Sampling and population

Research Methods in Education

 Population
 A population is a group of individuals persons, objects,
or items from which samples are taken for
measurement for example a population of presidents
or professors, books or students. 
 the larger group from which individuals are selected
to participate in a study.
 SAMPLING

 The process of selecting a number of individuals for a

study in such a way that the individuals represent the
larger group from which they were selected
 SAMPLE
 A sample is a finite part of a statistical population
whose properties are studied to gain information
about the whole(Webster, 1985).
 When dealing with people, it can be defined as a set
of respondents (people) selected from a larger
population for the purpose of a survey. 
 All selected respondents are sample.
 a smaller (but hopefully representative) collection of
units from a population used to determine truths
about that population” (Field, 2005)
 Target Population

Target population A set of elements

larger than or different from the
population sampled and to which
the researcher would like to
generalize study findings.
As similar as possible so as to control for extraneous
variables
Represents a broad range of values
 Simple Random Sample
 Every subset of a specified size and from the population
has an equal chance of being selected
 Simple random sampling is a sampling technique where
every item in the population has an even chance and
likelihood of being selected in the sample. 
 Stratified Random Sample
 The population is divided into two or more groups called
strata, according to some criterion, such as geographic
location, grade level, age, or income, and subsamples are
randomly selected from each strata.
 Systematic Sample

Every kth member ( for example: every 10th person) is selected

from a list of all population members.
Types of Nonprobabilty Sampling

 Purposive Sampling
 Quota Sampling
 Snowball Sampling
 Convenience Sampling
 Purposive Sampling

 A nonprobability sampling procedure that involves

selecting elements based on a researcher's
judgment about which elements will facilitate his or
her investigation.
 Quota Sampling

 A nonprobability sampling procedure that

involves describing the target population in terms
of what are thought to be relevant criteria and
then selecting sample elements to represent the
“relevant” subgroups in proportion to their
presence in the target population
 Summary
 Sampling is a means to an end.
 We sample because studying every element in our
population is frequently beyond our means or would
jeopardize the quality of our.
 On the other hand, we don’t need to sample when
studying every member of our population is feasible.
Choosing a Sampling Technique
 Is it desirable to sample at all or can the whole
population be used?
 Is it important to generalize to a larger population?
 Political preference polls
 Do you have the access and ability to perform
probability sampling?
 Major considerations
 Methods
 Theory
 Practicality
 Ethics
 Snowball Sampling

 A nonprobability sampling procedure that

involves using members of the group of interest
to identify other members of the group
 Convenience Sample
 Selection of whichever individuals are easiest to reach
 It is done at the “convenience” of the researcher