STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY

Chapter 6: Sampling and Sampling Distribution

Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students must be able to :
1. Illustrate random sampling.
2.Distinguish between parameter and statistic.
3. Identify sampling distributions of statistics (sample mean)

This chapter covers the concept of sampling, sampling techniques, and sampling
distribution. We will begin with defining population and sample. A population consists
of all the members of the group about which you want to draw a conclusion, while
sample is a portion, or part, of the population of interest selected for analysis.

The major advantage of descriptive statistics is that they permit researchers to describe
the information contained in many, many scores with just a few indices. The two
numerical indices are parameter and statistic. Parameter refers to a numerical index
describing a characteristic of a population while statistic describes a characteristic of a
sample.

Sampling Techniques

A sample is a group pin a research study on which information is obtained. A

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population is a group to which the results of the study are intended to apply. In almost
all researches, the sample is smaller than the population, since researchers rarely have
access to all the members of the population.
One of the most important steps in the research process is to select the sample
of individuals who will participate as a part of the study. Sampling refers to the process
of selecting these individuals.
A. Random Sampling is a process whose members had an equal chance of being
selected from the population; it is also called probability sampling.

1. Simple random sampling is a process of selecting n sample size in the

population via random numbers of through lottery.

2. Systematic sampling is a process of selecting a k th element in the population

until the desired number of subjects or respondents is attained.
Example: For instance we have the data shown below; say we want to
consider every 5th on the list.

23 34 12 14 13 23 24 39 27 23
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12 15 16 23 26 28 23 22 19 34
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25 22 18 30 23 24 17 18 15 12
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Therefore, the samples from every 5th from left to right are 13, 23, 26, 34, 23,
and 12.

3. Stratified sampling is a process of subdividing the population into subgroups

or strata and drawing members at random from each subgroup or stratum.

Example: Given the population of a certain university.

Field of Specialization Population

Nursing 6,000
Accounting 500
Management 2,000
Marketing 1,000
Education 2,500
Total 12,000

Field of Population Percentage Sample Found by

Specialization Size

Nursing 6,000 50.00 2,728 0.5000 x

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Accounting 500 4.16 227 0.0416 x

5,455

Management 2,000 16.66 909 0.1666 x

5,455

Marketing 1,000 8.33 455 0.0833 x

5,455

Education 2,500 20.33 1,136 0.2033 x

5,455

Total 12,000 100.00 5,455

Therefore, the total sample size is 5,455.

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4. Cluster sampling is a process of selecting clusters from a population which

is very large or widely spread out over a wide geographical area.

Example: If we want to know the opinion of the residents of manila regarding

the improvement of living in the city. We may use the cluster sampling by
subdividing the city into the district then select at random the number of
district to be used as sample.

B. Non-Random Sampling is a sampling procedure where samples are selected in

deliberate manner with little or no attention to randomization; it is also called non-
probability sampling.

1. Convenience sampling is a process of selecting a group of individuals who

(conveniently) are available for the study.

Example: A researcher may only include close friends and clients to be

included in the sample population.

2. Purposive sampling is a process of selecting based from judgment select a

Modulesample which the researcher believed, based on prior information, will provide
the data they need. The advantage of purposive sampling is that the
researcher`s judgement may be in error-he or she may not be correct in
estimating the representative-ness of sample or their expertise regarding the
information needed. It is also called judgement sampling.

Example: A human resource director interviews the qualified applicants in a

supervisory position. (Note: Qualified applicants are selected by the HR
Director which is based from his own judgement).

3. Quota Sampling is applied when an investigation survey collects information

from an assigned number, or quota of individuals from one of several sample
units fulfilling certain prescribed criteria or belonging to one stratum. Their
advantage is that they are cheaper to administrate.

Example: When the respondents are composed of men aged over 30 or 20

people who have bought cellular phones in the last week, it is in the
interviewer`s discretion which men or cellular phone buyers they select.
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4. Snowball sampling is a technique in which one or more of a population are

located and used to lead the researchers to other members of the population.
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Example: Imagine attempting to obtain the frame that includes all homeless
people in metro manila. To obtain a sample of homeless individuals, for
example, the researcher will interview individuals on the street or the
homeless shelter.
5. Voluntary sampling is a technique when sample are composed of
respondents who are self-selected into the study/survey. Most of the time
samples have a strong interest in the topic of the study.

Example: Consider a news show asking their viewers to participate in an on-

line poll. The samples are viewers who have been chosen themselves and
not the survey administrator.

6. Judgement sampling is a technique when the researcher relies on his/her

personal/sound judgement in choosing to participate in the study or the
sample selected is based on the opinion of an expert.

Example: In a study wherein a researcher wants to know what it takes to be a

top notched in a bar examination, the only people who can give the
researcher firsthand advice are individuals who are bar topnotchers.
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Simple

Systematic
Random
Stratified

Cluster

Sampling Convenience
Techniques
Purposive

Quota
Non-
Random Snowball

Voluntary

Judgement
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Sampling Distributions of the Sample Mean

Population distribution is the probability distribution of the population data. The

probability of sample mean is called sampling distribution. The sampling distribution is
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list of various values of x can assume and the probability of each value sample
mean (x).

If the sample statistic is the sample mean, then the distribution is the sampling
distribution of sample means.

The sampling distribution consists

of the values of the sample means, X́ 1 , X́ 2 X́ 3 , X́ 4 , X́ 5 , X́ 6

Properties of Sampling Distributions

1. The mean of the sample means, μ X́ is equal to the population mean.
μ X́ =μ
2. The standard deviation of the sample means, σ X́ is equal to the population
standard deviation, σ divided by the square root of n.
σ
σ X́ = when the population is infinite or when sampling is with replacement
√n
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σ N −n
σ X́ = (√ )
√ n N −1
when the population is finite or when sampling is without

replacement
3. If the population is normally distributed the sampling distribution of the sample
mean x́ will be normally distributed.
4. If the population is normally distributed and infinite, or if sampling is with
replacement, the sampling distribution of the sample mean ¿ will be approximately
normally distributed if the sample size n is sufficiently large for the central limit
theorem to apply.
For the easy computation of the sampling distribution, the following formulas will be
applied.
2
∑ x 2 ∑ ( x−μ)
x́= σ = 2
n N 2 ∑ ( x́−μ x́ )
σ x́ =
∑ x ∑ 2
Nn
μ=
∑
N
x́
σ=
√ (x−μ)
N
2
∑ ( x́−μ x́ )2
μ x́ = N
nC

∑ x́
2 ∑ ( x−μ)
σ x́ = N
nC
√
σ x́ =
Nn
∑ ( x−μ)2
μ x́ = n

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N
√
σ x́ = N
nC

Where x = value of any particular observation or measurement

x́ = sample mean
μ = population mean
μ x́ = mean of the sample distribution
σ = population standard deviation
σ 2= population variance
σ 2x́ = variance of sample distribution
σ x́ = standard deviation of the sample distribution
N = population
n = sample population

The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample means is called the
standard error of the mean.

Example 1: Suppose that a population consists of the six (6) employees in a small
business. The random variable of interest x, is the number of years the employee has
been with the business. The values of the variable are as follows:
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Employees Years in the Business

Rita 1
Elsa 2
Riza 3
Riana 4
Sofia 5
Magie 6

a. What is the population mean, population variance and population standard

deviation of the given data?
b. What is the sampling distribution of the sample means for a sample of size 2?
c. What is the mean, variance and standard deviation of the sampling distribution?
d. What observation can be made with respect to the population and the sampling
distribution?

Solution:
a. Given the values of x = 1,2,3,4,5,6. We first solve for the population mean, we get
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μ=
∑ x = 1+ 2+ 3+4 +5+6 = 21 =3.5
N 6 6

Then we solve for the population variance and standard deviation.

2 ∑ ( x−μ)2 17.50
σ = = =2.92
N 6

∑ (x−μ)2 =
σ=
√ N √ 17.50
6
=1.71

The population mean is 3.5, population variance is 2.92, and the population standard
deviation is 1.71.

b. To generate the sampling distribution of the sample means, we need to collect all
possible sample size without replacement from the population.
Step 1: By applying the combination formula we can determine the number of
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possible samples of size 2. Note that N = 6 and n = 2

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6! 6! 720
C ( 6,2 ) = = = =15
(6−2) ! 2! 4 ! 2 ! 24(2)

There are 15 possible samples of size 2.

Step 2: List the distinct samples of size 2 which can be drawn from the
population.

Table 1: All Possible Samples of Size 2

Observation Employees Years

1 Rita, Elsa 1,2
2 Rita, Riza 1,3
3 Rita, Riana 1,4
4 Rita, Sofia 1,5
5 Rita, Magie 1,6
6 Elsa, Riza 2,3
7 Elsa, Riana 2,4
8 Elsa, Sofia 2,5
9 Module Elsa, Magie 2,6
10 Riza, Riana 3,4
11 Riza, Sofia 3,5
12 Riza, Magie 3,6
13 Riana, Sofia 4,5
14 Riana, Magie 4,6
15 Sofia, Magie 5,6

Step 3: Compute for the mean of the distribution of the sample means.

Table 2: Sample Means For All Possible Samples Of Size 2

Observation Employees Years x́
1 Rita, Elsa 1,2 1.5
2 Rita, Riza 1,3 2.0
3 Rita, Riana 1,4 2.5
4 Rita, Sofia 1,5 3.0
5 Rita, Magie 1,6 3.5
6 Elsa, Riza 2,3 2.5
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7 Elsa, Riana 2,4 3.0

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8 Elsa, Sofia 2,5 3.5

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9 Elsa, Magie 2,6 4.0

10 Riza, Riana 3,4 3.5
11 Riza, Sofia 3,5 4.0
12 Riza, Magie 3,6 4.5
13 Riana, Sofia 4,5 4.5
14 Riana, Magie 4,6 5.0
15 Sofia, Magie 5,6 5.5
Total 52.5

μ x́ =
∑ x́ = 52.5 =3.5
N
n C 15

The sample mean of the sampling distribution is 3.5.

c. Compute for the variance and standard deviation of the sampling distribution.

Observation Employees Years x́ x́−μ x́ ( x́−μ x́ )

2

1 Rita, Elsa 1,2 1.5 −2.0 4.00

2 Rita, Riza 1,3 2.0 −1.5 2.25
3 Rita, Riana 1,4 2.5 −1.0 1.0
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4 Rita, Sofia 1,5 3.0 −0.5 0.25
5 Rita, Magie 1,6 3.5 0.0 0.0
6 Elsa, Riza 2,3 2.5 −1.0 1.00
7 Elsa, Riana 2,4 3.0 −¿0.5 0.25
8 Elsa, Sofia 2,5 3.5 0.0 0.0
9 Elsa, Magie 2,6 4.0 0.5 0.25
10 Riza, Riana 3,4 3.5 0.0 0.0
11 Riza, Sofia 3,5 4.0 0.5 0.25
12 Riza, Magie 3,6 4.5 1.0 1.0
13 Riana, Sofia 4,5 4.5 1.0 1.0
14 Riana, Magie 4,6 5.0 1.5 2.25
15 Sofia, Magie 5,6 5.5 2.0 4.00
Total 00

2
σ x́ =
∑ ( x−μ)2 = 17.50 =1.17
N
n C 15

∑ ( x−μ)2 =
σ x́ =
√ √ 17.50
=√ 1.17=1.08
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N
n C 15
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The variance of the sampling distribution is 1. 17 and the standard deviation is 1.08.
d. The mean of the sample mean is equal to the mean of the population
The sample means vary from 1.50 – 5.50, whereas the population varies from 1 – 6.
The graph representing the distribution of the population and the sample means change
in shape from the population to the sample.

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The graph representing the distribution of the sample means change in shape from the
population to the sample.

Reference:
Statistics and Probability for Senior high school, Winston S. Sirug, Ph. D.

Links for Learning:

Techniques in Random Sampling and Avoiding Bias – Khan Academy

Introduction to Sampling Distribution – Khan Academy

The Sampling Distribution of the Sample Mean

Standard Deviation Formula, Statistics, Variance, Sample and Population

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