RANDOM SAMPLING METHODS

Materials compiled and presented

by:

Jessa Quiño Escarpe

Arturo Cardenas Cabintoy, Jr.

 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
Stratified random sampling is also
called proportional random sampling or
quota random sampling.
 Advantage of Stratified Random
Sampling

The main advantage of stratified sampling

is that it captures key population characteristics in
the sample. Similar to a weighted average, this
method of sampling produces characteristics in
the sample that are proportional to the overall
population. Stratified sampling works well for
populations with a variety of attributes, but is
otherwise ineffective if subgroups cannot be
formed.
 Disadvantage of Stratified
Random Sampling

Its disadvantage is that it is
unusable when researchers cannot
confidently classify every member of the
population into a subgroup.
 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.
 When to Use Stratified
Random Sampling
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.
 When to Use Stratified
Random Sampling
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.
 When to Use Stratified
Random Sampling
 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 GWA of college students across the Philippines. 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 GWAs 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.
 Examples of Stratified
Random Sampling
Assume the team researches the demographics of college students
in the Philippines 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.

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
Philippines. The researchers can then highlight specific stratum, observe
the varying studies of Philippine college students and observe the varying
general weighted 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.
 Advantage of Cluster
Sampling
This sampling technique is cheap,
quick and easy. Instead of sampling an
entire country when using simple
random sampling, the researcher can
allocate his limited resources to the few
randomly selected clusters or areas when
using cluster samples.
 Disadvantage of Cluster
Sampling
From all the different type of probability
sampling, this technique is the least
representative of the population. The tendency
of individuals within a cluster is to have
similar characteristics and with a cluster
sample, there is a chance that the researcher
can have an overrepresented or
underrepresented cluster which can skew the
results of the study.
 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.
 When to Use Cluster Sampling

Constructing a complete list of population

elements is difficult, costly, or impossible.
 When to Use 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.
 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 the
country.
 Examples of Cluster Sampling

1. He can divide the entire population into different

clusters.

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, 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.
 Examples of Cluster Sampling

The important thing to remember about

this sampling technique is to give all the
clusters equal chances of being selected.
 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.
Advantage of Systematic Sampling

The main advantage of using

systematic sampling over simple random
sampling is its simplicity. It allows the
researcher to add a degree of system or
process into the random selection of
subjects.
 Disadvantage of Systematic
Sampling

The process of selection can interact

with a hidden periodic trait within the
population. If the sampling technique
coincides with the periodicity of the trait,
the sampling technique will no longer be
random and representativeness of the
sample is compromised.
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.
When to Use Systematic Sampling

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.
When to Use Systematic Sampling

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.
Advantage of Multistage Sampling

The main purpose of the creation and

present-day use of multi-stage sampling is to
avoid the problems of randomly sampling
from a population that is larger than the
researcher's resources can handle. Multi-stage
sampling gives researchers with limited funds
and time a method to sample from such
populations.
 Disadvantage of Multistage
Sampling

Due to the fact that multi-stage sampling cuts

out portions of the population from the study, the
study's findings can never be 100% representative of
the population. Even though the theory of multi-
stage sampling is to focus on the within-group
variance and de-emphasize the between-group
variance (which should be minimized), there is no
way to know if the demographics cut from the study
could have provided any useful information to the
researchers.
 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.
Let’s say you wanted to find out which
subjects Filipino school children preferred. A
population list — a list of all Filipino
schoolchildren– would be near-impossible to
come by.
 Examples of Multistage Sampling

 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.