De Bose said. CSUN has participated in three previous surveys on alcohol and drug use. The latest survey will be conducted this winter. Like the focus groups, the survey will be conducted through a random sampling of the CSUN population. Respondents to the last survey were drawn from a wide base of demographics such as age, sex, employment and whether or not the students were full or part-time.
Random samples can be an effective means of getting information from a wide group of people.
De Bose believes they work only if the survey is truly random. If everyone has an equal chance, it is projected that you will get a good sampling of students. I would be comfortable with the results. If a pollster arrives at a scientifically selected sample, and works hard to poll those particular individuals, he may end up with a different result than one who doesn't try hard to get to the people who are less interested in being surveyed. Baxter has faith in the Core Survey which is conducted in colleges and universities nationwide.