Notes 2: Sampling Methods
Objectives:
• Explain the importance of representativeness and randomness in sampling.
• Differentiate among different methods of sampling.
Sampling Review
• Recall that a ________________ is a subset of the entire ___________________
• Numbers that describe a sample are referred to as: ____________________
• Numbers that describe a population are referred to as: ____________________
What were some of the problems / biases in the sample results prior to the 1936 Landon-Roosevelt
presidential election?
• A ______________________ sample is a sample in which the relevant characteristics of the sample
members are generally the same as the characteristics of the _____________.
• In order to make claims (or parameters) about the population of interest based on a sample, it is
inherent that the sample is as representative of the population as it can be.
Determine if the following samples are representative of the populations. Why or why not? If they aren’t,
propose a feasible representative sample.
• Elon Dining wants to determine how satisfied all Elon students are with the dining options on
campus. They decide to survey the first 100 students that visit McEwan Dining Hall on a Monday
morning.
• Campus Recreation and Wellness wants to determine how often faculty on campus use the Fitness
Center. Over the course of a week, they count how often faculty members visit the center, and
average the number of visits per faculty member.
• A telephone company wants to estimate the proportion of customers who are satisfied with their
service. They use a computer to generate a list of 200 random phone numbers and call those
people to ask them whether they are satisfied.
Sampling Methods
What are some sampling methods that you have heard of (or are familiar with)?
Sampling methods are often described as either __________________ or _______________________
What do you think this means?
Common probability sampling methods:
Simple Random Sample (SRS) is one where every sample of size n is _________________ to be
chosen. Simple random samples are often chosen using ____________________ generators, so
that any individual in a population has the same probability of being chosen as any other.
o Example: There are 300 employees in a company. The Human Resources Department wants
to draw a SRS of 20 employees to fill out a survey about their jobs. They make a list of all
300 employees and number them 1 to 300. They then use a random number generator to
randomly choose 20 numbers and send the survey to those 20 employees.
• In stratified sampling, the population is divided into groups, called ____________, where the
members of each stratum are similar in some way. Then a __________ is chosen from each strata
to make up the new sample.
• Example. Elon Dining wants to determine the satisfaction rating of all Elon students on
campus. They obtain a list of students separated by year in school (First-Year, Sophomores,
Juniors, and Seniors). They then select 100 random students from each year in school and
send the survey to those 400 students.
• In cluster sampling, first divide the population into groups, or ____________, and select some of
these clusters at random. Then obtain the sample by choosing _______ the members within each
of the selected clusters.
• An IRS researcher investigates false reporting of tip income by waiters and waitresses by
surveying all waiters and waitresses at 20 randomly selected restaurants.
• In a systematic sample the population items are ordered. It is then decided how frequently to
sample an item. Let k represent the sampling frequency. To begin, select a random starting place,
then sample every kth item after that until the desired sample size is chosen.
• Example: At an automobile factory, every 5th car is chosen to undergo a detailed check of
the steering system.
Some common non-probability sampling methods:
• A convenience sample is a sample that is not drawn by a well-defined random method. In some
cases, it is difficult or impossible to draw a sample in a truly random way.
• Example: A construction engineer has just received a shipment of 1000 concrete blocks,
each weighing approximately 50 pounds. The blocks have been delivered in a large pile. The
engineer wants to investigate the crushing strength of the blocks by measuring the strength
of a sample of 10 blocks.
• Why might it be difficult for the engineer to draw a simple random sample of blocks?
Describe a convenience sample he could draw.
Others?
Identify the types of sampling below:
• To check the accuracy of the counts of the U.S. Census, in a certain city, the U.S. Census Bureau
draws a random sample of census districts (roughly equivalent to a city block) and recounts
everyone in the sample districts.
• A public health researcher is designing a study to determine the effect of diet on heart disease. To
be sure that both men and women are well represented, the study comprises a SRS of 100 men and
another SRS of 100 women.
• A college basketball team held a promotion at one of its games in which every 20 th person who
entered the arena won a free basketball.
• A professor surveyed students in her class to obtain data consisting of the number of credit cards
students possess.
Sample vs. Random Sample
• A simple random sample is often the most representative sample, but not always.
• Likewise, a convenience sample is often not very representative, but it can be.
• The representativeness of the sample is really determined after the sample is chosen.
• The term random sample is often used to describe a sample, when the sample hasn’t been chosen
at random at all. Be careful when using this terminology.