UNIT 7

POPULATION AND SAMPLING

 Population v/s Sample
• A population is the entire group that you want to
draw conclusions about.
• A sample is the specific group that you will collect
data from. The size of the sample is always less than
the total size of the population.
• In research, a population doesn’t always refer to
people. It can mean a group containing elements of
anything you want to study, such as objects, events,
organizations, countries, species, organisms, etc.
 SAMPLING
• Sampling is a process used in statistical
analysis in which a predetermined number of
observations are taken from a larger 
population. The methodology used to sample
from a larger population depends on the type
of analysis being performed,
Sampling theory
• The body of principles underlying the drawing
of samples that accurately represent the population from
which they are taken and to which inferences will be
made.
• This conceptualization of the sampling process provides
guidance to researchers about which sampling design to
choose in the particular circumstances and how best to
account for subsets of cases that are not well
represented (or are overrepresented) in the population
 Purpose of Sampling
• Everyone who has ever worked on a research
project knows that resources are limited; time,
money and people never come in an unlimited
supply.
• For that reason, most research projects aim to
gather data from a sample of people, rather
than from the entire population 
• Economical: In most cases, it is not possible & economical for
researchers to study an entire population. With the help of sampling,
the researcher can save lots of time, money, & resources to study a
phenomenon.
• Improved quality of data: It is a proven fact that when a person
handles less amount the work of fewer number of people, then it is
easier to ensure the quality of the outcome.
• Quick study results: Studying an entire population itself will take a lot
of time, & generating research results of a large mass will be almost
impossible as most research studies have time limits.
• Precision and accuracy of data: Conducting a study on an entire
population provides researchers with voluminous data, & maintaining
precision of that data becomes a cumbersome task.
• The sampling method is the scientific
procedure of selecting those sampling units
which would provide the required estimates
with associated margins of uncertainity,
arising from examining only a part and not the
whole.
TYPES OF SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
 PROBABILITY SAMPLING
• It is based on the theory of probability.
• It involve random selection of the
elements/members of the population.
• In this, every subject in a population has equal
chance to be selected as sample for a study.
• In probability sampling techniques, the
chances of systematic bias is relatively less
because subjects are randomly selected.
 SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING
• This is the most pure & basic probability sampling design.
• In this type of sampling design, every member of
population has an equal chance of being selected as
subject.
• The entire process of sampling is done in a single step,
with each subject selected independently of the other
members of the population
• There is need of two essential prerequisites to implement
the simple random technique: population must be
homogeneous & researcher must have list of the
elements/members of the accessible population.
• The first step of the simple random sampling
technique is to identify the accessible
population & prepare a list of all the
elements/members of the population.
• The list of the subjects in population is called as
sampling frame & sample drawn from sampling
frame by using following methods:
• The lottery method • The use of table of
random numbers • The use of computer
 Lottery method
• It is most primitive & mechanical method.
• Each member of the population is assigned a
unique number.
• Each number is placed in a box mixed
thoroughly.
• The blind-folded researcher then picks
numbered tags from the box.
• All the individuals bearing the numbers picked
by the researcher are the subjects for the study.
 The use of table of Random Numbers
•  This is most commonly & accurately used method in simple
random sampling.
• Random table present several numbers in rows & columns.
• Researcher initially prepare a numbered list of the members
of the population, & then with a blindfold chooses a number
from the random table.
• The same procedure is continued until the desired number
of the subject is achieved.
• If repeatedly similar numbers are encountered, they are
ignored & next numbers are considered until desired
numbers of the subject are achieved
 The use of computers
•  Nowadays random tables may be generated
from the computer , & subjects may be
selected as described in the use of random
table.
• For populations with a small number of
members, it is advisable to use the first
method, but if the population has many
members, a computer-aided random selection
is preferred. 
Merits
 • Ease of assembling the sample
• Fair way of selecting a sample
• Require minimum knowledge about the population in advance
• It unbiased probability method
• Free from sampling errors 

Demerits
• It required a complete & up-to-date list of all the members of the
population.
• Does not make use of knowledge about a population which researchers may
already have.
• Lots of procedure need to be done before sampling
• Expensive & time-consuming 
 Stratified Random Sampling 
• This method is used for heterogeneous population.
• It is a probability sampling technique wherein the
researcher divides the entire population into
different homogeneous subgroups or strata, & then
randomly selects the final subjects proportionally
from the different strata.
• The strata are divided according selected traits of the
population such as age, gender, religion, socio-
economic status, education, geographical region etc. 
Merits
• It represents all groups in a population
• For observing relation between subgroup
• Observe smallest & most inaccessible subgroups in
population
• Higher statistical precision
Demerits
• It requires accurate information on the proportion of
population in each stratum.
• Possibility of faulty classification 
 Systematic Random Sampling
 • It can be likened to an arithmetic progression, wherein the
difference between any two consecutive numbers is the
same.
• It involves the selection of every Kth case from list of group,
such as every 10th person on a patient list or every 100th
person from a phone directory.
• Systematic sampling is sometimes used to sample every Kth
person entering a bookstore, or passing down the street or
leaving a hospital & so forth
• Systematic sampling can be applied so that an essentially
random sample is drawn.
• If we had a list of subjects or sampling frame, the
following procedure could be adopted.
The desired sample size is established at some number (n)
& the size of population must know or estimated (N).
• K = N/n or K= Number of subjects in target Size of
sample
• For example, a researcher wants to choose about 100
subjects from a total target population of 500 people.
Therefore, 500/100=5. Therefore, every 5th person will
be selected.
 Merits
• Convenient & simple to carry out.
• Distribution of sample is spread evenly over the entire
given population.
Demerit
• If first subject is not randomly selected, then it becomes a
nonrandom sampling technique
• Sometimes this may result in biased sample.
• If sampling frame has non random, this sampling technique
may not be appropriate to select a representative sample. 
 Cluster Sampling
• We divide population into non-overlapping area of cluster.
• Clusters are internally heterogeneous.
• Cluster contains wide range of elements and is a good
representative of population.
• Clusters are easy to obtain and focus of study remains to
cluster instead of the entire population
EXAMPLE: In a survey of students from a city, we first select
a sample of schools, then we select a sample of
classrooms within the selected schools, and finally we
select a sample of students within the selected classes.
Merits
• In real life, it is only available option for
sampling, because of unavailability of sample
frame.
Demerits
• Statistically inefficient, in cases where
elements of the cluster are similar or
homogenous.
 Multi-stage Sampling
• Selection of units in more than one stage.
• Population consists of primary stage units and each primary
stage units consists of secondary stage units
• Then from each selected sampling unit, a sample of
population elements is drawn by either simple random
selection or stratified random sampling.
• This method is used in cases where the population elements
are scattered over a wide area, & it is impossible to obtain a
list of all the elements.
• The important thing to remember about this sampling
technique to collect sample from each lowest stage.
Geographical units are the most commonly used ones
in research. For example, a researcher wants to
survey 200 households from India.
• He may select 29 states for primary sampling unit.
• During 2nd stage, 50 districts from these 29 states.
• In 3rd stage, 100 cities from all 50 districts.
• Then in 4th and final stage, 2 household from each
city. Thus, he will get all 200 households for study. 
 Non –Probability Sampling
• Non-probability sampling is defined as a sampling
technique in which the researcher selects samples based
on the subjective judgment of the researcher rather than
random selection.
• Non-probability sampling is a sampling method in which
not all members of the population have an equal chance
of participating in the study, unlike probability sampling. 
• Researchers use this method in studies where it is
impossible to draw random probability sampling due to
time or cost considerations.
 Convenience Sampling
• Convenience sampling is a non-probability sampling technique where
samples are selected from the population only because they are conveniently
available to the researcher.

• Researchers choose these samples just because they are easy to recruit, and
the researcher did not consider selecting a sample that represents the entire
population.

• Ideally, in research, it is good to test a sample that represents the population.

But, in some research, the population is too large to examine and consider
the entire population.
• It is one of the reasons why researchers rely on convenience sampling, which
is the most common non-probability sampling method, because of its speed,
cost-effectiveness, and ease of availability of the sample.
 Quota Sampling
• Hypothetically consider, a researcher wants to study
the career goals of male and female employees in
an organization. There are 500 employees in the
organization, also known as the population. To
understand better about a population, the
researcher will need only a sample, not the entire
population. Further, the researcher is interested in
particular strata within the population. Here is
where quota sampling helps in dividing the
population into strata or groups.
• The difference between quota sampling and
stratified sampling is: although both "group"
participants by an important
characteristic, stratified sampling relies on
random selection within each group,
while quota sampling relies on
convenience sampling within each group.
 Judgmental or purposive sampling
• In the judgmental sampling method, researchers select
the samples based purely on the researcher’s
knowledge and credibility.
• In other words, researchers choose only those people
who they deem fit to participate in the research study.
•  Judgmental or purposive sampling is not a scientific
method of sampling, and the downside to this sampling
technique is that the preconceived notions of a
researcher can influence the results. Thus, this research
technique involves a high amount of ambiguity.
 Snowball sampling
• Snowball sampling helps researchers find a
sample when they are difficult to locate.
Researchers use this technique when the
sample size is small and not easily available.
This sampling system works like the referral
program. Once the researchers find suitable
subjects, he asks them for assistance to seek
similar subjects to form a considerably good
size sample.
 Non-probability sampling examples

• An example of .................. sampling would be using

student volunteers known to the researcher. Researchers
can send the survey to students belonging to a particular
school, college, or university, and act as a sample.
• In an organization, for studying the career goals of 500
employees, technically, the sample selected should have
proportionate numbers of males and females. Which
means there should be 250 males and 250 females. Since
this is unlikely, the researcher selects the groups or strata
using ...............sampling.
• Researchers also use this .................. to
conduct research involving a particular illness
in patients or a rare disease. Researchers can
seek help from subjects to refer to other
subjects suffering from the same ailment to
form a subjective sample to carry out the
study.
 When to use non-probability sampling?

• Use this type of sampling to indicate if a particular

trait or characteristic exists in a population.
• Researchers widely use the non-probability
sampling method when they aim at conducting
qualitative research, pilot studies, or exploratory
research.
• Researchers use it when they have limited time to
conduct research or have budget constraints.
• When the researcher needs to observe
whether a particular issue needs in-depth
analysis, he applies this method.
• Use it when you do not intend to generate
results that will generalize the entire
population.
 Advantages of non-probability sampling

• Non-probability sampling techniques are a more

conducive and practical method for researchers deploying
surveys in the real world. Although statisticians prefer
probability sampling because it yields data in the form of
numbers, however, if done correctly, it can produce similar
if not the same quality of results.
• Getting responses using non-probability sampling is faster
and more cost-effective than probability sampling because
the sample is known to the researcher. The respondents
respond quickly as compared to people randomly selected
as they have a high motivation level to participate.
Difference between non-probability
sampling and probability sampling:
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