Sampling Methods

Defining the Target Population

 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.
Technical Terminology
 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.
Technical Terms
 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
Errors of nonobservation
 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.
Errors of nonobservation
 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
Errors of observation
 These errors can be classified as
due to the interviewer, respondent,
instrument, or method of data
collection.
Interviewers
 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
 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
Census Sample
 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.
 Sampling

 A sample is “a smaller (but hopefully representative)

collection of units from a population used to
determine truths about that population” .

 Why sample?

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 Why sample?
 Cost in terms of money, time and manpower
 Accessibility
 Utility e.g. to do diagnostic laboratory test you don’t
draw the whole of patient’s blood.
A census is a sample consisting of the entire population.
Even though a census is not full proof, it gives detailed
information about every small area of the population.
It has the following disadvantages:
 Expensive
 Takes a long time
 Cumbersome & therefore inaccurately done ( a careful sample produces
a more accurate data than a census.)

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 Sampling…..
 Sampling is the process of selecting a representative sample
from populations.
 It Selecting cases (elements)—or locating people (or other units of analysis)
—from a target population in order to study the population.

sampling
Sample
Inference
Population

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 Cont’d
 The process of obtaining information from a subset (sample) of a larger
group (population)
 The results for the sample are then used to make estimates of the larger
group
 Faster and cheaper than asking the entire population
 Two keys
1. Selecting the right people
 Have to be selected scientifically so that they are representative of the population
2. Selecting the right number of the right people
 To minimize sampling errors I.e. choosing the wrong people by chance

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 Population Vs. Sample
Population of Interest

Population Sample

Sample
Parameter
Statistic

We measure the sample using statistics in order to draw

inferences about the population and its parameters.

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 Characteristics of Good Samples
o Representation
 Sample surveys are almost never conducted for the
purposes of describing the particular sample under study.
Rather they are conducted for purposes of understanding
the larger population from which the sample was initially
selected
A great deal of work has been done over the years in
developing sampling methods that provide representative
samples for the general population.
E.g. international survey programs such as the DHS series,
EPI coverage surveys have perfected the art of household
sampling.

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 Characteristics of Good Samples

 3 factors that influence sample representativeness

 Sampling procedure
 Sample size
 Participation (response)

 When might you sample the entire population?

 When your population is very small
 When you have extensive resources
 When you don’t expect a very high response
o Accessible
o Low cost

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 Basic Terms

 population (also called source population or target

population): is a group of individuals persons, objects, or items
from which samples are taken for measurement.

 It refers to the entire group of individuals or objects to

which researchers are interested in generalizing the
conclusions.

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Basic term cont’d….

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 Basic Terms cont’d…
 Census: Obtained by collecting information about each
member of a population. Studying the whole population and
requires a great deals of time, money and energy.

 Sample survey: study sample and draw conclusions about

populations. It is cheaper in terms of cost, practical &
convenient in terms of technicalities, saves time & energy.

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 Basic Terms cont’d…

 Sampling Frame: is the list of people from which the

sample is taken. It is the list from which the potential
respondents are drawn.

It should be comprehensive, complete and up-to-date.

Examples of sampling frame: Electoral Register; Postcode
Address File; telephone book and so on.
 Probability samples: With probability sampling methods, each
population element has a known (non-zero) chance of being
chosen for the sample.

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 Basic term cont’d….

 Non-probability samples: With non-probability sampling

methods, we do not know the probability that each
population element will be chosen, and/or we cannot be
sure that each population element has a non-zero chance of
being chosen
 Sampling unit - the unit of selection in the sampling
process
 Study unit (study subjects)- the unit on which
information is collected or on which observations are
made. E.g. Familiar examples are families, towns, litters,
branches of a company, individual subjects or schools.

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 Basic term cont’d….

• The sampling unit is not necessarily the same as the study

unit.
• If the objective is to determine the availability of latrine,

• then the study unit would be the household;

• If the objective is to determine the prevalence of trachoma,

then the study unit would be the individual.
Sampling fraction (Sampling interval) - the ratio of the
number of units in the sample to the number of units in the
reference population (N/n)

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 Hierarchy of sampling

Study subjects
The actual participants in the study
Sample
Subjects who are selected
Sampling Frame
The list of potential subjects from which the sample is drawn
Source population
he Population from whom the study subjects would be obtain
Target population
The population to whom the results would be applied

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Why sample?
 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 versus Nonprobability
 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
 Types of Sampling Methods

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Probability Samples

Samples
Simple Stratified
Random
Quota
Judgemental
Systematic Cluster

Convenience
Multistage Random
Sampling

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Probability Sampling
Random 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
 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).
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING……
As described, systematic sampling is an EPS method,
because all elements have the same probability of
selection (in the example given, one in ten). It is not
'simple random sampling' because different subsets of
the same size have different selection probabilities -
e.g. the set {4,14,24,...,994} has a one-in-ten
probability of selection, but the set {4,13,24,34,...} has
zero probability of selection.

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 Stratified Sampling
 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.
STRATIFIED SAMPLING…….

Draw a sample from each

stratum

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 Cluster Sampling
 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
 Steps in cluster sampling are:
 Define the population
 Determine the desired sample size
 Identify and define a logical cluster (can be kebele, Got, residence,
and so on)
 Make a list of all clusters in the population
 Estimate the average number of population number per cluster
 Determine the number of clusters needed by dividing the sample size
by the estimated size of the cluster
 Randomly select the required number of clusters (using table of
random number as the total number of clusters is manageable)
 Include in the sample all population in the selected cluster.

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Consider the following graphical display:

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 Multistage Random Sampling

This is the most complex sampling strategy.

The researcher combines simpler sampling methods to address sampling needs
in the most effective way of possible.
Example 1,
 The administrator might begin with a cluster sample of all schools in the

district.
 Then he might set up a stratified sampling process within clusters.

 Within schools, the administrator could conduct a simple random sample of

classes or grades.
 By combining various methods, researchers achieve a rich variety of results
useful in different contexts.

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Non-Probability Sampling
Convenience Sampling
 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
Judgmental Sampling
 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
 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
 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.
Sample Size?
 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
Response Rates
 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