Lesson 5: The logic of sampling

But neither pollsters nor other social researchers can observe everything that might be
relevant to their interests. A critical part of social research, then, is deciding what to observe
and what not. If you want to study voters, for example, which voters should you study? The
process of selecting observations is called sampling.

When to sample

If we want to have the most accurate information about a large population with the least
expenses and time consumption.
If it is impossible (eg. infinite) or it is too expensive or time consuming to observe the total
population.

Two types of sampling

NONPROBABILITY SAMPLING
- The probablity of selection is not the same for all members of the population.
- It is not possible to draw conclusions about the total population based on
mathematical, statistical methods.
- Often used in smaller-scale surveys.

Any technique in which samples are selected in some way not suggested by probability
theory. Examples include reliance on available subjects as well as purposive (judgmental),
snowball, and quota sampling.

PROBABILITY SAMPLING
- The probability of selection is the same for all members of the population.
- It is possible to draw conclusions about the total population based on mathematical,
statistical methods.
- Often used in large-scale surveys.

Nonprobability sampling

1. Reliance on Available Subjects

Relying on available subjects, such as stopping people at a street corner or some
other location, is sometimes called “convenience” or “haphazard” sampling. Th is is a
common method for journalists in their “person-on-the-street” interviews, but it is
an extremely risky sampling method for social research.
-Extremely risky sampling method for social research
-No any control of representativeness, be cautious with generalization!
-Alert readers to the risks associated with this method!
-Useful for pretesting a questionnaire.
2. Purposive or Judgmental Sampling
The researcher selects the sample based on knowledge on the population and the
aim of the research.
 Although the study findings would not represent any meaningful population, the test
run might effectively uncover any peculiar defects in your questionnaire. This
situation would be considered a pretest, however, rather than a final study.
-Useful for making pretests, rather that a final study.
-Often used for observing deviant cases - cases that do not fit into patterns of
mainstream attitudes of the population.
3. Snowball Sampling
Another nonprobability-sampling technique, which some consider to be a form of
accidental sampling, is called snowball sampling. This procedure is appropriate when
the members of a special population are difficult to locate, such as homeless
individuals, migrant workers, or undocumented immigrants. In snowball sampling,
the researcher collects data on the few members of the target population he or she
can locate, then asks those individuals to provid the information needed to locate
other members of that population whom they happen to know. “Snowball” refers to
the process of accumulation as each located subject suggests other subjects.
Because this procedure also results in samples with questionable
representativeness, it’s used primarily for exploratory purposes.
A nonprobability-sampling method, often employed in fi eld research, whereby each
person interviewed may be asked to suggest additional people for interviewing.
4. Quota Sampling
Addresses the issue of representativeness.
Process:
1. begins with a matrix, or table, describing the characteristics of the target
population (gender, age, education etc. distibution)
2. collect data from people having all the characteristics of a given cell
3. assign weights to all the people in a given cell appropriate to their portion of the
total population (Once you’ve created such a matrix and assigned a relative
proportion to each cell in the matrix, you proceed to collect data from people having
all the characteristics of a given cell. You then assign to all the people in a given cell a
weight appropriate to their portion of the total population. When all the sample
elements are so weighted, the overall data should provide a reasonable
representation of the total population)
5. Selecting Informants
When field research involves the researcher’s attempt to understand some social
setting— a juvenile gang or local neighborhood, for example—much of that
understanding will come from collaboration with some members of the group being
studied. Whereas social researchers speak of respondents as people who provide
information about themselves, allowing the researcher to construct a composite
picture of the group those respondents represent, an informant is a member of the
group who can talk directly about the group per se.
Informant: Someone who is well experiences in the phenomenon that you wish to
study and who is willing to tell you what he or she knows about it.
Usually, you’ll want to select informants who are somewhat typical of the groups
you’re studying.
Probability sampling
The fundamental idea behind probability sampling is this: In order to provide useful
descriptions of the total population, a sample of individuals from a population must contain
essentially the same variations that exist in the population.
A sample is representative of the population from which it is selected if the aggregate
characteristics of the sample closely approximate those same aggregate characteristics in
the population. If, for example, the population contains 50 percent women, then a sample
must contain “close to” 50 percent women to be representative.

1. Simple Random Sampling

A type of probability sampling in which the units composing a population are
assigned numbers. A set of random numbers is then generated, and the units having
those numbers are included in the sample.
As noted, simple random sampling is the basic sampling method assumed in the
statistical computations of social research. Because the mathematics of random
sampling are especially complex, we’ll detour around them in favor of describing the
ways of employing this method in the field.
A Simple Random Sample. Having numbered everyone in the population, we can
use a table of random numbers to select a representative sample from the overall
population. Anyone whose number is chosen from the table is in the sample.
2. Systematic Sampling
In systematic sampling, every kth element in the total list is chosen (systematically)
for inclusion in the sample.
A type of probability sampling in which every kth unit in a list is selected for inclusion
in the sample—for example, every 25th student in the college directory of students.
You compute k by dividing the size of the population by the desired sample size; k is
called the sampling interval. Within certain constraints, systematic sampling is A
functional equivalent of simple random sampling and usually easier to do. Typically,
the first unit is selected at random.
3. Stratified Sampling
Stratification is not an alternative to these methods; rather, it represents a possible
modification of their use. Simple random sampling and systematic sampling bot
ensure a degree of representativeness and permit an estimate of the error present.
Stratified sampling is a method for obtaining a greater degree of representativeness
by decreasing the probable sampling error.
Stratification - The grouping of the units composing a population into homogeneous
groups (or strata) before sampling. This procedure, which may be used in
conjunction with simple random, systematic, or cluster sampling, improves the
representativeness of a sample, at least in terms of the variables used for
stratification.
A Stratified, Systematic Sample with a Random Start - A stratified, systematic
sample involves two stages. First the members of the population are gathered into
homogeneous strata; this simple example merely uses sex as a stratification
variable, but more could be used. Then every kth (in this case, every tenth) person
in the stratified arrangement is selected into the sample.
 4. Multistage cluster sampling
Cluster sampling A multistage sampling in which natural groups (clusters) are
sampled initially, with the members of each selected group being subsampled
afterward. For example, you might select a sample of U.S. colleges and universities
from a directory, get lists of the students at all the selected schools, then draw
samples of students from each.

Defining strata
-Stratified sample: A probability sample in which population units are partitioned into strata,
and then a probability sample of units is taken from each stratum.
-Strata: subgroups of the population (subgroups of interest to the investigator)
-Stratification is most efficient when the strata means differ widely. The variability within
strata will be smaller.
-We try to find some variable closely related to the independent variable.
-Eg.: estimating total business expenditures on advertising, we might stratify by number of
employees or size of the business and by the type of product or service. For farm income,
we might use the size of the farm as a stratifying variable, since we expect that larger farms
would have higher incomes.

Multistage cluster sampling

Multistage Cluster Sampling. In multistage cluster sampling, we begin by selecting a sample
of the clusters (in this case, city blocks). Then, we make a list of the elements (households,
in this case) and select a sample of elements from each of the selected clusters.

Sampling error
Sampling error occurs because we do not observe the total population.
Sampling error can be lowered by:
•Increasing the sample size
•Choosing appropriate sampling method

Lesson 6: Experiments

Topics appropriate for experiment

Experiments are more appropriate for some topics and research purposes than others.
Experiments are especially well suited to research projects involving relatively limited and
well-defined concepts and propositions. In terms of the traditional image of science,
discussed earlier in this book, the experimental model is especially appropriate for
hypothesis testing. Because experiments focus on determining causation, they’re also
better suited to explanatory than to descriptive purposes.

A classical experiment
In both the natural and the social sciences, the most conventional type of experiment
involves three major pairs of components: (1) independent and dependent variables, (2)
pretesting and posttesting, and (3) experimental and control groups.
*pretesting - The measurement of a dependent variable among subjects before they are
exposed to a stimulus representing an independent variable.
*posttesting - The remeasurement of a dependent variable among subjects after they’ve
been exposed to a stimulus representing an independent variable.

Laboratory experiments seldom, if ever, involve only the observation of an experimental

group to which a stimulus has been administered. In addition, the researchers observe a
control group, which does not receive the experimental stimulus.

Using a control group allows the researcher to detect any eff ects of the experiment itself. If
the posttest shows that the overall level of prejudice exhibited by the control group has
dropped as much as that of the experimental group, then the apparent reduction in
prejudice must be a function of the experiment or of some external factor rather than a
function of the fi lm. If, on the other hand, prejudice is reduced only in the experimental
group, this reduction would seem to be a consequence of exposure to the fi lm, because
that’s the only diff erence between the two groups. Alternatively, if prejudice is reduced in
both groups but to a greater degree in the experimental group than in the control group,
that, too, would be grounds for assuming that the film reduced prejudice.

Diagram of Basic Experimental Design.

The fundamental purpose of an experiment is to isolate the possible effect of an
independent variable (called the stimulus in experiments) on a dependent variable.
Members of the experimental group(s) are exposed to the stimulus and those in the control
group(s) are not.

*experimental group In experimentation, a group of subjects to whom an experimental

stimulus is administered.
* control group In experimentation, a group of subjects to whom no experimental stimulus
is administered and who resemble the experimental group in all other respects. The
comparison of the control group and the experimental group at the end of the experiment
points to the effect of the experimental stimulus.
Validity
Internal Validity: The problem of internal invalidity refers to the possibility that the
conclusions drawn from experimental results may not accurately reflect what has gone on
in the experiment itself. The threat of internal invalidity is present whenever anything other
than the experimental stimulus can affect the dependent variable.

External Validity: Internal invalidity accounts for only some of the complications faced by
experimenters. In addition, there are problems like external invalidity, which relates to the
generalizability of experimental findings to the “real” world. Even if the results of an
experiment provide an accurate gauge of what happened during that experiment, do they
really tell us anything about life in the wilds of society?

External invalidity: Refers to the possibility that conclusions drawn from experimental
results may not be generalizable to the “real” world.
Eg.: would the film for Afro Americans have the same effect on the public if the it were
shown in theaters or on television?

Strengths and weaknesses

Experiments are the primary tool for studying causal relationships. However, like all
research methods, experiments have both strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:
-individual experiments are often rather limited in scope, requiring relatively little time and
money and relatively few subjects,
-we often can replicate a given experiment several times relatively easy, using many
different groups of subjects.

Weaknesses:
-The greatest weakness of laboratory experiments lies in their artificiality. Social processes
that occur in a laboratory setting might not necessarily occur in natural environment
-Validity

Lesson 7: Survey Research

Topics appropriate for survey research

Are:
-If do not have appropriate existing data for our research
-Surveys may be used for descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory purposes
-They are chiefly used in studies that have individual people as units of analysis (although
this method can be used for other units of analysis, such as groups or interactions, some
individual persons must serve as respondents or informants.
-To measure attitudes and orientations in large population
-Demanding public opinion.
*questionnaire - A document containing questions and other types of items designed to
solicit information appropriate for analysis. Questionnaires are used primarily in survey
research but also in experiments, fi eld research, and other modes of observation.

Choose appropiate questions forms

Options available for creating questionnaires include using questions or statements and
choosing open-ended or closed-ended questions.

1. Questions and Statements

Although the term questionnaire suggests a collection of questions, a typical questionnaire
often presents as many statements as questions. Often, the researcher wants to determine
the extent to which respondents hold a particular attitude or perspective. If you can
summarize the attitude in a fairly brief statement, you can present that statement and ask
respondents whether they agree or disagree with it.
Likert scale, a format in which respondents are asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or
strongly disagree, or perhaps strongly approve, approve, and so forth.
Using questions and statements in a given questionnaire gives you more flexibility in the
design of items and can make the questionnaire more interesting as well.

2. Open-Ended and Close-Ended Questions

In the case of closed-ended questions, the respondent is asked to select an answer from
among a list provided by the researcher, and are more easily processed than open-ended
ones, can often be
transferred directly into a computer format.
The construction of closed-ended questions should be guided by two structural
requirements.
First, the response categories should be exhaustive: They should include all the possible
responses that might be expected. Often researchers ensure this by adding a category such
as “Other (Please specify: ________).
Second, the answer categories must be mutually exclusive: The respondent should not feel
compelled to select more than one. (In some cases, you may wish to solicit multiple
anwsers, but these can create difficulties in data processing and analysis later on.)

Open-ended: What washing machine producers do you know? must be coded before
computer analysis
Closed-ended: Which washing machine producers do you know? (Choose from the list!)
more easily processable
•Two structural requirements:
1.Exhaustive: They should include all the possible responses that might be
expected “Other (Please specify: ________).”
2.Mutually exclusive: Only one has to apply to a respondent
Guidelines for asking questions
1. Make Items Clear
It should go without saying that questionnaire items should be clear (be precise, language)
and unambiguous, but the broad proliferation of unclear and ambiguous questions in
surveys makes the point worth emphasizing. Often we can become so deeply involved in the
topic under examination that opinions and perspectives are clear to us but not to our
respondents, many of whom have paid little or no attention to the topic.

2. Avoid Double-Barreled Questions

Frequently, researchers ask respondents for a single answer to a question that actually has
multiple parts. That seems to happen most often when the researcher has personally
identified with a complex question.
As a general rule, whenever the word “and” appears in a question or questionnaire
statement, check whether you’re asking a double-barreled question.

3. Respodents Must Be Competent to Answer

In asking respondents to provide information, you should continually ask yourself whether
they can do so reliably.

*competent - having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully.

4. Respondents Must Be Willing to Answer

Often, we would like to learn things from people that they are unwilling to share with us.

5. Questions Should Be Relevant

Similarly, questions asked in a questionnaire should be relevant to most respondents. When
attitudes are requested on a topic that few respondents have thought about or really care
about, the results are not likely to be useful. Of course, because the respondents might
express attitudes even though they have never given any thought to the issue, researchers
run the risk of being misled.
When you obtain responses to fi ctitious issues, you can disregard those responses. But
when the issue is real, you may have no way of telling which responses genuinely reflect
attitudes and which reflect meaningless answers to an irrelevant question.
Ideally, we would like respondents simply to report that they don’t know, have no opinion,
or are undecided in those instances where that is the case. Unfortunately, however, they
often make up answers.

6. Short Items Are Best

In the interests of being unambiguous and precise and of pointing to the relevance of an
issue, researchers tend to create long and complicated items. That should be avoided.
Respondents are often unwilling to study an item in order to understand it. The respondent
should be able to read an item quickly, understand its intent, and select or provide an
answer without difficulty. In general, assume that respondents will read items quickly and
give quick answers
7. Avoid Negative Items
The appearance of a negation in a questionnaire item paves the way for easy
misinterpretation.
•“The United States should not recognize Cuba,”
•“the following kinds of people should be prohibited from teaching in public schools”
•“Does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that the Nazi extermination of
the Jews never happened?”

8. Avoid Suggestive Questions

•“Don’t you agree with the President of the United States that…”
•“Do you agree or disagree with the recent Supreme Court decision that…”