In: Math
How much "error" is too much before you are no longer confident about your estimates or research findings? Do sampling methods have anything to do with this? Discuss.
Most surveys report margin of error in a manner such as: “the results of this survey are accurate at the 95% confidence level plus or minus 3 percentage points.” That is the error that can result from the process of selecting the sample. It suggests what the upper and lower bounds of the results are. Sampling error is the only error that can be quantified, but there are many other errors to which surveys are susceptible. Emphasis on the sampling error does little to address the wide range of other opportunities for something to go wrong
Sampling Error is the calculated statistical imprecision due to interviewing a random sample instead of the entire population. The margin of error provides an estimate of how much the results of the sample may differ due to chance when compared to what would have been found if the entire population was interviewed.
The relationship between margin of error and sample size is simple: As the sample size increases, the margin of error decreases. This relationship is called an inverse because the two move in opposite directions