THE MOLONGLO-REFERENCE-CATALOG 1 JY RADIO-SOURCE SURVEY - III - IDENTIFICATION OF A COMPLETE QUASAR SAMPLE

We present a new complete sample of 111 radio quasars (including six B L Lac objects) selected from the Molonglo Reference Catalog (MRC) at 4 08 MHz. The sample, which we call the Molonglo Quasar Sample (MQS), fo rms part of a complete survey of 557 MRC radio sources with S-408 grea ter than or equal to 0.95 Jy in the declination range -30 degrees < de lta < -20 degrees, b > 20 degrees but excluding the R.A. range 14(h)03 (m)-20(h)20(m). Quasar classifications are based on high-resolution ra dio images, deep optical identifications, and follow-up spectroscopy o f sources in the strip. The relatively low radio frequency of the find ing survey and the complete optical identification of quasars to faint magnitudes ensure that the MQS is relatively free from orientation bi ases that affect most other samples of radio-loud quasars. The MQS is therefore particularly well suited to investigating the effects of rad io axis orientation on quasar properties. This paper describes in deta il the formation of the MQS and presents basic radio and optical data, including VLA images of extended radio sources in the sample and a co mplete set of optical finding charts.