Reviewer for Practical Research Non-probability sampling disregards random

selection of subjects. The subjects are chosen based

Sampling – is a word that refers to your method or on their availability or the purpose of the study, in
process of selecting respondents or people to answer some cases, on the sole discretion of the
questions meant to yield data for a research study. researcher. (Edmond 2013)
The bigger group from where you choose the sample is
called population, and sampling frame is the term used Types of Non-Probability Sampling
to mean the list of the members of such population 1. Quota Sampling – you resort the quota
from where you will get the sample. (Paris 2013) sampling when you think you know the
characteristics of the target population very
Probability Sampling or Unbiased Sampling well. In this case, you tend to choose sample
members possessing or indicating the
Probability Sampling involves all members listed in the
characteristics of the target population.
sampling frame representing a certain population
2. Voluntary Sampling – since the subjects you
focused on by your study.
expect to participate in the sample selection are
A sampling error crops up if the selection does not take the ones volunteering to constitute the sample,
place in the way it is planned. Such sampling error is there is no need for you to o any selection
manifested by strong dissimilarity between the sample process.
and the ones listed in the sampling frame. 3. Purposive or Judgemental Sampling – You
choose people whom you are sure could
Types of Probability Sampling correspond to the objectives of your study, like
selecting those with rich experience or interest
1. Simple Random Sampling - is the best type of
in your study.
probability sampling through which you can
4. Availability Sampling – The willingness of a
choose sample from a population. Using a pure-
person as your subject to interact with you
chance selection, you assure every member the
counts a lot in this non-probability sampling
same opportunity to be in the sample
method. If during the data-collection time, you
2. Systematic Sampling – chance and system are
encounter people walking on a school campus,
the ones to determine who should compose the
along corridors, and along the park or
sample. For instance, if you want to have
employees lining up at an office, and these
sample of 150, you may select a set of numbers
people show willingness to respond to your
like 1 to 15, and out of a list of 1,500 students,
questions, then you automatically consider
take every 15th name on the list.
them as your respondents.
3. Stratified Sampling – The group compromising
5. Snowball Sampling – similar to snow expanding
the sample is chosen in a way that such group is
widely or rolling rapidly, this sampling method
liable to subdivision during the data analysis
does not give a specific set of samples. Free to
stage. A study needing group-by-group analysis
obtain data from any group just like snow freely
finds stratified sampling the right probability
expanding and accumulating at a certain place,
sampling to use.
you tend to increase the number of people you
4. Cluster Sampling - makes you isolate a set of
want to form the sample of your study.
persons instead of individual members to serve
as sample members. For example, if you want
OBSERVATION – is a technique of gathering data
to have a sample of 120 out of 1,200 students,
whereby you personally watch, interact, or
you can randomly select three sections with 40
communicate with the subjects of your research. It
students each to constitute the sample.
lets you record what people exactly do and say in
their everyday life.
Non- Probability Sampling
Observation is the central method in qualitative sampling, on the other hand, lets you record
types of research, most especially, ethnography, in people’s responses anytime of the day or week
which you observe the lifestyle of a cultural group. to question their present activities,
Types companions, feelings, and so on.
1. Participant Observation – The observer, who is INTERVIEW – is a data gathering technique that
the researcher, takes part in the activities of the makes you verbally ask the subjects or
individual or group being observed. To record respondents questions to give answers to what
your findings through this type of observation, your research study is trying to look for.
use the diary method or logbook. This first part TYPES
of the diary is called descriptive observation. 1. Structured Interview – is an interview that
This initial part of the record describes the requires the use of an interview schedule
people, places, events, conversation, and other or a list of questions answerable with one
things involved in the activity or object focused and only item from a set of answers, the
on by the research. The second part of the diary responses.
is called the narrative account that gives your 2. Unstructured Interview – the respondents
interpretations or reflections about everything answer the questions based on what they
you observed. personally think and feel about it. There
2. Non-participation or Structured Observation – are no suggested answers.
completely detaches you from the target of 3. Semi-Structured Interview – Here, you
your observation. You just watch and listen to prepare a schedule or a list of questions
them do their own thing, without you that is accompanied by a list of expressions
participating in any of their activities. Recording from where the respondents can pick out
of non-participation observations happened the correct answer. However, after
through the use of a checklist. Others call this choosing one from the suggested answers,
checklist as an observation schedule. the respondents answer another set of
Methods of Observation questions to make them explain the reasons
1. Direct Observation – makes you see or listen to behind their choices.
everything that happens in the area of Approaches
observation. 1. Individual Interview – only one respondent is
2. Indirect Observation – is also called behaviour interviewed here. The reason behind this one-
archaeology because, here, you observe traces on-one interview is the lack of trust the
or past events to get information or a measure interviewees have among themselves.
of behaviour, trait, or quality of your subject. 2. Group Interview – you ask the question not
Methods of Indirect Observation to one person, but to a group of people at the
1. Continuous Monitoring or CM – you observe to same time. The group members take turns in
evaluate the way people deal with one another. answering the question.
2. Spot Sampling – For continuous or 3. Mediated Interview – No face-to-face
uninterrupted focus on the subjects, you record interview is true for this interview approach
your observations through spot sampling in an because this takes place through electronic
oral manner, not in a written way. communication devices such as telephones,
Named also as scan sampling or time sampling, mobile phones, email, among other.
spot sampling comes in two types: time
allocation (TA) and experience sampling. In TA It is a synchronous mediated interview if you
sampling, what goes into the record are the talk with the subjects through the telephone,
best activities of people you observed in mobile phone, or online chat and also find time
undetermined places and time. Experience to see each other. It is asynchronous if only two
persons are interviewed at a different time to ensure secrecy or privacy of the data.
through the Internet, email, Fb, and other social Collating, on the other hand, is your way of
network media. bringing together the coded data.
Steps in Conducting an Interview Data Matrix – the term “data matrix” is also
Step 1: Getting to Know Each Other used to name this table of responses that
Step 2: Having an Idea of the Research consists of table of cases and their associated
Step 3: Starting the Interview variables. This data matrix is of two types: the
Step 4: Conducting the Interview Proper profile matrix that shows measurements of
Step 5: Putting an End to the Interview variables or factors for a set of cases or
Step 6: Pondering Over Interview Afterthoughts respondents and the proximity matrix that
indicates measurements of similarities and
Questionnaire- is a paper containing a list of differences between items. Under proximity
questions including the specific place and space matrix, if the measurements show how alike
in the paper where you write the answers to things are, it is called similarity matrix. If they
the questions. show how different they are, it is called
Purposes of a Questionnaire dissimilarity matrix. (Denzel 2013)
1. To discover people’s thoughts and feelings Qualitative Data Analysis
about the topic of the research In a qualitative research, you analyze or study
2. To assist you in conducting an effective face- data that reflect the respondents’ thoughts,
to-face interview with your respondents feelings, attitudes, or views about something.
3. To help you plan how to obtain and record Qualitative data analysis is a time-consuming
the answers to your questions process. It makes you deal with data coming
4. To make the analysis, recording, and coding from wide sources of information. Analyzing the
of data easier and faster data and synthesizing them based on one
Types of Questionnaire principal idea, theory, or pattern demand a lot
1. Postal questionnaire - goes to the of time and effort.
respondent through postal service or electronic Types of Qualitative Research
mail. 1. Case Study – usually takes place in the field
2. Self- administered questionnaire – makes of social care, education, etc. It seeks to find
you act as the interviewer at the same time. answers to why such thing occurs to the
First, you ask the questions either in person or subject. Varieties of data collection methods
through phone; then, you will be writing the such as interviews, questionnaires,
interviewee’s answers on a piece of paper. observations, and documentary analysis are
used in a case study.
Data Analysis – is a process of understanding 2. Ethnography – is the study of a particular
data or known facts or assumptions serving as cultural group to get a clear understanding of its
the basis of any claims or conclusions you have organizational set-up, internal operation, and
about something. You collect these data in lifestyle.
many ways: observation, interview, 3. Phenomenology – Coming from the word
documentary analysis, and research “phenomenon” which means something known
instruments like questionnaires, tests, etc. through sensory experience, phenomenology
refers to the study of how people find their
In analyzing data, you go through coding and experiences meaningful. Its primary goal is to
collating. Coding is your act of using symbols make people understand their experiences.
like letters or words to represent arbitrary or 4. Content and Discourse Analysis – Content
subjective data (emotions, opinions, attitudes) analysis is a method of quantitative research
 that requires an analysis or examination of the The APA guidelines specify using sentence-style
substance or content of the mode of capitalization for the titles of books or articles, so you
communication. In studying the content or should capitalize only the first word of a title and
subtitle. The exceptions to this rule would be periodical
structures of the material, you need a question
titles and proper names in a title which should still be
or a set of questions to guide you in your capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is
analysis. followed by the volume number which, with the title, is
5. Historical Analysis – is the examination of also italicized.
primary documents to make you understand If there is more than one author, use an ampersand (&)
the connection of past events to the present before the name of the last author. If there are more
time. The results of your content analysis will than six authors, list only the first one and use et al. for
the rest.
help you specify phenomenological changes in
Place the date of publication in parentheses
unchanged aspects of society through the years. immediately after the name of the author. Place a
6. Grounded Theory – takes place when you period after the closing parenthesis. Do not italicize,
discover a new theory to underlie your study at underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter
the time of data collection and analysis. works within longer works.
Through your observation on your subjects, you Format Examples
will happen to find a theory that applies to your Books
Format:
current study.
Author's last name, first initial. (Publication date).
Book title. Additional information. City of publication:
APA BIBLIOGRAPHY FORMAT
Publishing company.
Basics
Examples:
Your list of works cited should begin at the end of the
Allen, T. (1974). Vanishing wildlife of North America.
paper on a new page with the centered title,
Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
References. Alphabetize the entries in your list by the
Boorstin, D. (1992). The creators: A history of the heroes
author's last name, using the letter-by-letter system
of the imagination. New York: Random House.
(ignore spaces and other punctuation.) Only the initials
Nicol, A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (1999). Presenting your
of the first and middle names are given. If the author's
findings: A practical guide for creating tables.
name is unknown, alphabetize by the title, ignoring any
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
A, An, or The.
Searles, B., & Last, M. (1979). A reader's guide to science
For dates, spell out the names of months in the text of
fiction. New York: Facts on File, Inc.
your paper, but abbreviate them in the list of works
Toomer, J. (1988). Cane. Ed. Darwin T. Turner. New
cited, except for May, June, and July. Use either the
York: Norton.
day-month-year style (22 July 1999) or the month-day-
Encyclopedia & Dictionary
year style (July 22, 1999) and be consistent. With the
Format:
month-day-year style, be sure to add a comma after the
Author's last name, first initial. (Date). Title of Article.
year unless another punctuation mark goes there.
Title of Encyclopedia (Volume, pages). City of
Underlining or Italics?
publication: Publishing company.
When reports were written on typewriters, the names
Examples:
of publications were underlined because most
Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new
typewriters had no way to print italics. If you write a
encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago:
bibliography by hand, you should still underline the
Encyclopedia Britannica.
names of publications. But, if you use a computer, then
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).
publication names should be in italics as they are below.
(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Always check with your instructor regarding their
Pettingill, O. S., Jr. (1980). Falcon and Falconry. World
preference of using italics or underlining. Our examples
book encyclopedia. (pp. 150-155). Chicago: World Book.
use italics.
Tobias, R. (1991). Thurber, James. Encyclopedia
Hanging Indentation
americana. (p. 600). New York: Scholastic Library
All APA citations should use hanging indents, that is, the
Publishing.
first line of an entry should be flush left, and the second
Magazine & Newspaper Articles
and subsequent lines should be indented 1/2".
Capitalization, Abbreviation, and Punctuation
Format: government agency), identify the host organization and
Author's last name, first initial. (Publication date). the relevant program or department before giving the
Article title. Periodical title, volume number(issue URL for the document itself. Precede the URL with a
number if available), inclusive pages. colon.
Note: Do not enclose the title in quotation marks. Put a Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive
period after the title. If a periodical includes a volume emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention
number, italicize it and then give the page range (in & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved November 20,
regular type) without "pp." If the periodical does not 2000, from
use volume numbers, as in newspapers, use p. or pp. for http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre00300
page numbers. 01a.html
Note: Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page GVU's 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8,
numbers for a newspaper reference in APA style. 2000, from
Examples: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/usersurveys/survey1997
Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing -10/
psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Health Canada. (2002, February). The safety of
Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896. genetically modified food crops. Retrieved March 22,
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in 2005, from http://www.hc-
today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31. sc.gc.ca/english/protection/biologics_genetics/gen_mo
Kalette, D. (1986, July 21). California town counts town d_foods/genmodebk.html
to big quake. USA Today, 9, p. A1. Hilts, P. J. (1999, February 16). In forecasting their
Kanfer, S. (1986, July 21). Heard any good books lately? emotions, most people flunk out. New York Times.
Time, 113, 71-72. Retrieved November 21, 2000, from
Trillin, C. (1993, February 15). Culture shopping. New http://www.nytimes.com
Yorker, pp. 48-51. SAMPLE References
Website or Webpage Booth, S.A. (January 1999). High-Drain Alkaline AA-
Format: Batteries. Popular Electronics, 62, 58.
Online periodical: Dell, R. M., and Rand, D.A.J. (2001). Understanding
Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of article. batteries. Cambridge, UK: The Royal Society of
Title of Periodical, volume number, Retrieved month Chemistry.
day, year, from full URL Devitt, T. (2001, August 2). Lightning injures four at
Online document: music festival. The Why? Files. Retrieved from
Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of work. http://whyfiles.org/137lightning/index.html
Retrieved month day, year, from full URL Dove, R. (1998). Lady freedom among us. The University
Note: When citing Internet sources, refer to the of Virginia Alderman Library Electronic Text Center.
specific website document. If a document is undated, Retrieved from
use "n.d." (for no date) immediately after the http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/afam.html
document title. Break a lengthy URL that goes to Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive
another line after a slash or before a period. emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention
Continually check your references to online documents. & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved from
There is no period following a URL. http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030
Note: If you cannot find some of this information, cite 001a.html
what is available. Health Canada. (2002, February). The Safety of
Examples: Genetically Modified Food Crops. Retrieved from
Devitt, T. (2001, August 2). Lightning injures four at http://www.hc-
music festival. The Why? Files. Retrieved January 23, sc.gc.ca/english/protection/biologics_genetics/gen_mo
2002, from http://whyfiles.org/137lightning/index.html d_foods/genmodebk.html
Dove, R. (1998). Lady freedom among us. The Electronic Hilts, P. J. (1999, February 16). In Forecasting Their
Text Center. Retrieved June 19, 1998, from Alderman Emotions, Most People Flunk Out. New York Times.
Library, University of Virginia website: Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/afam.html

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