Question

a polling firm has been commissioned by the new york times to assess public opinion about the performance of fema (the federal emergency management agency) during the aftermath of hurricane sandy. what should the firm do first? determine the population determine the method of poll selection contact respondents select the sample

Explanation:

In survey research, the first step is to define the population. The population is the entire group of individuals or entities that the poll aims to study (in this case, people with an opinion on FEMA's performance post - Hurricane Sandy). Without determining the population, subsequent steps like selecting a sample (which is a subset of the population), choosing a poll selection method (which applies to the sample), or contacting respondents (who must belong to the population) are baseless.

Answer:

determine the population