In: Statistics and Probability
2.8070
An automobile manufacturer would like to know what proportion of
its customers are not satisfied with the service provided by the
local dealer. The customer relations department will survey a
random sample of customers and compute a 99.5% confidence interval
for the proportion who are not satisfied.
(a) Past studies suggest that this proportion will be about
0.15. Find the sample size needed if the margin of the error of the
confidence interval is to be about 0.015.
(You will need a critical value accurate to at least 4
decimal places.)
Sample size:
(b) Using the sample size above, when the sample is actually
contacted, 9% of the sample say they are not satisfied. What is the
margin of the error of the confidence interval?
MoE:
Solution,
Given that,
a) = 0.15
1 - = 1 - 0.15 = 0.85
margin of error = E = 0.015
Z/2
= Z0.0025 = 2.8070
sample size = n = (Z / 2 / E )2 * * (1 - )
= (2.8070 / 0.015)2 * 0.15 * 0.85
= 4464.91
sample size = n = 4465
b) = 0.09
1 - = 1 - 0.09 = 0.91
Z/2 = Z0.0025 = 2.8070
Margin of error = E = Z / 2 * (( * (1 - )) / n)
= 2.8070 (((0.09 * 0.91) / 4465 )
= 0.012