Simple Random Examples:

For example, to select a sample of 25 people who live in your college dorm, make a list of all the 250
people who live in the dorm. Assign each person a unique number, between 1 and 250. Then refer to a
table of random numbers. Starting at any point in the table, read across or down and note every number
that falls between 1 and 250. Use the numbers you have found to pull the names from the list that
correspond to the 25 numbers you found. These 25 people are your sample. This is called the table of
random numbers method.

Another way to select this simple random sample is to take 250 ping-pong balls and number then
from 1 to 250. Put them into a large barrel and mix them up, and then grab 25 balls. Read off the
numbers. Those are the 25 people in your sample. This is called the lottery method.

Systematic Random Sampling

For example, to select a sample of 25 dorm rooms in your college dorm, make a list of all the room
numbers in the dorm. Say there are 100 rooms. Divide the total number of rooms (100) by the number
of rooms you want in the sample (25). The answer is 4. This means that you are going to select every
fourth dorm room from the list. But you must first consult a table of random numbers. Pick any point on
the table, and read across or down until you come to a number between 1 and 4. This is your random
starting point. Say your random starting point is "3". This means you select dorm room 3 as your first
room, and then every fourth room down the list (3, 7, 11, 15, 19, etc.) until you have 25 rooms selected.

This method is useful for selecting large samples, say 100 or more. It is less cumbersome than a simple
random sample using either a table of random numbers or a lottery method. For example, you might
have to sample files in a large filing cabinet. It is easier to select every 17th file than to pull out all the
files and number them, etc.

However, you must be aware of problems that can arise in systematic random sampling. If the
selection interval matches some pattern in the list (e.g., each 4th dorm room is a single unit, where all
the others are doubles) you will introduce systematic bias into your sample.

Stratified Random Sampling

For example, if you wanted to find out the attitudes of students on your campus about immigration, you
may want to be sure to sample students who are from every region of the country as well as foreign
students. Say your student body of 10,000 students is made up of 8,000 - West; 1,000 - East; 500 -
Midwest; 300 - South; 200 - Foreign.

If you select a simple random sample of 500 students, you might not get any from the Midwest,
South, or Foreign. To make sure that you get some students from each group, you can divide the
students into these five groups, and then select the same percentage of students from each group using
a simple random sampling method. This is proportional stratified random sampling.
 However, you may still have too few of some types of students. Instead, you may divide students into
the five groups and then select the same number of students from each group using a simple random
sampling method. This is disproportionate stratified random sampling. This allows you to have enough
students in each sub-group so that you can perform some meaningful statistical analyses of the attitudes
of students in each sub-group. In order to say something about the attitudes of the total student
population of the university, however, you will have to apply weights to the findings for each sub-group,
proportional to its presence in the total student body.

Cluster Random Sampling

Cluster sampling is used in large geographic samples where no list is available of all the units in the
population but the population boundaries can be well-defined. For example, to obtain information
about the drug habits of all high school students in a state, you could obtain a list of all the school
districts in the state and select a simple random sample of school districts. Then, within in each selected
school district, list all the high schools and select a simple random sample of high schools. Within each
selected high school, list all high school classes, and select a simple random sample of classes. Then use
the high school students in those classes as your sample.

Cluster sampling must use a random sampling method at each stage. This may result in a somewhat
larger sample than using a simple random sampling method, but it saves time and money. It is also
cheaper to administer than a statewide sample of high school seniors, because there are many fewer
sites to obtain information from.

Source: http://web.csulb.edu/~msaintg/ppa696/696sampl.htm
For example, to select a sample of 25 people
who live in your college dorm, make a list of all
the 250 people who live in the dorm. Assign
each person a unique number, between 1 and
250. Then refer to a table of random numbers.
Starting at any point in the table, read across or
down and note every number that falls
between 1 and 250. Use the numbers you have
found to pull the names from the list that
correspond to the 25 numbers you found.
These 25 people are your sample.
Another way to select this type of sampling
method is to take 250 ping-pong balls and
number them from 1 to 250. Put them into a
large barrel and mix them up, and then grab 25
balls. Read off the numbers. Those are the 25
people in your sample.
For example, to select a sample of 25 dorm
rooms in your college dorm, make a list of all
the room numbers in the dorm. Say there are
100 rooms. Divide the total number of rooms
(100) by the number of rooms you want in the
sample (25). The answer is 4. This means that
you are going to select every fourth dorm room
from the list. But you must first consult a table
of random numbers. Pick any point on the
table, and read across or down until you come
to a number between 1 and 4. This is your
random starting point. Say your random
starting point is "3". This means you select
dorm room 3 as your first room, and then every
fourth room down the list (3, 7, 11, 15, 19, etc.)
until you have 25 rooms selected.
This method is useful for selecting large
samples, say 100 or more. It is less
cumbersome than a simple random sample
using either a table of random numbers or a
lottery method. For example, you might have to
sample files in a large filing cabinet. It is easier
to select every 17th file than to pull out all the
files and number them, etc.
For example, if you wanted to find out the
attitudes of students on your campus about
immigration, you may want to be sure to
sample students who are from every region of
the country as well as foreign students. Say
your student body of 10,000 students is made
up of 8,000 - West; 1,000 - East; 500 - Midwest;
300 - South; 200 - Foreign.
If you select a simple random sample of 500
students, you might not get any from the
Midwest, South, or Foreign. To make sure that
you get some students from each group, you
can divide the students into these five groups,
and then select the same percentage of
students from each group using a simple
random sampling method. This is proportional
stratified random sampling.
Let’s go back to the problem about
immigration. You may still have too few of
some types of students. Instead, you may
divide students into the five groups and then
select the same number of students from each
group using a simple random sampling method.
This is disproportionate type of sampling. This
allows you to have enough students in each
sub-group so that you can perform some
meaningful statistical analyses of the attitudes
of students in each sub-group. In order to say
something about the attitudes of the total
student population of the university, however,
you will have to apply weights to the findings
for each sub-group, proportional to its
presence in the total student body.
This type of sampling is used in large
geographic samples where no list is available of
all the units in the population but the
population boundaries can be well-defined. For
example, to obtain information about the drug
habits of all high school students in a state, you
could obtain a list of all the school districts in
the state and select a simple random sample of
school districts. Then, within in each selected
school district, list all the high schools and
select a simple random sample of high schools.
Within each selected high school, list all high
school classes, and select a simple random
sample of classes. Then use the high school
students in those classes as your sample.