Marketing Research,

Arab World Edition

Naresh K. Malhotra, Imad B. Baalbaki,
Nada Nasr Bechwati

Chapter 11:
Sampling: Design &
Procedures

Lecturer:
Prof. Maya F. FARAH

© Pearson Education 2013 11-0

Sample or Census
Definition of the Target Population

The target population is the collection of all the elements,

sharing some common set of characteristics,

that comprise the universe for the purpose of the marketing research problem & about which
inferences are to be made.

The target population should be defined in terms of:

 Elements: the objects about which or from which the info. is desired (the respondent).

 A sampling unit: an element available for selection at some stage of the sampling process. The
basic unit containing the elements of the population to be sampled (ex. Households).
 Extent: the geographical boundaries.

 Time: time period under consideration.

Census: A complete enumeration of the elements of a population or study objects.

Sample: subgroup of the elements of the pop. selected for participation in the study.
© Pearson Education 2013
Sample characteristics, statistics, are used to make inferences about the pop. parameters.
Conditions favoring the use of a sample vs. a census.

Conditions Favoring the Use of

Sample Census
1. Budget Small Large
2. Time available Short Long
3. Population size Large Small
4. Variance in the characteristic Small Large
5. Cost of sampling errors Low High
6. Cost of non-sampling errors High Low
7. Nature of measurement Destructive Nondestructive
8. Attention to individual cases Yes No

Non sampling errors are the major contributor to total error, whereas random sampling
errors are relatively small in magnitude.
The need to keep the study secret, may favor a sample over a census.
The Sampling Design Process

© Pearson Education 2013 11-3

 1 - Define the Target Population

 Target population: The collection of elements that possess the info. sought by the
researcher & about which inferences are to be made.

© Pearson Education 2013 11-4

2 - Determine the Sampling Frame

 Sampling frame: A representation of the elements of the target population. It consists of

a list or set of directions for identifying the target population.

 The use of a list will lead to sampling frame error.

 The researcher should recognize & treat the sampling frame error.

 Screening can eliminate inappropriate elements contained in the sampling frame, but it
cannot account for elements that have been omitted.
3 - Select a Sampling Technique

 Sampling with replacement: A sampling technique in which an element can be included

in the sample more than one.

 Sampling without replacement: A sampling technique in which an element cannot be

included in the sample more than one.

 The most important decision about the choice of sampling technique is whether to use
probability or non-probability sampling.

 When a probability sampling technique is being employed, a random selection must be

made from all the eligible persons in each household.
 4 - Determine the Sample Size

Sample size: The number of elements to be included in a study.

Important qualitative factors in determining the sample size are:
 the importance of the decision
 the nature of the research
 the number of variables
 the nature of the analysis
 sample sizes used in similar studies
 incidence rates
 completion rates
 resource constraints.
As the sample size increases, each unit of information is obtained at greater cost.
The cumulative effects of sampling error across variables are reduced in a large sample.
If sophisticated analysis of the data using multivariate techniques is required, the sample size
should be large.
Sample Sizes Used in Marketing Research Studies

© Pearson Education 2013 11-8

 5 - Execute the Sampling Process

Execution of the sampling process requires a detailed specification of how the

sampling design decisions with respect to the population, sampling frame, sampling
unit, sampling technique, & sample size are to be implemented.

Ex.: The Egyptian Tourist Authority used stratified sampling to examine the travel behavior of
Cairo residents.
 Households were stratified by northwest, northeast, southwest, & southeast regions.
 Using stratified sampling guaranteed that the sample included residents from all 4
geographical areas of Cairo.
 Age 25 or older.
 To obtain a representative sample of qualified individuals, a random method was used to
select the respondent from within a household.
 Sample size: 658.
 An appropriate sampling design process enabled the Egyptian Tourist Authority to gain
valuable insights into the travel behavior of Cairo residents.
A Classification of Sampling Techniques

Sampling techniques may be classified as non-probability & probability.

1. Non-probability sampling: Sampling techniques that do not use chance selection

procedures. Rather, they rely on the personal judgment of the researcher.

2. Probability sampling: A sampling procedure in which each element of the population

has a fixed probabilistic chance of being selected for the sample.
Classification of Sampling Techniques

© Pearson Education 2013 11-11

 NONPROBABILITY SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
1 - Convenience Sampling

Convenience sampling: A nonprobability sampling technique that attempts to obtain a sample

of convenient elements. The selection of sampling units is left primarily to the interviewer.
Respondents are selected because they happen to be in the right place at the right time.

 Use of students, & members of social organizations

 Mall intercept interviews without qualifying the respondents
 Department stores using charge account lists
 “People on the street” interviews

Caution should be exercised in interpreting the results.

Ex.: A study was conducted to examine whether green purchase behavior in Egypt varied by gender,
i.e., whether Egyptian females exhibit a more green purchase than Egyptian males.
Convenience sampling was used to recruit respondents.
The sample size was 1,093.

© Pearson Education 2013 11-12

 2 - Judgmental Sampling

Judgmental sampling is a form of convenience sampling in which the population elements

are purposely selected based on the judgment of the researcher.

 Test markets
 Purchase engineers selected in industrial marketing research
 Bellwether precincts selected in voting behavior research
 Expert witnesses used in court

Ex.: Participation in a study was restricted to citizens of the four nations residing in Jeddah, Muscat,
Kuwait City, & Cairo.
The number of usable surveys returned was 683, reflecting a response rate of 62.1%.
Judgmental sampling is low cost, convenient, & quick, yet it does not allow direct
generalizations to a specific population, usually because the pop. is not defined explicitly.

© Pearson Education 2013 11-13

 3 - Quota Sampling

Quota sampling: A nonprobability sampling technique that may be viewed as a 2-stage

restricted judgmental sampling.

 The 1st stage consists of developing control categories, or quotas of population elements.

 In the 2nd stage, sample elements are selected based on convenience or judgment.

Ex.: A study published in 2011 investigated e-bankers’ satisfaction with e-banking functionality &
other related outcomes, namely loyalty & word-of-mouth within the Jordanian commercial banks.

The researcher used quota sampling to recruit respondents. Quotas were assigned such that the
composition of the sample is the same as that of the population.

Even if the sample composition mirrors that of the population with respect to the control
characteristics, there is no assurance that the sample is representative.

Recently, tighter controls have been imposed on interviewers & interviewing procedures that tend
to reduce selection bias, & guidelines have been suggested for improving the quality of mall-
intercept quota samples.

© Pearson Education 2013 11-14

 4 – Snowball/referral Sampling

Snowball sampling: A nonprobability sampling technique in which an initial group of respondents is

selected, usually at random.

 After being interviewed, these respondents are asked to identify others who belong to the target
population of interest.

 Subsequent respondents are selected based on the referrals or information provided by the initial
respondents.

This process may be carried out in waves by obtaining referrals from referrals.

Ex.: Family medicine is a relatively new specialty in the Arab countries.

The snowball sampling technique was used to allow the researchers to gain access to more leaders in
family medicine in different countries.

A total of 44 surveys were distributed & 29 surveys were completed, a response rate of 66%.

Given the uncommon characteristics of the desired respondents, snowball sampling was more efficient
than random selection.

11-15
Recapitulation
 PROBABILITY SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
1 - Simple Random Sampling (SRS)

 A probability sampling technique in which each element in the population has a known & equal
probability of selection.

 Every element is selected independently of every other element & the sample is drawn by a random
procedure from a sampling frame.

 To draw a simple random sample, the researcher first compiles a sampling frame in which each element
is assigned a unique identification number.

 Ex.: From a total of 108 five-star hotels operating in 2008, a random sample of 33 5-star hotels was
selected using a computerized random generator.

© Pearson Education 2013 11-17

 2 - Systematic Sampling

 The sample is chosen by selecting a random starting point & then picking every ith element
in succession from the sampling frame.

 The sampling or skip interval, i, is determined by dividing the population size N by the
sample size n & rounding to the nearest integer.

 If the ordering of the elements produces a cyclical pattern, systematic sampling may
decrease the representativeness of the sample.
 Ex.: There are 100,000 elements in the population & a sample of 1,000 is desired.
The sampling interval, i, is 100. A random number between 1 & 100 is selected.
If, this number is 23, the sample consists of elements 23, 123, 223, 323, 423, 523...

11-18
 3 - Stratified Sampling

 A 2-step process in which the population is partitioned into subpopulations, or strata.

 The strata should be mutually exclusive & collectively exhaustive in that every population
element is assigned to one & only one stratum & no population elements must be omitted.

 The elements within a stratum should be as homogeneous as possible, but the elements in
different strata should be as heterogeneous as possible.

 The stratification variables should also be closely related to the characteristic of interest.

 Elements are selected from each stratum by a random procedure.

 A major objective of stratified sampling is to increase precision without increasing cost.

© Pearson Education 2013 11-19

 3 - Stratified Sampling (continued)

 In proportionate stratified sampling, the size of the sample drawn from each stratum is
proportionate to the relative size of that stratum in the total population.

 In disproportionate stratified sampling, the size of the sample from each stratum is
disproportionate to the relative size of that stratum & to the standard deviation of the distribution
of the characteristic of interest among all the elements in that stratum.

© Pearson Education 2013 11-20

4 - Cluster Sampling

 The target population is divided into mutually exclusive & collectively exhaustive
subpopulations called clusters.
 A random sample of clusters is selected based on a probability sampling technique such
as simple random sampling.
 For each selected cluster, either all the elements are included in the sample or a sample
of elements is drawn probabilistically.
Choosing Nonprobability Vs. Probability Sampling

© Pearson Education 2013 11-22