Chapter 12, Problem 16E

To determine

To explain do you think the newspaper’s faculty is more likely to be a result of bias or sampling error.

Answer to Problem 16E

The newspaper's faulty prediction is more likely to be the result of sampling error.

Explanation of Solution

It is given in the question that, prior to the mayoral election the newspaper also conducted a poll. The paper surveyed a random sample of registered voters stratified by political party, age, sex and area of residence. Thus, the newspaper's faulty prediction is more likely to be the result of sampling error because the sampling conducted was not only random but was also representative of the entire population. There was very little bias in the sampling. Therefore, the only other conclusion that can be drawn is that there was sampling error.