In Exercise 1.49 on page 16, you used simple random sampling to obtain a sample of 10 firms from Fortune Magazine's list of "The International 500."

In E 49

Each year, Fortune Magazine publishes an article titled "The International 500" that provides a ranking by sales of the top 500 firms outside the United States. Suppose that you want to examine various characteristics of successful firms. Further suppose that, for your study, you decide to take a simple random sample of 10 firms from Fortune Magazine's list of "The International 500."

a. Use systematic random sampling to accomplish that same task.

b. Which method is easier: simple random sampling or systematic random sampling?

c. Does it seem reasonable to use systematic random sampling to obtain a representative sample? Explain your answer.