Certificate in Business Data Analytics (CBDA) — Question 31

A research marketer is interested in collecting information about the spending habits of families in North America. Concerned about the volume of data required to conduct the research, they choose to use sampling. The dataset is sourced using all credit card transactions from a leading North American credit card company for Quarter 1 of the prior year.
The sample used is:

Answer options

• A. Statistically representative
• B. Biased
• C. Not relevant
• D. Too large to be helpful

Correct answer: B

Explanation

The sample is biased because it only includes transactions from a specific credit card company, which may not accurately reflect the spending habits of all families in North America. This limited dataset does not provide a fair representation of the entire population, leading to skewed results. The other options do not accurately describe the nature of the sample as it is indeed relevant and not too large to be useful.