LESSON: SAMPLING METHODS your study, this selected category is your

sampling frame.
SAMPLING
• If the data you collect really are the same
as you would get from the rest, then you
can draw conclusions from those answers
which you can relate to the whole group.
• This process of selecting just a small
group of cases from out of a large group is
called sampling.

The need to sample

Sampling - a valid alternative to a census
when;
• A survey of the entire population is Populations can have the following
impracticable characteristics:
• Budget constraints restrict data collection
• Time constraints restrict data collection
• Results from data collection are needed
quickly

When doing a survey, the question

inevitably arises:
• how representative is the sample of the
whole population, in other words;
• how similar are characteristics of the small
group of cases that are chosen for the SAMPLING METHODS
survey to those of all of the cases in the ✓ Probability sampling techniques give
whole group? the most reliable representation of the
whole population.
POPULATION IN RESEARCH ✓ Non-probability techniques, relying on
• It does not necessarily mean a number of the judgment of the researcher or on
people, it is a collective term used to accident, cannot generally be used to make
describe the total quantity of things (or generalizations about the whole population.
cases) of the type which are the subject of
your study. PROBABILITY SAMPLING
• So a population can consist of certain • It is a sampling technique in which sample
types of objects, organizations, people or from a larger population are chosen using a
even events. method based on the theory of probability.
• For a participant to be considered as a
SAMPLING FRAME probability sample, he/she must be selected
Within this population, there will probably be using a random selection.
only certain groups that will be of interest to • The most important requirement of
probability sampling is that everyone in your
population has a known and an equal
chance of getting selected.
• Probability sampling uses statistical theory
to select randomly, a small group of people
(sample) from an existing large population
and then predict that all their responses
together will match the overall population.

Types of Probability Sampling

Four main techniques used for a
probability sample:
• Simple random
• Stratified random
• Cluster CLUSTER RANDOM SAMPLING
• Systematic It is a way to randomly select participants
when they are geographically spread out.
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING Cluster sampling usually analyzes a
As the name suggests is a completely particular population in which the sample
random method of selecting the sample. consists of more than a few elements, for
This sampling method is as easy as example, city, family, university etc. The
assigning numbers to the individuals clusters are then selected by dividing the
(sample) and then randomly choosing from greater population into various smaller
those numbers through an automated sections.
process.

STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING

linvolves a method where a larger
population can be divided into smaller
groups, that usually don't overlap but
represent the entire population together.
While sampling these groups can be
organized and then draw a sample from
each group separately. A common method
is to arrange or classify by sex, age,
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
ethnicity and similar ways.
It is when you choose every "nth"
individual to be a part of the sample. For
example, you can choose every 5th person
to be in the sample. Systematic sampling is
an extended implementation of the same
old probability technique in which each
member of the group is selected at regular
periods to form a sample. There's an equal
opportunity for every member of a
population to be selected using this draw conclusive results that can help an
sampling technique. organization make informed decisions

Types of Non-probability Sampling QUOTA SAMPLING

Four main techniques used for a • Selection of members in this sampling
non-probability technique happens on basis of a pre-set
sample: standard. In this case, as a sample is
• Convenience formed on basis of specific attributes, the
• Judgemental created sample will have the same
• Snowball attributes that are found in the total
• Quota population. It is an extremely quick method
of collecting samples.
CONVENIENCE SAMPLING • Quota sampling is therefore a type of
• It is a non-probability sampling technique stratified sample in which selection of cases
used to create sample as per ease of within strata is entirely non-random.
access, readiness to be a part of the
sample, availability at a given time slot or
any other practical specifications of a
particular element.
• Convenience sampling involves selecting
haphazardly those cases that are easiest
to obtain for your sample, such as the
person interviewed at random in a shopping
center for a television program.

JUDGMENTAL SAMPLING
• In the judgmental sampling, also called
purposive sampling, the sample members
are chosen only on the basis of the
researcher's knowledge and judgment.
• It enables you to select cases that will best
enable you to answer your research
question(s) and to meet your objectives.

SNOWBALL SAMPLING
• Snowball sampling method is purely based
on referrals and that is how a researcher is
able to generate a sample. Therefore this
method is also called the chain-referral
sampling method.
• This sampling technique can go on and
on, just like a snowball increasing in size (in
this case the sample size) till the time a
researcher has enough data to analyze, to