A Sampling Technique for the Determination of Hunters' Activities and the Economics Thereof

Abstract

In developing the sampling method in Washtenaw County only those data were used that are also available for larger areas. The method develops information on basic characteristics of hunters that can be classified under the three general headings of age, occupation, and income. The first may be handled statistically for so small an area as a township, a city, or a village. The other two may best be considered on a state-wide basis or for groups of states having broadly similar characteristics. Information concerning hunter age and occupation were gleaned from individual license stubs and kill reports. Hunter income and other pertinent data were obtained by sufficient personal interviews to get a representative sample of the hunting population. In sampling, the total hunting population is divided into age groups and each group is sampled in the proportion that it bears to the total hunting population. For example, if a first age group contains 50 hunters and a second 100, twice as many samples are taken in the group having 100 as in that having 50. Justification for the use of a sampling method of this type is found in the widespread acceptance of such national polls as that of Dr. George Gallup and in the similar method used by the National Resources Board for determination of the characteristics of various population groups. In Michigan, because of the method of issuing licenses and handling hunters' reports, age group sampling is insufficient. Ages appear only on the license stubs while occupational information is found only on the hunters' reports. Because the information wanted in the survey is rather detailed and because the study was experimental, no method except personal interview was seriously considered. Field work was done during the summer of 1939, principally in the month of August. This was the period most available to the interviewer and it was considered desirable to learn whether hunters could recall experiences from the previous season at that time. If they could remember accurately, the use of existing personnel in Conservation Departments would be