FAQ: Learn Sample Size Determination with SciPy - Sample Size of a Survey

FAQ Python FAQ
#1

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This community-built FAQ covers the “Sample Size of a Survey” exercise from the lesson “Learn Sample Size Determination with SciPy”.

Paths and Courses
This exercise can be found in the following Codecademy content:

Data Science
Analyze Data with Python

FAQs on the exercise Sample Size of a Survey

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#2

Hi, I don’t get well.
If we want to conduct a survey at exact town why should we care about population of the whole world (100.000). If for population size we can take 1700. Maybe the preferences of this city is specific. Thank you in advance!

6 Likes
#3

I also have the same doubt. Hopefully somebody can clarify it.

1 Like
#4

I also would like to know why

1 Like
#5

Same here. Can someone help us?

#6

Same doubt here too , please answer

#7

I’ve never seen a member of Codecademy’s team respond to these threads.

In any event, I came here to refute that margin_of_error is meant to be 4. 4% would be 0.04.

#8

I think to decide upon the population size as a shop owner, you wouldn’t consider only the people from your town as customers. For example, a customer can come in from out of town. So you want a large population size.

1 Like
#9

The calculator for this exercise is written in JavaScript. I tried to write it in Python:

from scipy.stats import norm

def min_samples(conf_level, proportion, margin, population_size):

  # z-score for confidence level
  z = norm.isf((1- conf_level) / 2)

  # calculate the sample size
  num_samples = proportion * (1 - proportion) * ((z / margin) ** 2)

  # update according to population size
  num_samples = num_samples / (1 + (num_samples - 1) / population_size)

  return round(num_samples)


print(min_samples(0.95, 0.4, 0.04, 100000))  # 573.0
#10

This is quite a leap to go from 1700 people in Vancucumber, to 100,0000. The same problem has been haunting me for the previous few slides in this lesson. I do not see how the discussion goes from sample size recommendations for 8 billion people should be equivalent to about 100,000, let alone why the survey designer would select a sample size of 100,000 for an unlisted base value, or in this case 1700 people in a town population. Sounds like the lesson could use a tune up.