Sampling

.
What is sampling?
Sampling involves the selection of a number of
study units from a defined study population.
The population is too large for us to consider
collecting information from all its members.
Instead we select a sample of individuals hoping
that the sample is representative of the population.
When taking a sample, we will be
confronted with the following
questions

a) What is the group of people from which

we want to draw a sample?
b) How many people do we need in our
sample?
c) How will these people be selected?
Definitions

Target population (reference

population):
Is that population about which an
investigator wishes to draw a conclusion
Simple Random Sampling (SRS)

This is the most basic scheme of

random sampling. To select a simple
random sample you need to: Make
a numbered list of all the units in
the population from which you want
to draw a sample.
Each unit on the list should be
numbered in sequence from 1 to N
(Where N is the Size of the population).
Decide on the size of the sample
Select the required number of sampling
units, using a “lottery” method or a
table of random numbers.
Systematic Sampling

Individuals are chosen at regular intervals

(for example, every 5th, 10th, etc.) from

the sampling frame. Ideally we randomly

select a number to tell us where to start

selecting individuals from the list. For

example, a systematic sample is to be

selected from 1000 students of a school.

The sample size is decided to be 100.
The sampling fraction is: 100/1000 = 1/10.
The number of the first student to be
included in the sample is chosen randomly
by picking one out of the first ten pieces of
paper, numbered 1 to 10.
 If number 5 is picked, every tenth
student will be included in the
sample, starting with student number
5, until 100 students are selected.
Students with the following numbers
will be included in the sample: 5,15,
25, 35,45, . . . , 985, 995.
4. Stratified sampling:
If it is important that the sample
includes representative
groups of study units with
specific characteristics (for
example, residents from
urban and rural areas), then the
sampling frame must be divided
into groups, or strata
, according to these characteristics.
Random or systematic samples of a
predetermined size will then have to
be obtained from each group
(stratum). This is called stratified
sampling.
Cluster sampling
When a list of groupings of study
units is available (e.g. villages, etc.)
or can be easily compiled, a number
of these groupings can be randomly
selected.
The selection of groups of study
units (clusters)
Cluster sampling, instead of the
selection of study units individually is
called cluster sampling. Clusters are
often geographic units (e.g. districts,
villages) or organizational units (e.g.
clinics).