A store manager wants to know the percentage of shoppers who use coupons. He surveys everyone who enters the meat aisle. He finds that 60 percent of shoppers use coupons. Does the sampling method the store manager used support a valid inference?

Question

No, because not all people who enter the meat aisle use coupons.
Yes, because the sample contains coupon users and non-users.
Yes, because the manager asked everyone who entered the meat aisle.
No, because the sample is not chosen randomly.

Answer 1

The correct answer is: No, because the sample is not chosen randomly.

While the manager did survey everyone who entered the meat aisle, this does not ensure that the sample is representative of the general population of shoppers in the store. Shoppers in the meat aisle may have different coupon usage behavior compared to those in other aisles, leading to biased results. Thus, without random sampling of the entire store’s shoppers, the inference about the general rate of coupon use may not be valid.