Program Taken: MAEd-Administration and Supervision

Semester/School Year: 2nd Semester/S.Y. 2017-2018

Subject: Research in Education
Title of the Report: Random Sampling Methods

STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING

Stratified random sampling is a method of sampling that involves the division of a population into
smaller groups known as strata. In stratified random sampling, or stratification, the strata are formed based on
members' shared attributes or characteristics.

Stratified random sampling is also called proportional random sampling or quota random sampling.

When to Use Stratified Random Sampling

 Stratified random sampling is used when the researcher wants to highlight a specific subgroup within the
population. This technique is useful in such researches because it ensures the presence of the key subgroup
within the sample.

 Researchers also employ stratified random sampling when they want to observe existing relationships
between two or more subgroups. With a simple random sampling technique, the researcher is not sure
whether the subgroups that he wants to observe are represented equally or proportionately within the
sample.
 With stratified sampling, the researcher can representatively sample even the smallest and most
inaccessible subgroups in the population. This allows the researcher to sample the rare extremes of the
given population.
 With this technique, you have a higher statistical precision compared to simple random sampling. This is
because the variability within the subgroups is lower compared to the variations when dealing with the entire
population.
Because this technique has high statistical precision, it also means that it requires a small sample size which
can save a lot of time, money and effort of the researchers.

Examples of Stratified Random Sampling

For example, suppose a research team wants to determine the GPA of college students across the
U.S. The research team has difficulty collecting data from all 21 million college students; it decides to take a
random sample of the population by using 4,000 students.

Now assume that the team looks at the different attributes of the sample participants and wonders if
there are any differences in GPAs and students’ majors. Suppose it finds that 560 students are English majors,
1135 are science majors, 800 are computer science majors, 1090 are engineering majors, and 415 are math
majors. The team wants to use a proportional stratified random sample where the stratum of the sample is
proportional to the random sample in the population.

Assume the team researches the demographics of college students in the U.S and finds the percentage
of what students major in: 12% major in English, 28% major in science, 24% major in computer science, 21%
major in engineering and 15% major in mathematics. Thus, five strata are created from the stratified random
sampling process.

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 The team then needs to confirm that the stratum of the population is in proportion to the stratum in the
sample; however, they find the proportions are not equal. The team then needs to resample 4,000 students
from the population and randomly select 480 English, 1120 science, 960 computer science, 840 engineering,
and 600 mathematics students. With those, it has a proportionate stratified random sample of college students,
which provides a better representation of students' college majors in the U.S. The researchers can then
highlight specific stratum, observe the varying studies of U.S. college students and observe the varying grade
point averages.

CLUSTER SAMPLING

With cluster sampling, the researcher divides the population into separate groups, called clusters.
Then, a simple random sample of clusters is selected from the population. The researcher conducts his
analysis on data from the sampled clusters.

When to Use Cluster Sampling

Cluster sampling should be used only when it is economically justified - when reduced costs can be
used to overcome losses in precision. This is most likely to occur in the following situations.

 Constructing a complete list of population elements is difficult, costly, or impossible. For example, it
may not be possible to list all of the customers of a chain of hardware stores. However, it would be
possible to randomly select a subset of stores (stage 1 of cluster sampling) and then interview a
random sample of customers who visit those stores (stage 2 of cluster sampling).
 The population is concentrated in "natural" clusters (city blocks, schools, hospitals, etc.). For example,
to conduct personal interviews of operating room nurses, it might make sense to randomly select a
sample of hospitals (stage 1 of cluster sampling) and then interview all of the operating room nurses at
that hospital. Using cluster sampling, the interviewer could conduct many interviews in a single day at a
single hospital. Simple random sampling, in contrast, might require the interviewer to spend all day
traveling to conduct a single interview at a single hospital.

Even when the above situations exist, it is often unclear which sampling method should be used. Test
different options, using hypothetical data if necessary. Choose the most cost-effective approach; that is,
choose the sampling method that delivers the greatest precision for the least cost.

Examples of Cluster Sampling

The most common cluster used in research is a geographical cluster. For example, a researcher wants
to survey academic performance of high school students in Spain.

1. He can divide the entire population (population of Spain) into different clusters (cities).
2. Then the researcher selects a number of clusters depending on his research through simple or systematic
random sampling.

3. Then, from the selected clusters (randomly selected cities) the researcher can either include all the high
school students as subjects or he can select a number of subjects from each cluster through simple or
systematic random sampling.

The important thing to remember about this sampling technique is to give all the clusters equal chances
of being selected.
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SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
Systematic sampling is a type of probability sampling method in which sample members from a larger
population are selected according to a random starting point and a fixed periodic interval. This interval, called
the sampling interval, is calculated by dividing the population size by the desired sample size.

When to Use Systematic Sampling

Simple random sampling requires that each element of the population be separately identified and
selected, while systematic sampling relies on a sampling interval rule to select all individuals. If the population
size is small or the size of the individual samples and their number are relatively small, random sampling
provides the best results. However, as the required sample size increases and a researcher needs to create
multiple samples from the population, this can be very time-consuming and expensive, making systematic
sampling a preferred method under such circumstances.

Systematic sampling is better than simple random sampling when there is no pattern in the data.
However, if the population is not random, a researcher runs the risk of selecting elements for the sample that
exhibit the same characteristics. For instance, if every eighth widget in a factory was damaged due to a certain
malfunctioning machine, a researcher is more likely to select these broken widgets with systematic sampling
than with simple random sampling, resulting in a biased sample.

Systematic sampling is preferable to simple random sampling when there is a low risk of data
manipulation. If such a risk is high when a researcher can manipulate the interval length to obtain desired
results, a simple random sampling technique would be more appropriate.

Examples of Systematic Sampling

Say you want to create a systematic random sample of 1,000 people from a population of 10,000.
Using a list of the total population, number each person from 1 to 10,000. Then, randomly choose a number,
like 4, as the number to start with. This means that the person numbered "4" would be your first selection, and
then every tenth person from then on would be included in your sample. Your sample, then, would be
composed of persons numbered 14, 24, 34, 44, 54, and so on down the line until you reach the person
numbered 9,994.

MULTISTAGE SAMPLING

Multistage sampling divides large populations into stages to make the sampling process more practical.
A combination of stratified sampling or cluster sampling and simple random sampling is usually used.

Examples of Multistage Sampling

In Iyoke et al. (2006) Researchers used a multi-stage sampling design to survey teachers in Enugu,
Nigeria, in order to examine whether socio-demographic characteristics determine teachers’ attitudes towards
adolescent sexuality education. First-stage sampling included a simple random sample to select 20 secondary
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schools in the region. The second stage of sampling selected 13 teachers from each of these schools, who
were then administered questionnaires.

Let’s say you wanted to find out which subjects U.S. school children preferred. A population list — a list
of all U.S. schoolchildren– would be near-impossible to come by, so you cannot take a sample of the
population. Instead, you divide the population into states and take a simple random sample of states. For the
next stage, you might take a simple random sample of schools from within those states. Finally you could
perform simple random sampling on the students within the schools to get your sample.

 The Census Bureau uses multistage sampling for the U.S. National Center for
Health Statistics’ National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). A multistage probability sample of 42,000
households in 376 probability sampling units (PSUs are usually counties or groups of counties), which are
chosen in groups of around four adjacent households.
 The Gallup poll uses multistage sampling. For example, they might randomly choose a certain number of
area codes then randomly sample a number of phone numbers from within each area code.
 Johnston et. al’s survey on drug use in high schools used three stage sampling: geographic areas,
followed by high schools within those areas, followed by senior students in those schools.
 The Australian Bureau of Statistics divides cities into “collection districts”, then blocks, then households.
Each stage uses random sampling, creating a need to list specific households only after the final stage of
sampling.

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