employees in a particular company, you may identify the following strata:

directors, managers, clerical workers and production workers, and if 25a/a of

employees were clerical workers, you would ensure that 25olo of your sample
comprised clerical workers. For example,

qtc l0D .150

Population: 850 [580 females anaZiaffmales)
Sample size: 100 1qo 2 L)U
>\00
HOF 580 x 100 = 68 females and 270 x 100 =32 males
'100 850 850

Or using percentages,

Age band o/orequired Sample size

0-20 36 360
2t-40 22 220
41-60 28 280
60+
Total
u
100
140
1,000

The usefulness of dividing the population into subgroups or strata that are more or
less equal on some characteristic has been illustrated in our discussion of quota
sampling. The first step of choosing strata on the basis of existing information, such
as classification of retail outlets' size based on annual sales volume, is the same for
both stratified and quota sampling. However, the processes of selecting sampling
units within the stratum differ substantially. In stratified sampling a subsample is
drawn utilizing a simple random sample within each stratum. This is not true with
quota sampling.

WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE SAMPTE DESIGN?

We have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each of the various

sampling techniques.

A summary comparing the sampling techniques is given in Exhibit 16.10. A

researcher who must make a decision concerning the most appropriate sample
design for a specific project will identiff a number of sampling criteria and
evaluate the relative importance of each criterion before selecting a sample design.
This section outlines and briefly discusses the most common criteria.

trr,',,Defee of Acurracy
Wro
n-l,i1l*\ pr.i,
Selecting a representative sample is, of course, important to all researchers.
However, the degree of accuracy required or the researcher's tolerance for
sampling and nonsampling error may vary from project to project especially when
cost savings or another consideration may be a tradeoff for a reduction in
accuracy.

54 lFage

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