Question

the literary digests 1936 poll, which wrongly predicted a republican landslide, is typically cited as a case of biased sampling: its use of telephone directories supposedly skewed results toward wealthier voters. yet a 1937 gallup survey found that telephone owners actually supported the democratic incumbent, suggesting the sampling frame was more ______ of the electorate than commonly assumed—the polls failure stemmed from non - response bias.
2 mark for review
which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
a characteristic of
b indicative of
c representative of
d predictive of

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the context. The Literary Digest's poll was thought to have a biased sampling frame (using telephone directories), but the 1937 Gallup survey showed telephone owners supported the Democratic incumbent, implying the sampling frame was more like the electorate than assumed. "Representative of" means accurately reflecting or standing for a group, which fits here. "Characteristic of" refers to a typical quality, "indicative of" means suggesting something, and "predictive of" means able to predict. None fit as well as "representative of" for a sampling frame's relation to the electorate.

Answer:

C. representative of