 It is critical to the success of the research

project to clearly define the target

population.

 Rely on logic and judgment.

 The population should be defined in

connection with the objectives of the study.
 An element is an object on which a measurement
is taken.

 A population is a collection of elements about

which we wish to make an inference.

 Sampling units are nonoverlapping collections of

elements from the population that cover the
entire population.
 A sampling frame is a list of sampling units.

 A sample is a collection of sampling units drawn

from a sampling frame.

 Parameter: numerical characteristic of a

population

 Statistic: numerical characteristic of a sample

 The deviation between an estimate from an
ideal sample and the true population value is
the sampling error.

 Almost always, the sampling frame does not

match up perfectly with the target
population, leading to errors of coverage.
 Nonresponse is probably the most serious of
these errors.
◦ Arises in three ways:

 Inability of the person responding to come up

with the answer
 Refusal to answer
 Inability to contact the sampled elements
 These errors can be classified as due to the
interviewer, respondent, instrument, or
method of data collection.
 Interviewers have a direct and dramatic effect on
the way a person responds to a question.
◦ Most people tend to side with the view apparently
favored by the interviewer, especially if they are neutral.
◦ Friendly interviewers are more successful.
◦ In general, interviewers of the same gender, racial, and
ethnic groups as those being interviewed are slightly
more successful.
 Respondents differ greatly in motivation to
answer correctly and in ability to do so.
 Obtaining an honest response to sensitive
questions is difficult.
 Basic errors
◦ Recall bias: simply does not remember
◦ Prestige bias: exaggerates to ‘look’ better
◦ Intentional deception: lying
◦ Incorrect measurement: does not understand the units
or definition
 A census study occurs if the entire population
is very small or it is reasonable to include the
entire population (for other reasons).

 It is called a census sample because data is

gathered on every member of the population.
 The population of interest is usually too
large to attempt to survey all of its
members.

 A carefully chosen sample can be used

to represent the population.
◦ The sample reflects the characteristics of the
population from which it is drawn.
 Probability Samples: each member of the
population has a known non-zero
probability of being selected
◦ Methods include random sampling, systematic
sampling, and stratified sampling.

 Nonprobability Samples: members are

selected from the population in some
nonrandom manner
◦ Methods include convenience sampling, judgment
sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling
Random sampling is the purest form of probability
sampling.
 Each member of the population has an equal and known
chance of being selected.
 When there are very large populations, it is often ‘difficult’
to identify every member of the population, so the pool of
available subjects becomes biased.
◦ You can use software, such as minitab to generate random
numbers or to draw directly from the columns
 Systematic sampling is often used instead of
random sampling. It is also called an Nth name
selection technique.
 After the required sample size has been
calculated, every Nth record is selected from a
list of population members.
 As long as the list does not contain any hidden
order, this sampling method is as good as the
random sampling method.
 Its only advantage over the random sampling
technique is simplicity (and possibly cost
effectiveness).
 Stratified sampling is commonly used probability
method that is superior to random sampling
because it reduces sampling error.
 A stratum is a subset of the population that share
at least one common characteristic; such as males
and females.
◦ Identify relevant stratums and their actual
representation in the population.

◦ Random sampling is then used to select a sufficient

number of subjects from each stratum.

◦ Stratified sampling is often used when one or more of

the stratums in the population have a low incidence
relative to the other stratums.
 Cluster Sample: a probability sample in which
each sampling unit is a collection of elements.
 Effective under the following conditions:
◦ A good sampling frame is not available or costly, while a
frame listing clusters is easily obtained
◦ The cost of obtaining observations increases as the
distance separating the elements increases

 Examples of clusters:
◦ City blocks – political or geographical
◦ Housing units – college students
◦ Hospitals – illnesses
◦ Automobile – set of four tires
 Convenience sampling is used in exploratory
research where the researcher is interested in
getting an inexpensive approximation.

 The sample is selected because they are

convenient.

 It is a nonprobability method.
◦ Often used during preliminary research efforts to get an
estimate without incurring the cost or time required to
select a random sample
 Judgment sampling is a common
nonprobability method.

 The sample is selected based upon

judgment.
◦ an extension of convenience sampling

 When using this method, the researcher

must be confident that the chosen sample
is truly representative of the entire
population.
 Quota sampling is the nonprobability equivalent of
stratified sampling.

◦ First identify the stratums and their proportions

as they are represented in the population

◦ Then convenience or judgment sampling is used

to select the required number of subjects from
each stratum.
 Snowball sampling is a special nonprobability
method used when the desired sample
characteristic is rare.
 It may be extremely difficult or cost prohibitive
to locate respondents in these situations.
 This technique relies on referrals from initial
subjects to generate additional subjects.
 It lowers search costs; however, it introduces bias
because the technique itself reduces the
likelihood that the sample will represent a good
cross section from the population.
 The more heterogeneous a population is, the
larger the sample needs to be.

 Depends on topic – frequently it occurs?

 For probability sampling, the larger the sample

size, the better.

 With nonprobability samples, not generalizable

regardless – still consider stability of results
 About 20 – 30% usually return a questionnaire
 Follow up techniques could bring it up to about
50%
 Still, response rates under 60 – 70% challenge the
integrity of the random sample
 How the survey is distributed can affect the
quality of sampling