Burauen Community College

Burauen Municipal Compound, Sto. Nino St.

Burauen, Leyte

SAMPLING AND DATA COLLECTION

2.1 Steps in the Process of Data Collection

1. Identify how to select participants for a study
2. Identify your unit of Analysis
3. Specify the population and sample

 Population- is a group of individuals who have the same characteristics.

 Target Population- is a group of individuals with some common defining
characteristics that the researcher can identify and study
 Sample- is a subgroup of the target population that the researcher plans to
study for generalizing about the target population.

2.2 Calculating the Sample Size

 Sampling- is the process of selecting a few from bigger group to become the
basis for estimating or predicting the similarity of an unknown piece of information,
situation or outcome, regarding the bigger group.
 Sampling Error- is the difference between the results obtained from a sample and
the results obtained from the population from which the sample was selected.

PROCEDURE IN CALCULATING THE SAMPLE SIZE

 Confidence Level describes how sure you can be that your results are accurate.
 Confidence Interval (margin of error) shows the range the survey results would fall between
if our confidence level held true.

In the absence of such online calculator, Cochran (1963:75) provided the following steps in
determining the actual sample size:
1. First to do is to compute the initial sample size using the formula:

𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 = 𝑧 2𝑥 ṕ (1 − ṕ)

𝑒²

where:
z = score based on the confidence level (see Table 2.1)
ṕ = population proportion (use 0.50 if not sure
e = margin of error (1 -confidence level)

2. Next is to identify your population then substitute the initial size found in step 1 and the number of
populations to the formula:
 Burauen Community College
Burauen Municipal Compound, Sto. Nino St.
Burauen, Leyte

𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 = 𝑛 (𝑁)

𝑛 + (𝑁 − 1)

where:
n = initial sample size found in step 1
N = the population

Table 2.1 (Confidence Level and Its corresponding Z-Score

Confidence Level z-score

0.70

0.75 1.15

0.80 1.28

0.85 1.44

0.92 1.75

0.95 1.96

0.96 2.05

0.98 2.33

0.99 2.58

0.999 3.29

0.9999 3.89

0.99999 4.42