Question

a group of veterinarians at a major veterinary hospital was interested in investigating a possible link between enteroliths (stones that form in the colon of horses) and diet. they decided to conduct a survey of the feeding practices for horses in the hospitals state. they created a survey questionnaire and decided to administer it to the owners of every fifth horse being treated at the hospital. the sample is: a. a volunteer sample. b. a simple random sample. c. a systematic sample d. a stratified random sample.

Explanation:

A systematic sample is selected by choosing every \(k\)th element from the population. In this case, every fifth horse's owner is surveyed, which fits the definition of a systematic sample. A volunteer sample (\(a\)) is when individuals self - select. A simple random sample (\(b\)) would involve randomly selecting any subset of the population without a fixed interval. A stratified random sample (\(d\)) would divide the population into subgroups (strata) and sample from each stratum.

Answer:

C. a systematic sample