Sampling
Chapter Seven
Who Will You Study?
Identifying the Unit of Analysis
• Unit of analysis is the level (e.g. individual, family, school, school
district) at which the data will be gathered.
• There may be different units of analysis
• One for the dependent variable
• One for the independent variable
Population and Sample
• A population is a group of individuals that comprise
the same characteristics
• A sample is a sub-group of the target population that
the researcher plans to study for the purpose of
making generalizations about the target population.
• Samples are only estimates
• The difference between the sample estimate and the true
population is the “sampling error.”
What is a Sample?
• Sampling is the process of selecting a number of
individuals from a population, preferably in a way
that the individuals are representative of the larger
group from which they were selected.
• A sample is any group on which information is
obtained.
Populations and Samples
Target
Population
Sample Sample
-All teachers in high schools in one city -All high school biology teachers
-All students in all colleges -Students in one college
-Professors in colleges of education -Professors in 5 colleges of
education in South Florida
Defining the Population
• A population refers to all the members of a particular group.
• The first task in selecting a sample is to define the population of interest.
• In Educational Research, the population of interest is a group of persons who
possess certain characteristics.
• A target population is the actual population that the researcher would like to
generalize.
• Considered rarely available
• The accessible population would be the group that is available (realistic
choice)
Probability and Non-Probability Sampling
• Probability sampling(or Random Sampling) is the
selection of individuals from the population so that
each individual will have an equal chance of being
selected. (Normally will result in a representative sample of the
population)
• Non-probability (or non- Random) sampling is the
selection of participants because they are available,
convenient, or represent some characteristic the
investigator wants to study.
Types of Quantitative Sampling
Quantitative Sampling Strategies
Probability Sampling Non-Probability Sampling
Simple Stratified Multi-Stage Convenience Snowball
Random Sampling Cluster Sampling Sampling
Sampling Sampling
Random Sampling Methods
Types of Probability Samples
• Simple Random: selecting a sample from the population so all in the
population have an equal and independent chance of being selected
• Cluster Random Sampling: the selection of groups or clusters of
subjects, rather than individuals. The selection process is similar to
simple random, except groups rather than individuals are selected.
Types of Probability Samples
• Multi-Stage Cluster Sampling: a sample chosen in
one or two stages because the population is not
easily identified or is large
• Stratified sampling: stratifying the population on a
characteristic (e.g. gender) then sampling from each
stratum, in the same proportion as they exist in the
population.
Proportional Stratification Sampling
Approach
Population
(N=9000)
Boys
.66 of pop. 200
N=6000
Girls
.33 of pop 100
N=3000
Sample = 300
Types of Non-Probability Samples
• Convenience Sampling: participants are selected
because they are willing and available to be studied
• Snowball Sampling: the researcher asks
participants to identify other participants to become
members of the sample.
• Systematic: choosing every “nth” individual or site
in the population until the desired sample size is
achieved
Two Main Types of Sampling
• Sampling may be either random or non-random
• Random sampling is a method of selecting subjects
from a population by chance, so that biases do not
alter the sample.
• The 4 most common ways of obtaining this type of
sample are:
• Simple Random Sampling
• Stratified Random Sampling
• Cluster Sampling
• Two-Stage Random Sampling
Simple Random Sampling
• A Simple Random Sampling is a sample selected from a population in such a manner that
all members have an equal chance of being selected
• If the sample is large, it is the best method to obtain a sample representative of the
population from which it has been selected
• The larger the sample, the more likely to be representative
• Any differences that occur are the result of chance rather than bias on the part of the
researcher
• Disadvantages of this method are: 1) the difficulty of performing the sampling and, 2) this
method does not ensure that subgroups are present in the sampling in the same
proportion as they are in a population
Stratified Random Sampling
• A Stratified Random Sampling is a sample selected so that certain characteristics
are represented in the sample in the same proportion as they occur in the
population
• The term strata refers to sub-groups
• The advantage of stratified random sampling is that it increases the likelihood of
representation, especially if the sample size is small
• It virtually ensures that any key characteristics of individuals in the population are
included in the same proportions in the sample size
• The disadvantage is that it requires still more effort on the part of the researcher
Selecting a Stratified Sample
Cluster Random Sampling
• A Cluster Random Sampling is a sample obtained by using groups as the sampling unit
(cluster), rather than individuals
• There are instances where it is not possible to select a sample of individuals from a population
• This is considered more effective with large numbers of clusters
• Advantages include more efficient and easier to implement in schools
• Its disadvantage is that there is a great chance of selecting a sample that is not representative
of the population
Two-Stage Random Sampling
• This method selects groups randomly and then
chooses individuals randomly from these groups.
• This becomes a combination of a cluster random
sampling with individual random sampling.
• Considered less time consuming but allows for a
good representation of the groups at random.
Nonrandom Sampling Methods
• There are 3 main types of nonrandom sampling methods used in Educational
Research
• A Systematic Sample is a sample obtained by selecting every nth name in a
population
• A Convenience Sample is any group of individuals that is conveniently available
to be studied
• Are not considered representative of the population and should be avoided, if possible
• A Purposive Sample is a sample selected because the individuals have special
qualifications of some sort, or because of prior evidence of representation
• Personal judgment is used for selection purposes
• A major disadvantage is that the researcher’s judgment could be in error
Nonrandom Sampling Method
Sample Size
• The question remains as to what constitutes an
adequate sample size.
• Samples should be as large as a researcher can obtain
with a reasonable expenditure of time, money and
energy.
• The recommended minimum number of subjects are as
follows for the following types of studies:
• 100 for a Descriptive Study
• 50 for a Correlational Study
• 30 in each group for Experimental and Causal-
Comparative Study
Sample Sizes (S) Required for Given Population Sizes (N)
Population (N) Sample (S) % of Population
10 10 100.00%
50 44 88.00%
100 80 80.00%
150 108 72.00%
200 132 66.00%
300 169 56.33%
500 217 43.40%
800 260 32.50%
1,000 278 27.80%
1,500 306 20.40%
2,000 322 16.10%
3,000 341 11.37%
5,000 357 7.14%
10,000 370 3.70%
30,000 379 1.26%
40,000 380 0.95%
100,000 384 0.38%
External Validity, a.k.a.
Generalizability
• The whole notion of science is built on generalizing.
• External Validity refers to the extent that the results of a
study can be generalized from a sample to a population.
• Population generalizability is the degree to which a
sample represents the population of interest.
• Obtaining a representative sample becomes very important
• Ecological generalizability refers to the extent to which
the results of a study can be generalized to conditions or
settings other than those that prevailed in the study.
Population as Opposed to Ecological Generalizing
