populations, samples and sampling techniques

Question 1

target population

Answer 1

the group of people the researcher is interested in studying

Question 2

sampling method

Answer 2

the different ways in which researchers can obtain a sample of people from within the target population to take part in their study

Question 3

sample

Answer 3

the actual group of participants used in the research

Question 4

ways to obtain samples of participants

Answer 4

• self-selecting
• opportunity
• random
• snowball

Question 5

self-selecting sampling technique

Answer 5

This is when people volunteer to take part in the study.
- Often adverts, posters or leaflets will be distributed which contain details about the research and contact details for participants to use if they wish to take part

Question 6

pros of self-selecting sampling technique

Answer 6

• Not biased.
• likely to get committed ppt.
• Quick/Easy and time effective for the researcher.
• Cheap.

Question 7

cons of self-selecting sampling technique

Answer 7

• Unrepresentative so potentially biased and not generalisable.

Question 8

opportunity sampling technique

Answer 8

A sample of participants produced by selecting those who are most readily available at a given time and place selected by the researcher

Question 9

pros of opportunity sampling technique

Answer 9

• Quick/Easy and time effective for the researcher.
• Cheap.
• High ecological validity.
• Reliable.

Question 10

cons of opportunity sampling technique

Answer 10

• Unrepresentative so potentially biased and not generalisable.

Question 11

random sampling technique

Answer 11

A technique in which each member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected.
For example, by placing all the names of a given population into a hat, and selecting the required number of names from it at random.

Question 12

pros of random sampling technique

Answer 12

representative, as many groups are represented.

Question 13

cons of random sampling technique

Answer 13

No control.
Can sometimes be biased and hard to ensure that the target population is represented.

Question 14

snowball sampling technique

Answer 14

when participants are asked to contact their friends and family to ask them to also take part in the research

Question 15

pros of snowball sampling technique

Answer 15

• Time effective.
• Cheap.
• Can be representative, if targeting the right people to start with.

Question 16

cons of snowball sampling technique

Answer 16

Hard to ensure representation and differences between ppt.

Question 17

stratified sampling technique

Answer 17

The population is divided into subgroups (strata) based on a specific feature, and participants are selected from each strata in a manner proportional to the population.

Question 18

pros of stratified sampling technique

Answer 18

representative

Question 19

cons of stratified sampling technique

Answer 19

• Hard to represent all sub-groups, as they must be known and accessible to be included.
• Time consuming.

Question 20

size of sample

Answer 20

• small sample will be easy to manage (on a practical level) but it may mean they don’t have sufficient results to be able to confirm that they have observed a consistent effect that would be true of their target population in general
• large sample may enable the psychologist to claim that their results suggest a consistent (reliable) effect, but on a practical level the sample may be harder to manage