The Columbus Dispatch, the local newpaper for Columbus, Ohio, conducted a poll o

Question

The Columbus Dispatch, the local newpaper for Columbus, Ohio, conducted a poll on the 1994 governor's race. They took a random sample of 1200 voters in Ohio and reported 72% of those surveyed would vote for the Republican candidate and announced a margin of error of + or - 3% for 95% confidence in the survey results. At the same time, the Gallup organization also conducted a poll of 498 voters in Ohio using random sampling and reported 68% of those surveyed would vote for the Republican candidate and announced a margin of error of + or - 4% for 95% confidence in the survey results. Why does the Columbus Dispatch poll have a smaller margin of error than the Gallup poll in the above data?       

A. The Dispatch is the local paper. It knows the voters in Columbus, Ohio better than a national organization such as the Gallup organization. Therefore, it can report a smaller margin of error.        B. The Gallup poll is more honest than the Dispatch poll, because the Gallup organization is a large, national organization. Hence it must report a larger margin of error.       

C. The Gallup organization is larger than the local group conducting the Dispatch poll, hence it will have a larger margin of error.       

D. The Dispatch poll took a larger size sample than the Gallup poll, hence it has a smaller margin of error.

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Explanation / Answer

Answer is D. The Dispatch poll took a larger size sample than the Gallup poll, hence it has a smaller margin of error.

Because sample size is inversely related to margin of error.

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