EXAMPLE 3 How to choose an SRS using software

Joan’s small accounting firm serves 30 business clients. Joan wants to interview a sample of five clients to find ways to improve client satisfaction. To avoid bias, she chooses an SRS of size 5.

Step 1: Label. Give each client a numerical label between 1 and 30. Here is the list of clients, with labels attached, using 1 to 30:

1 A-1 Plumbing 16 JL Appliances
2 Accent Printing 17 Johnson Commodities
3 Action Sport Shop 18 Keiser Construction
4 Anderson Construction 19 Liu’s Chinese Restaurant
5 Bailey Trucking 20 MagicTan
6 Balloons Inc. 21 Peerless Machine
7 Bennett Hardware 22 Photo Arts
8 Best’s Camera Shop 23 River City Antiques
9 Blue Print Specialties 24 Riverside Tavern
10 Central Tree Service 25 Rustic Boutique
11 Classic Flowers 26 Satellite Services
12 Computer Answers 27 Scotch Wash
13 Darlene’s Dolls 28 Sewer’s Center
14 Fleisch Realty 29 Tire Specialties
15 Hernandez Electronics 30 Von’s Video Games

Step 2: Software. Use statistical software to generate a random integer between 1 and 30. Repeat this process, ignoring any values that were previously generated, until you obtain five different integers between 1 and 30. Joan used software and generated the numbers 18, 9, 10, 3, 9, and 1. The five different integers are 18, 9, 10, 3, and 1, so the sample is the clients Keiser Construction, Blue Print Specialties, Central Tree Service, Action Sport Shop, and A-1 Plumbing.