A market researcher is proposing a survey for the Big Tree Country Club, a private country club that is contemplating several changes in its layout to improve its golf course. The researcher is considering three different sample designs as a way to draw a representative sample of the club’s golfers. The three designs include the following:
a. Station an interviewer at the first hole tee on a day chosen at random, with instructions to ask every 10th golfer to fill out a self-administered questionnaire.
b. Put a stack of questionnaires on the counter where golfers check in with a sign offering a free dinner in the clubhouse for three players who fill out the questionnaire and have their names selected by lottery.
c. Use the city telephone directory to conduct a plus-one dialing procedure. With this procedure, a random page in the directory is selected and a name chosen from it, both using a table of random numbers. A “1” would be added to that phone number and every one listed after it, until 1,000 golfers are identified and interviewed by telephone.
Assess the representativeness and other issues associated with this sample problem. Be sure to identify the sample method being contemplated in each case. Which sample method do you recommend using, and why?
