unit 3 - Data, Sampling, research & hypothesis Flashcards
What is a target population
The group of people from whom the sample is drawn from.
Why do we obtain a sample
Because the target population is too large
Why should a sample be carefully selected
Because it needs to be representative
What is qualitative data
Words, descriptions, colours, observations.
No numbers
What is quantitative
Uses quantities, values or counts
What is an example of qualitative research
Interviews
Focus groups
Observations
What are examples of quantitative
Closed questionnaires
Laboratory experiments
Epidemiological (medicine)
Positives of using interviews of focus groups
-collects detailed information from a small amount of people
-produces rich and insightful information
-great for asking why or how questions
Negatives of using interviews and focus groups
-requires a lot of time for data collection
-results in a lot of data which is time consuming to analyse
-small volume of people
Advantages of observations
Good for finding out peoples behaviour
Disadvantages of observations
-need to be approached with awateness because people being observed may change how they act
-does not investigate views
Advantages of surveys
-great for retrieving factual data from “what” questions
-can be completed anonymously, so are good for
investigating sensitive subjects that people may not want
to talk about
-offer a relatively quick way of gathering data from a lot of
people at once
-provide data that is fairly easy to categorise and analyse
-use mainly closed questions, with responses as scale
Disadvantages of surveys
-aren’t good for getting answers to open questions, as
people may not want to write much
-are of limited help in understanding more complex
issues
-aren’t suitable for getting information from very
young children
What are the types of sampling
Random
•Systematic
•Stratified
•Snowball
•Opportunity
•Self-selected
What do you need to take into account when analysing
The ability to recruit suitable participants in your study
*representative
What is sampling
The ability to recruit suitable participants in your study
*representative
If your sample is representative, what can you do with your results
Generalise them to the wider population
What is random sampling
Numbering each individual in a population and then using a random generator to select the sample
Systematic
Numbering each individual
1,2,3 and then selecting one category
What is stratified sampling
Classify the whole population into categories, then choose a sample that is in the same
proportion as the population
What is snowball sampling
One person gets 2 people, they get 2 more people, they each get 2 more people and so on
What is opportunity sampling
Uses people from target population available at the time and
willing to take part. It is based on convenience.
What is self selected sampling
People volunteering to become part for to advertising
What is the main thing you should take into account when choosing sampling method
It must eliminate bias without discrimination
