In: Statistics and Probability
A controversial topic in Spring 2020 is a national debate concerning whether Americans should be legally required to "shelter in place" during the virus epidemic. How many Americans should be polled to determine the percentage of all Americans who agree with the legal requirement correct to within 2 percentage points with 99% confidence? (Enter a single number with no other symbols.)
Solution :
Given that,
= 0.5 ( use 0.5)
1 - = 1 - 0.5 = 0.5
margin of error = E = 2% = 0.02
At 99% confidence level the z is,
= 1 - 99%
= 1 - 0.99 = 0.01
/2 = 0.005
Z/2 = 2.58 ( Using z table )
Sample size = n = (Z/2 / E)2 * * (1 - )
= (2.58 / 0.02)2 * 0.5 * 0.5
=4160.25
Sample size = 4160