the past 30 days, with a tolerable sampling error (E) of 0.03 and a confidence level of 95%. If prior secondary data indicated that 25% of all adults had used the Internet for such a purpose, what is the required sample size for the new study

Respuesta :

Answer:

The required sample size for the new study is 801.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a sample with a number n of people surveyed with a probability of a success of [tex]\pi[/tex], and a confidence level of [tex]1-\alpha[/tex], we have the following confidence interval of proportions.

[tex]\pi \pm z\sqrt{\frac{\pi(1-\pi)}{n}}[/tex]

In which

z is the zscore that has a pvalue of [tex]1 - \frac{\alpha}{2}[/tex].

The margin of error is:

[tex]M = z\sqrt{\frac{\pi(1-\pi)}{n}}[/tex]

25% of all adults had used the Internet for such a purpose

This means that [tex]\pi = 0.25[/tex]

95% confidence level

So [tex]\alpha = 0.05[/tex], z is the value of Z that has a pvalue of [tex]1 - \frac{0.05}{2} = 0.975[/tex], so [tex]Z = 1.96[/tex].

What is the required sample size for the new study?

This is n for which M = 0.03. So

[tex]M = z\sqrt{\frac{\pi(1-\pi)}{n}}[/tex]

[tex]0.03 = 1.96\sqrt{\frac{0.25*0.75)}{n}}[/tex]

[tex]0.03\sqrt{n} = 1.96\sqrt{0.25*0.75}[/tex]

[tex]\sqrt{n} = \frac{1.96\sqrt{0.25*0.75}}{0.03}[/tex]

[tex](\sqrt{n})^2 = (\frac{1.96\sqrt{0.25*0.75}}{0.03})^2[/tex]

[tex]n = 800.3[/tex]

Rounding up:

The required sample size for the new study is 801.