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In the 2018 study Closing the STEM Gap, researchers wanted to estimate the percentage of middle school girls who planned to major in a STEM field. a. If a \(95 \%\) confidence level is used, how many people should be included in the survey if the researchers wanted to have a margin of error of \(3 \%\) ? b. How could the researchers adjust their margin of error if they want to decrease the number of study participants?

Short Answer

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a. To achieve a \(3\%\) margin of error at a \(95\%\) confidence level, the researchers should survey at least 1067 middle school girls. b. If the researchers want to decrease the number of study participants, they could increase their margin of error, which will decrease the necessary sample size but also decrease the precision of the study.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the given values and relevant formula

For this survey, the confidence level is set at \(95\%\) which corresponds to a Z-score of approximately \(1.96\) (Z-scores are related to the standard normal distribution). The margin of error is \(3\%\), or \(0.03\) when expressed as a decimal. The formula for sample size (n) of a proportion is given by: \[n = \frac{{Z^2*p*q}}{{E^2}}\] where p is the estimated proportion of the population which has the desired attribute (in this case, girls planning to major in STEM fields), q=1-p, Z is the z-score for the chosen confidence level, and E is the margin of error.
02

Handle the unknown proportion

In this case, we do not have a value for p. When we do not know the value of p, we can take p as \(0.5\). This is because the sample size calculated will be the maximum possible, providing a safe estimate. So, take p as \(0.5\). Consequently, q=1–p will also be \(0.5\). Now, we can put these values into the sample size formula.
03

Calculate the sample size

By substituting these values into our formula, we would get: \[n = \frac{{(1.96)^2*(0.5)*(0.5)}}{{(0.03)^2}} \] After calculating, we find that n ≈ 1067. This means that the researchers should survey at least 1067 middle school girls to achieve their desired margin of error at a \(95\%\) confidence level.
04

Consider the effect of changing the margin of error

For part b, if the researchers want to decrease the number of study participants, they would have to adjust their margin of error to be larger. This is because the margin of error (E) is inversely proportional to sample size (n), as can be seen in the formula. Therefore, a larger margin of error would lead to a smaller required sample size, but would also decrease the precision of the study.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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