Sampling techniques

Question 1

What are sampling techniques?

Answer 1

Sampling techniques refer to how participants are recruited

Question 2

What is the population?

Answer 2

The group of people who are the focus of the researcher’s interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn

Question 3

What is the target population?

Answer 3

The target population is a subset of the general population

Question 4

What is a sample?

Answer 4

A group of people who take part in research investigation

Question 5

How many sampling techniques are there, name them?

(RSSOV)

Answer 5

There are five sampling techniques:

1. Random sampling
2. Systematic sampling
3. Stratified sampling
4. Opportunity sampling
5. Volunteer sampling/ Self selected samples

Question 6

What is random sampling?

Answer 6

A random sample is one where all members of the target population have an equal chance pf being selected

Question 7

What is a strength of the sampling technique - random sampling?

(no researcher bias - researcher has no influence - selection - no choosing people to favour their hypothesis)

Answer 7

A random sample is free from researcher bias. the researcher has no influence over who is selected and this prevent them from choosing people who they think may support their hypothesis

Question 8

What is a limitation of the sampling technique - random sampling?

(difficult + time consuming - hard to get complete list of target pop - sample may still be unrep)

Answer 8

Random sampling is difficult and time consuming method of sampling. It is difficult to get a complete list of the target population and even if it is obtained, the sample may still end being unrepresentative.

Question 9

What is systematic sampling?

Answer 9

A systematic sample is when every nth member of the target population is selected.

Question 10

What is a sampling frame?

Answer 10

A sampling frame is a list of people in the target population organised into groups, for example alphabetical order

Question 11

What is a strength of the systematic sampling?

(no researcher bias - once system formed - researcher cannot tamper)

Answer 11

This sampling methods avoids researcher bias. Once the system for selection has been established the researcher has no influence over who is chosen

Question 12

What is a limitation of systematic sampling?

(time consuming - system form + agreed upon, lead to time loss + unplanned costs)

Answer 12

Systematic sampling can be time consuming, as it requires a system to be put into place and agreed upon. Leading to time lost and possibly unplanned expenses

Question 13

What is a stratified sample?

(spec. groups - appear - proportionally to size in target pop. - within strata - ppts selected randomly)

Answer 13

A stratified sample is a sample selected so that specified groups will appear in numbers proportional to their size in the target population, within each subgroup (strata) participants are selected on a random basis

Question 14

What is a strength of stratified sampling?

(stratification - representative samples, designed to reflect - comp of pop, means finding = generalisable )

Answer 14

Stratification tends to produce representative samples. This is because they are designed to accurately reflect the composition of the population. This means that generalisation of findings become possible

Question 15

What is a limitation of stratified sampling?

(unavailable knowledge of pop - time to acquire - limit understanding of pop - result in unrep. sample )

Answer 15

Stratified samples requires detailed knowledge of a population which may not be available, and would take time to acquire. This would result in a limited view of the population and ultimately an unrepresentative sample

Question 16

What is opportunity sampling?

Answer 16

A sample obtained when the researcher selects any individual who happens to be willing and available

Question 16

What is a strength of opportunity sampling?

(convenience, time and money saved > other sampling tech)

Answer 16

Opportunity sampling is a convenient technique. This method saves the researcher a time and effort. Additionally it is much less costly in terms of time and money compared to other sampling techniques, like random sampling

Question 17

What is a limitation of opportunity sampling?

(researcher bias - researcher - complete control of ppts - results favour his hypothesis, sample = unrep. of target pop - drawn from specific area - findings not generalisable)

Answer 17

Opportunity sampling tends to suffer from research bias. The researcher has complete control over the selection of participants, which may lead to results which favour their hypothesis. Additionally, the sample tends to be unrepresentative of the target population as it is drawn from a very specific area, so findings cannot be generalised.

Question 18

What is volunteer sampling?

Answer 18

Samples where participants select themselves to be part of the sample, referred to self selection

Question 19

What is a strength of volunteer sampling?

(easiest samples - minimal input of researcher - less effort + time)

Answer 19

Volunteer samples are one of the easier forms of sampling. It requires minimal input from the researcher and so is less time consuming than other forms of sampling

Question 20

What is a limitation of volunteer sampling?

(volunteer bias - attract certain demo/profile - findings - hard to generalise)

Answer 20

Volunteer bias is created from volunteer sampling. Asking volunteers may attract a certain demographic/”profile”. As a results any findings may be harder to generalise to wider population.