The government of a country wants to know how much inbound tourism (number of tourists visiting from other countries) is contributing to the country’s economic prosperity. The research firm hired to conduct this study surveys 10,000 residents on their favorite spots to visit in the country and how much money they spend on leisurely activities a. How could the use of a sample like this threaten the value of the study’s outcomes?

b. How might the flawed sample affect the usefulness of the results?

Answer and Explanation:

A. The study by the research team may not reflect the purpose of the research which is to know how much inbound tourism is contributing to the economy. They are sampling the population on their favorite spots to visit( which may be too narrow here) and what their leisure activities are (which are not the only things tourists spend on). Also 10000 residents may be too small as a sample to reflect more accurate study outcome representative of the population.

2. A flawed sample which is a sampling error would not represent the population as the results from sample would contradict population results