Statistics as Applied to Education 4|Page

II. Sampling Procedures

In sampling, only a relatively small number of respondents or experimental units will be
involved, thus, it is commonly used in practice. We examine some of the advantages for doing so.

Advantages of Sampling

1. It entails lesser cost, lesser effort and it is less time consuming.

a. Since the size of the sample is small compared to the population, the time, cost and
effort involved on a sample study are much less than the study done on population. For
population, huge fund is required because of the resources to be used which may include
more manpower and materials.
b. It will also take a much shorter period of time to gather data from a sample than from a
population. Thus, sampling can lead to more well-timed results as well.

2. It is less cumbersome and more practical to administer.

It is easier to handle and manage and not as much burden in your part if you take only
data from a smaller number of respondents.

3. Some experiments are destructive so it is not possible to involve the whole population.
For example, a car manufacturer might want to test the durability of cars being produced.
Obviously, each car could not be crash-tested to determine its durability or else the company has
nothing to sell anymore. To overcome this problem, samples are taken from populations, and
estimates are made about the total population based on information derived from the sample.

Sampling also has disadvantages, the biggest of which is that the sample may not truly reflect
the characteristic of the population and this would lead to wrong conclusions. Hence, care must
be taken in choosing a sample. Also, a sample must be large enough to give a good
representation of the population, but small enough to be manageable.

Types of Sampling Procedures

The method of drawing a sample has a big impact on the validity and reliability of the results of
the study. It can also influence on the kind of inferences that can be made for the population.
Samples can either be drawn randomly (and it is called probability or random sampling) or by
non-random procedures.

A. Probability Sampling or Random Sampling

In probability sampling, each element has a known probability of selection, and a chance method
such as “draw lots” or using numbers from a random number table is used in selecting the
specific units to be included in the sample.

(1) Simple Random Sampling (SRS)

This is the simplest form of random sampling where every subset of size n of the
population has an equal chance of being selected.
A simple random sample can be done using the “fishbowl” method, “draw lots” method
or using random numbers. In drawing a simple random sample, the researcher is in effect mixing
up the units in the population before a sample of n units is selected.

 Steps in Simple Random Sampling (SRS):

(1) Assign a number to each element of the population using the numbers from 1 to N.
(2) Select n numbers from 1 to N using random process like fishbowl method or draw
Statistics as Applied to Education 5|Page

lots, or you can use random numbers which can be generated by a scientific calculator,
or you can use table of random numbers (see Appendix A).

Steps in obtaining a random number from a scientific calculator: (NOTE: This can be used
for a population less than 1000 since most scientific calculators produce only random
numbers with 3 decimal places.)
i. Press INV or Shift then press Ran#. Then a number between 0 and 1 with three
decimal places will appear. (NOTE: You have different results with your classmates.
And every time you press these buttons, a different number will appear.)
ii. Multiply this random number with the population size and round it off to a whole
number. The result corresponds to the number of an element in the list.
iii. Repeat (i) and (ii) until you get the desired sample size with distinct elements.

Examples:
(a) Each name in a telephone book could be numbered sequentially. If the sample size is to
include 1,000 people, then 1,000 numbers could be randomly generated by computer or numbers
could be picked out using a random process, for instance, draw lots. These numbers could then
be matched to names in the telephone book, thereby providing a list of 1,000 people. (Note: We
cannot use scientific calculator for generating the random numbers because the population is
greater than 1,000.)
(b) Choose a random sample of five (5) students from the following 30 students using the
random number of your calculator.
Suzette Audrey Jamilah Chad Mary
Marielle Charmie Cris Dawn Saliha
Norjehan Edon Johairy Rose Khert
Christian Eliezer Geneveve San Endera
Emil Jan Amsari Yhenz Yhan
Melai April Carima Annabelle Elma

A disadvantage of simple random sampling is that we can never be assured that all
sectors or groups are represented in the sample. For instance, in Example (b) above, there is a
possibility that all elements drawn will be girls or all will be boys.
To avoid the above mentioned possibility, we need to contemplate and employ other
sampling procedures that can lead to more representative sample in which the sample units are
spread evenly over the entire population. This sampling procedure is called systematic random
sampling.

(2) Systematic Random Sampling

This is also called interval sampling. It means that there is a gap or interval between each
selection. Researchers obtain systematic samples by numbering each subject of the population
and then selecting every kth element in the population where the first unit is chosen at random.
 Steps in taking a Systematic Random Sample:
(1) Assign a number to each element of the population using the numbers from 1 to N.
(2) Determine the sampling interval k:
k = N/n, where N= population size and n= sample size
NOTE:
If k is not a whole number, then it is rounded to the nearest whole number. For
example, suppose N = 400 and n =15 then k = 400/15 is equal to 26.67. That is, 26.67 is
rounded-off to nearest whole number 27.
(3) Select a random start r where 1< r < k. The sample will include the rth element,
(r+k) , (r +2k)th, (r +3k)th and so on until you reach the desired sample size.
th
Statistics as Applied to Education 6|Page

Examples:
(a) If a systematic sample of 6 students were to be selected in a class with an enrolled population
of 48, the sampling interval would be:
k = N/n =48 / 6 = 8
All students would be assigned sequential numbers. The starting point would be chosen
by selecting a random number between 1 and 8. If this number is 5, then the sample will consist
of ( rth=5th) element which is the 5th student, (r+k = 5 +8)thelement which is the 13th student, (r
+2k = 5 +2(8))th element which is the 21st student, (r +3k = 5 +3(8))th which is the 29th
student,(r +4k = 5 +4(8))th which is the 37th student until (r +5k = 5 +5(8))th which is the 45th
student.

(b) In a population of 1200 individuals, choose a systematic random sample of size 9.

Solution:
k = N/n = 1200/ 9 = 133.33 and since it is not a whole number, we need to round it off to nearest
whole number, that is 133. Since k =133, we have r = 1, 2, 3,…, or 133. If we choose r =3, the
sample points will be the 3rd person, the 136th person, the 269th person, the 402nd person, the
535th person, the 668th person, the 801st person, the 934th person until the 1067th person.

NOTE: The list from which the systematic sample is drawn should be examined that it must
not have a periodic pattern because it could possibly result to a biased sample.

For example, if our list is the monthly sales from 2005 to 2008 arranged in chronological order
then there are 48 months to choose from. If we select a random sample of 12 then k = 48/12 = 4.
If we start choosing from the 3rd element, then the next elements will be 7th, 11th, 15th, 19th, 23rd,
27th, 31st, 35th, 39th, 43rd and 47th. This would correspond to the sales of March 2005, July 2005,
November 2005, March 2006, July 2006, November 2006, March 2007and so on, and the last
element is November 2008. This sample is biased since it only represents the months of March,
July and November.

In this case with periodic pattern, the appropriate sampling procedure to use is Simple Random
Sampling or SRS, since the result does not yield periodic pattern. Like for example if you use
fishbowl or draw lots or random numbers, maybe the first element is March 2005 then July 2006
and so on until you get the desired sample size.

After stating the real danger in systematic random sampling when choosing a sampling interval
that corresponds to periodicity, we will study another sampling procedure. This sampling
procedure may be much more efficient than simple random sampling by carrying out through
dividing the population into homogeneous subpopulations and then selecting a simple random
sample from each subpopulation. This sampling procedure is called stratified random sampling.

(3) Stratified Random Sampling

In this sampling procedure, the population of N units is first divided into homogeneous
subpopulations called strata (homogeneous with respect to the characteristics of interest) and
then a sample is drawn from each stratum. This type of sampling assures that all groups or strata
are represented in the sample. Some stratification variables commonly used by the Social
Weather Station (SWS) survey are location, age and sex. Other stratification may be religion,
academic ability or marital status.

 Steps in taking a Stratified Random Sample:

(1) Classify the population into at least two homogeneous strata. The basis for
classification must be closely related to the variable of interest. Suppose we are
Statistics as Applied to Education 7|Page

interested to determine the students’ opinion on the tuition fee increase, it may be
logical to subdivide the population of students by income of parents, college, or by year
level, or by tribe or a combination of these.
(2) Draw a sample from each stratum by simple or systematic random sampling.

How many shall we take from each stratum? The most commonly used formula is
proportional allocation. In proportional allocation, the number of units to be taken from each
stratum is proportional to the size of the subpopulation; that is, between two strata of different
sizes, a bigger sample will be taken from the bigger stratum.

Proportional Allocation. If the size N of the population is divided into k homogeneous

subpopulations or strata of sizes N1, N2, …, Nk, then the sample size to be taken from each
stratum i is obtained using the formula
N 
ni   i   n for i  1, 2, , k
N
NOTE: If ni is not a whole number, then it is rounded-off to the nearest whole number.

Example:
(a) The manager of a girls’ dormitory wants to learn how the students feel about the dorm’s
services. The students were classified according to the following scheme:
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER OF
STUDENTS
Freshmen 220
Sophomore 195
Junior 163
Senior 150
If we use proportional allocation to select stratified random sample of size n = 40, how
large a sample must be taken from each stratum?
Solution:
Since n = 40 and N= 220 + 195 + 163 + 150 = 728, then

N   220  N   163 
n1   1   n     40  12.088  12 n3   3   n     40  8.956  9
N   728   N   728 

N   195 
n2   2   n     40  10.714  11 n4  40  12  11  9  8
 N   728 

(b) In an election survey in Makati City, registered voters are classified according to the
following scheme:
Economic Status Number of People
A (Upper Class or Rich People) 725
B (Middle Class) 3489
C (Lower Class or Poor People) 2146
If one uses proportional allocation to select a stratified random sample of size n=345,
how large a sample must be taken from each stratum?
Solution:
Since n =345 and N= 725 + 3489 +2146 = 6360, then
N   725 
n1   1   n     345  39.328  39
N   6360 
N   3489 
n2   2   n     345  189.262  189 , n3  345  39  189  117
 N   6360 
Statistics as Applied to Education 8|Page

The advantage of stratified sampling is not only on the assurance that all strata are
represented but it can also lead to better estimates of the population parameters compared to
Simple Random Sampling.

In many statistical studies, we reduce the cost involved in sampling and so over simple
random sampling by randomly selecting groups of elements from a population and then sampling
some or all of the elements within the selected group. This sampling procedure is usually used
when the population is widely distributed geographically or may occur in natural clusters such as
households or schools or business establishments. If the population is the set of workers of
NGOs (non-government organizations) in the Philippines, it is much cheaper to sample NGOs
and interview every worker in the selected NGOs than to interview a Simple Random Sample
(SRS) of NGO workers because with SRS, you might need to travel to an NGO office just to
interview one worker. Thus, it is usually cheaper to sample in clusters than by SRS or stratified.
This sampling procedure is known to be cluster sampling.

(3) Cluster Sampling

Cluster sampling assumes that the population is naturally separated by groups or clusters.
A number of clusters are selected randomly and then all or parts of the units within the selected
clusters are included in the sample. No units from the non-selected clusters are included in the
sample. It differs from stratified sampling, because in the latter, sample units are selected from
every group.
You may be able to save much resource in cluster sampling compared to SRS or
Stratified Random Sampling, but cluster sampling leads to less precise estimates. This is because
when we sample each unit in a cluster, we would expect to get similar information which may be
different from other clusters not selected.

 Steps in taking Cluster Sampling:

(1) Divide the population area into clusters.
(2) Select randomly a few of these clusters.
(3) Choose all the elements from the clusters selected or select only a portion of it.

Examples:
(a) Suppose the population of a study is residents of a condominium in a large city. If there are
10 condominium buildings in this city, the researcher can select two buildings randomly from the
10 and interview all (or a subsample) of the residents from these buildings.

(b) Suppose an organization wishes to find out which sports senior students are participating in
the Philippines. It would be too costly and would take too long to survey every student, or even
some students from every school. Instead, 100 schools are randomly selected from all over the
Philippines. These schools are considered to be clusters. Then every senior student in these 100
schools is surveyed. In effect, students in the sample of 100 schools represent all Senior students
in the Philippines.

The advantages of Cluster sampling are: reduced costs; simplification of the fieldwork
and more convenient administration. Instead of having a sample scattered over the entire
coverage area, the sample is more localized in relatively few centers. However, it often gives less
accurate results due to higher sampling error than for simple random sampling with the same
sample size. In the above example, you might expect to get more accurate estimates from
randomly selecting students across all schools than from randomly selecting 100 schools and
taking every student in those chosen schools.
Statistics as Applied to Education 9|Page

Exercises 2

I. Classify each sampling procedure as simple random sampling, systematic, stratified, or cluster.

(1) In a large school district, all teachers from two buildings are interviewed to determine
whether they believe the students have less homework to do now than in previous years.

(2) Nursing supervisors are selected using random numbers in order to determine average annual
salaries.

(3) Every hundredth hamburger manufactured is checked to determine its fat content.

(4) Mail carriers of a large city are divided into four groups according to gender (male or female)
and according to whether they walk or ride on their routes. Then 10 are selectedfrom each group
and interviewed to determine whether they have been bitten by a dog in the last year.

(5) There are 2000 subjects in the population and a sample of 50 is needed. So, every 40th subject
is selected at random.

(6) A city’s telephone book lists 100,000 people. Suppose the telephone book is the frame for a
study, Suzette wants to interview every 200th person.

II. Answer as indicated.

(1) A population of 70 cities is numbered from 1 to 70. Select a systematic random sample of 15
cities. Choose your own starting sample point.

(2) Pulse Asia is conducting an Exit Poll on the recently concluded National Election. A certain
barangay has been considered for the survey. Of the 150 households (numbered 1 to 150) in the
said barangay only 10 are to be included in the survey.
(a) Use systematic random sampling to select the 10 households using your selected random
start.
(b) Use the method of simple random sampling to choose the 10 households.

(3) At a university, students are classified according to the following scheme:

HOUSING TYPE NUMBER OF STUDENTS

Campus dormitory 2100
Lodging house 720
Private residence 680

Use proportional allocation to determine how many students should be taken from each
classification if a stratified random sample of size 200 is to be chosen.

B. Non-probability Sampling
It is one in which individuals or items are chosen in a manner that does not involve
random selection process. This is usually used when the size of the population is either unknown
or cannot be individually identified. Here, personal preferences are applied. Because chance is
not used to select items, the techniques are called non- probability techniques and are not
desirable for use in gathering data to be analyzed by the methods of statistical inference because
the reliability of the measures cannot be determined objectively.
Statistics as Applied to Education 10 | P a g e

(1) Convenience Sampling

The elements in convenience sampling are selected for convenience of the researcher.
Usually the researcher chooses those that are readily available, nearby, or willing to participate.
The result of such study usually leads to less varied observations than the population because in
many environments the extreme elements of the population are not readily available.

Examples:
(a) A convenience sample of homes for door-to-door interviews might include houses where
people are at home, houses with no dogs, houses near the street, first-floor apartments, and
houses with friendly people.
(b) If the research firm is located in a mall, a convenience sample might be selected by
interviewing only shoppers who pass the shop and look friendly.

(2) Quota Sampling

Quota Sampling appears to be similar to stratified random sampling in which certain
population subclasses, such as age group, gender, or geographic region, are used as strata.
However, instead of using random sampling from each stratum, the researcher uses a nonrandom
sampling method to gather data from one stratum until the desired quota of samples is filled. It is
often filled by using available, recent, or applicable elements. It is less expensive than most of
the random sampling techniques because it essentially is a technique of convenience and also has
a speed of data gathering in which the researcher does not have to call back or send out a second
questionnaire if he does not receive a response rather he just moves on the next element.

Examples:
(a) Instead of randomly interviewing people to obtain a quota of Italian Americans, the
researcher would go to the Italian area of the city and interview there until enough responses are
obtained to fill the quota.
(b) Suppose the researcher wants to stratify the population into owners of different types of
cars but fails to find any lists of Toyota van owners. Through quota sampling, the researcher
would proceed by interviewing all car owners and casting out non-Toyota van owners until the
quota of Toyota van owners is filled.

(3) Judgment or PurposiveSampling

The elements selected for the sample are chosen by the judgment of the researcher.
Researchers often believe they can obtain a representative sample by using sound judgment or
purposely choose as to who can provide the best information to achieve the objectives of the
study which will result in saving time and money. The researcher only goes to people who in
his/her opinion are likely to have the required information and are willing to share it. This is
important when you want to construct a historical reality, describe a phenomenon or develop
something about which only a little is known.

Example:
A student conducted a study on the history of CNSM. To get proper information, he interviewed
past deans, chairmen and pioneering faculty and staff of the college.

(4) Snowball Sampling

The survey subjects of snowball sampling are selected based on referral from other
survey respondents or selecting a sample using networks. The researcher identifies a person who
fits the profile of subjects for the study and that person who is being selected by researcher
become a part of the sample. The researcher then asks this person for the names and locations of
others who would also fit the profile of subjects for the study. This process is continued until the
Statistics as Applied to Education 11 | P a g e

required number in terms of the information being sought, has been reached. Through these
referrals, survey subjects can be identified cheaply and efficiently, which is particularly useful
when survey subjects are difficult to locate. This sampling technique is useful if you know little
about the group or organization you wish to study, as you only need to make contact with a few
individuals, who can then direct you to the other members of the group.

Example:
A researcher wanted to study the factors why some students occasionally use prohibited
drugs. He intended to get 50 students, but he only knew 5 students who used it. By getting the
cooperation of these 5 students, he was referred to other drug users, who in turn also provide
additional contacts. In this way, he was able to get sufficient number of students he needed.

NOTE: Probability samples can be further analyzed using methods in statistical inference but
this is not valid for non- probability samples.

Exercises 3
Determine what type of non-random sampling procedure is used in the following:

(1) A researcher wanted to study about the participation of Meranao female students in sports. To
get a sample of 50 students, he went to every college and asked female students whether they are
Meranao or not. If they are, then they are asked to participate in the study by answering the
questionnaire.

(2) A researcher wanted to study about the sufficiency of the facilities of the CNSM library for
the needs of the CNSM students in their CNSM subjects. He planned to get a sample of 100
students. Due to time constraint and difficulty of getting a random sample, he decided to get his
sample during the CNSM orientation. From there he asked 100 students to participate in his
study.

(3) A researcher wanted to understand the attitudes of the minority managers toward system for
assessing management performance. To get the proper information, theyinterviewed the
managers who are members of minority group that work in the medium-scale to large-scale firms.

(4) A sociologist conducted a study about the opinions of employed adult women about
government funding for day care. She went around an area knocking on doors during weekend
when women are likely to be at home. She asked to speak to the woman of the house. Her first
question was about whether the woman is employed or not. Interview was conducted if the
respondent is employed.

(5) Manufacturers and advertising agencies wanted to know about the habits of consumers and
the effectiveness of ads. They needed to interview a sample of 1,000 consumers. To get the
required sample, they went to some shopping malls and interviewed consumers until they
obtained the required number of consumers.

(6) Suzanne wanted to know how to manage a good quality business. In order for her to have
better information for her study, she interviewed different managers on different business
stations.

(7) Physical Education students wanted to know about the different views on the good effect on
health in having Physical Education 4. In order for them to get information on 100 students, they
stand in the grandstand and ask each of the students there if they had their Physical Education 4
Statistics as Applied to Education 12 | P a g e

in the previous semester. Then if there is, they ask again that student regarding his or her views
on having Physical Education 4.

(8) Emil needs to have information about the history of his place. He interviewed his ancestors
and also the past officials in their place in order for him to get the information he wanted.

(9) A company marketing wants to test a new personal computer. They need to interview 50
users. In order for them to get the desired number of users, they went to different internet cafés.
They interviewed those people who look friendly.

Reference
American Council of Learned Societies. Biographical Dictionary of Mathematicians.
Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1991.

Carl B. Boyer. A History of Mathematics. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1968.

Joseph Dauben. Georg Cantor, His Mathematics and Philosophy of the Infinite. Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1979.

Howard Eves. An Introduction to the History of Mathematics. Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
New York, 1976.

G. H. Hardy and E. M. Wright. An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers. Oxford

University Press, London, fourth edition, 1960.

William Judson LeVeque. Topics in Number Theory. Addison–Wesley, Reading, MA, 1956.

Alexander Macfarlane. Lectures on Ten British Mathematicians of the Nineteenth Century.

John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1916.