SAMPLING ‘Sampling - Process of selecting survey respondents or research participants Population - total group of respondents thatthe researcher wants to study. Populations ‘are foo costly and time consuming to study in entirety Sample eesting and surveying respondents research prtisipats) fom the population, Involves selecting a relatively small number of elements (sample) from a larger defined ‘group (population) and expecting the information gathered from the small group will enable judgments about the larger eroup Criteria fora good sample ‘The sample must be: 1. representative of the population 2. appropriately siced (the larger the bet); 3. unbiased 4, random (selections ceur by chance); ‘The sbove criteria ar interrelated How to get good Samples ‘To ensure tht the fout criteria are met, careful planning is needed (any erors in the sample will result in unreliable conclusions) ‘One of sever! method can be chosen o achieve randonmess when selecting sample Samples Having -cleaty identified + thesis statement or question, + aswell asthe population, + variables and + ype of date involved, 1 researcher ean begin to conduct his or her study 19“To conduct roar, data from a sample must be collected, (which could involve tating Inboratory analyses, surveys, ef.) ‘Sample Design is definite plan determined before any samples are actually collected fom the population. Colleting the Data + By Observation + Through Personal Interviews + Through Telephone interviews + By mailing Questioners + Through Schedles Analysis of Daa Hypothesis testing Preparation of the Report SAMPLING TECHNIQUES + Probability sample Sample that gives every member of the population a chance of being selected ‘ Nomprobsbllty sample Ssmple Us involves persoual judgment somewiere in the process 20Types of Samples es Probability sample ‘A probability sample is one that gives every member ofthe population a known chance of being selected simple random sample ~ anyone Systematic random sample stratified sample - different groups (ages) = elyster sample - different areas (iis) Probability Sampling in Quantitative Research Why is probability sampling important in quantiative research? + Research finding not ased on samples that are biased /unrepresentave a‘Based on a sampling frame it enables research tobe replicable or repeatable Research reslls can be projected from the sample tothe larger population with known levels of certsiny‘precision (ie. standard errors & confidence intervals for survey climates canbe constructed). To achieve ths the sampling frame used needs to: + ensure thatthe corect population is being sampled i. it address the questions of interest + accurately covers all members of the populaticn being studied so they have a ‘chance tobe sampled ‘+The quality ofthe population list sampling frame) ic. whether itis upo-date and complete i the most important feature for accuray inthe sampling. Probability sampling — Random Sampling Methods ‘Six methods are commonly employed. 1. Simple Random Sampling all individuats in the population have an equal likeikood of being chosen; for example, number ll students and select the num ‘of control that the researcher has) fiom a hat (minimize the levelSimple Random Sampling ‘Simple Random Sampling + Randomly selecting unis from a sampling frame. + sRandom* means mathematically each unit from the sampling frame has an equal probability of being included in the sample + Stages in random sampling: Ce Portis ec re Pes) the sample a aa nid fie a Bras Define required Poem arte too pee ear a2. Sys tematic Random Sampling “= used when you are sampling a fixed percentage ofthe population; = randomly select a starting point, then select every n* individual, + mis referred to as the sampling interval (n = pop sizelsample ize); => for example, number all students in a lis, randomly select a stating point in the I ‘Systems list, and select every n” individual. Systematic Random Sampling-1 Each element has an equal probability of selection, but combinations of clements have different probabilities. Population size N, desired sample size n, sampling interval k-N/a. Randomly select a number j between I and k, sample element j and then every k* element thereafter, j+k, j+2k, ete. S64, 1-8, k-64/8-8. tle Sampling ‘+ Similar to simple random sample. ‘+ No able of random numbers ~seletdireetly trom sampling frame,ea Bind as a) RSet Poetics © fear} a oo Stratified Random Sampling “+ populution is aivided ino stata or groups: by uc) pra ea) Barn Pace) = randomly select members ofeach stratum (he number selected is proportional to the stratum’ ine): for example, divide our population into 9's, 10's, 11's and 12's, and randomly select ‘embers in each gra,Stratified Random Sampling-1 ‘Stratified Random Sample + Gold standard’ of sampling + Why? Designed tobe more epresentatve of the population where the sampling frame is “staiied™ according to population variables, + Variables selected for stratifying are determined by the characteristics needed by the research. + Stratification ~ sping the population into the differen stata (variables eg, gender, age, etn background). + Samples canbe strafed across more than one variable a6Pere 4. Cluster Random Sampling — population is organized into groups: = groups are randomly selected, an all members ofthe group ae sampled: — for example, divide our school into homerooms, randomly select homereoms, and ‘sample all students in elecied homerooms. Random Cluster Sampling - 1 ”Random Cluster — 2 Population is divided into groups Some of the groups are randomly selected For given sample size, a cluster sample has more error than a simple random sample Cost savings of clustering may pemmit larger sample Error is smaller if the clusters are similar to each other ey Random Cluster -3 (Cluster sampling has very high error if the clusters are different from each other ‘Cluster sampling is NOT desirable if the clusters are different It IS random sampling: you randomly choose the chisters But you will tend to omit some kinds of subjects Ny 8Stratified Cluster Sampling Stratified Cluster SamplingStratification vs. Clustering 5, Multi-Stage Random Sampling + population is organized into groups; = randomly sleet groups, and ten randomty select members in these groups (an equal ‘number selected per group); = for example, repeat he steps for Cluster Random Sampling, bu then randomly select sens in each selested homeroom, 0Multi-stage Probability Samples —1 + Large national probability samples involve several stages of stratified cluster sampling + The whole country is divided into geographic clusters, metropolitan and rural + Some large metropolitan areas are selected with certainty (certainty is a non-zero probability!) + Other areas are formed into strata of areas (¢.g. middle-sized cities, rural counties): clusters are selected randomly from these strata Multi-stage Probability Samples —2 * Within each sampled area, the clusters are defined, and the process is repeated, perhaps several times, until blocks or telephone exchanges are selected * At the last step, households and individuals within household are randomly selected. + Random samples make multiple call-backs to people not at home. a(Cluster! multi-stage random sample Closter sampling: selecting 4 eample based on specific, naturally occuring groups {clusters} within a population = Example: randomly selecting 0 hospitals from alist ofall hospitals in one place ‘Mult-sage sampling: cluster sampling repeated ata numberof levels, = Example: randomly selecting hospitals by county and then & sample of patients from each selected hospital. Destructive Sampling = applicable o products onty, + products chosen randomly, tested for quality control, ‘Non-Probability Sampling “Three main ypes of non-probability sampling: 1 2 3 Convenience really available (Quota ~ maintain representation Snowball ‘Convenience Sampting ‘A sumple selected for ease of acess, immediately own population group. + Good response rte. = Cannot generalise findings (do not know what population group the sample is representative of) so cannot move beyond describing the sample.‘Quota Sampling Aim is to sample reflecting proportions of population in different categories oF cuotax (eg gender, age, ethnicity). Used often in market and opinion poll research, + easy to manage, quick ~ only reflects population in terms of the quota, possibilty of bias in selection, no ssandard eror Snowball Sampling ‘Useful when population i isdn or difficult gain acceso ‘The contact with an initial group i sed to make contact with other ‘accesso difficult to reach populations (other methods may not yield any ess). repent of te poplin and wl sal in ised sample sit is eh selecting a‘Sampling plan ++ the process used to select sampling units from the population ‘Steps in Developing a Sampling Plan 1, Define the Target Population 2. Select the Data Collection Method '3. Identify the Sampling Frame(s) Needed ITS '4. Identify the Appropriate Sampling Method | S| 'S. Determine Sample Sizes and Contact Rates | ‘6. Create Plan for Selecting Sampling Units 7. Execute the PlanSample Design Sapling decisions od dat collection es aes. : <= Parameters for Sampling (© Sampling Frame © Sample Size 1@ Rexponce Rate ‘Sample Size? ‘How luge should my sample bein order fr iro be represenatve™? ‘Large samples are mot necessarily better — how representative a sample it depends cn the sampling technique tsed and the size of the population, + Determining sample size is dependent of how much error you are prepared t0 accep in your somple. 8Sample Size Heterogeneity: need larger sample to study more diverse population Desired precision: need larger sample to get smaller error Sampling design: smaller if stratified, larger if cluster Nature of analysis: complex multivariate statistics need larger samples Accuracy of sample depends upon sample size, not ratio of sample to population Sampling Error and Confidence +The larger the sample sze the more likey eror in the sample wil decrease. + But, beyond a certain point increasing sample size does not provide large reductions in sampling exor. + Accuracy i reflection ofthe sampling error and confidence level ofthe data. Sampling Error and Confidence If & sample has boon selected according to probability we can assess the level of confidence. + Confidence levels will allow you to sample findings would also bs found in with a certan level of confidence, that the population. 36Sampling Exvor «any type of bias that results from mistakes in ether the selection process for prospective ‘Sampling units or in determining the sample size Nonsumpling Eror bias that occurs in research study regardless of whether « sample or census is used e-t4 bias ‘caused by measurement errors, response errors, coding errors, ei ”— WoReindod qeBey pauyeq sual SuljdwesSampling in Practice (Ofien « non-random selection of basic sampling frame (city, organization etc.) Fit between sampling frame and research goals ‘must be evaluated Sampling frame as a concept is relevant to all kkinds of research (including nonprobability) ‘Nonprobebility sampling means you cannot generalize beyond the sample Probability sampling means you can generalize to the population defined by the sampling frame Fieldwork (© Fieldwork isthe proces of = Contacting respondents = Conducting interviews = Completing surveys