In: Statistics and Probability
A researcher wishes to estimate the number of households with two computers. How large a sample is needed in order to be 98% confident that the sample proportion will not differ from the true proportion by more than 4%? A previous study indicates that the proportion of households with two computers is 25%.
Solution :
Given that,
= 0.25
1 - = 1 - 0.25= 0.75
margin of error = E = 4% = 0.04
At 98% confidence level the z is,
= 1 - 98%
= 1 - 0.98 = 0.02
/2 = 0.01
Z/2 = 2.326 ( Using z table )
Sample size = n = (Z/2 / E)2 * * (1 - )
= (2.326 / 0.04)2 * 0.25 * 0.75
=634.01
Sample size = 634