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Population and Sample

The document discusses population and sampling methods used in quantitative research. It defines key terms like population, target population, accessible population, and sample. It also describes different sampling techniques including simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, cluster sampling, and systematic sampling. Formulas and power analysis are also approaches covered for determining sample size.

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21 views5 pages

Population and Sample

The document discusses population and sampling methods used in quantitative research. It defines key terms like population, target population, accessible population, and sample. It also describes different sampling techniques including simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, cluster sampling, and systematic sampling. Formulas and power analysis are also approaches covered for determining sample size.

Uploaded by

renz dave
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Population and Sample

The first step in determining the sample size is identifying the population of the topic
of interest. The population is the totality of all the objects, elements, persons, and
characteristics under consideration. It is understood that this population possesses common
characteristics about which the research aims to explore.

There are two types of population: target population and accessible population. The
actual population is the target population, for example, all Senior High School Students
enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in the Division of
Cagayan de Oro City. While the accessible population is the portion of the population in which
the researcher has reasonable access, for example all Senior High School enrolled, STEM
strand at Marayon Science High School - X.

When the whole population is too costly or time-consuming or impractical to consider,


then, a sample representative is identified. Sampling pertains to the systematic process of
selecting the group to be analyzed in the research study. The goal is to get information from
a group that represents the target population. Once a good sample is obtained, the
generalizability and applicability of findings increases.

The representative subset of the population refers to the sample. All the 240 Senior High
School Students enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Strand
in a school, for example, constitute the population; 60 of those students constitute the
sample. A good sample should have characteristics of the represented population -
characteristics that are within the scope of the study with fair accuracy. Generally, the larger
the sample, the more reliable the sample be, but still, it will depend on the scope and
delimitation and research design of the study.

Approaches in Identifying the Sample Size

Heuristics. This approach refers to the rule of the thumb for sample size. The early
established approach by Gay (1976) stated by Cristobal and Dela Cruz-Cristobal (2017, p 172),
sample sizes for different research designs are the following:
Number of
Research Design Subjects/Participants
Descriptive Research 10% to 20% maybe
required
Comparative Research
15 subjects or groups

Lunenberg and Irby (2008), as cited by Barrot (2017, p 107), also suggested different
sample sizes for each quantitative research design.
Number of
Research Design Subjects/Participants
Survey 800
Correlational 100 to 200
Ex post facto 30+
Experimental 30 or more

Literature Review. Another approach is by reading similar or related literature and


studies to your current research study. Since you are done writing your review of related
literature and studies, you might want to recall how these studies determine sample size.
Using this approach increases the validity of your sampling procedure.

Formulas. Formulas are also being established for the computation of an acceptable
sample size. The common formula is Slovin’s Formula.

Power Analysis. This approach is founded on the principle of power analysis. There
are two principles you need to consider if you are going to use this approach: these are
statistical power and effect size.

The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis is called statistical power. It


suggests that indeed there is a relationship between the independent and dependent
variables of the research study. The ideal statistical power of a research study is
80%. With the statistical power, it will be used to identify the sufficient sample size
for measuring the effect size of a certain treatment. The level of difference between
the experimental group and the control group refers to effect size.

If the statistical power tells that relationship between independent and


dependent variables, the effect size suggests the extent of the relationship between
these two variables. Henceforth, the higher the effect size, means the greater the
level difference between the experimental and control groups. For example, your
research study reveals that there is a difference in the pretest and posttest scores of
the students in the given anxiety test after implementing a psychosocial
intervention. With the effect size, you will have an idea of how small or large the
difference is.

Probability Sampling in Quantitative Research

Simple Random Sampling. It is a way of choosing individuals in which all members of


the accessible population are given an equal chance to be selected. There are various ways of
obtaining samples through simple random sampling. These are fish bowl technique, roulette
wheel, or use of the table of random numbers.

Stratified Random Sampling. The same with simple random sampling, stratified
random sampling also gives an equal chance to all members of the population to be chosen.

However, the population is first divided into strata or groups before selecting the
samples. The samples are chosen from these subgroups and not directly from the entire
population. This procedure is best used when the variables of the study are also grouped into
classes such as gender and grade level.

You can simply follow the steps from this given example:

A population of 600 Junior High School students includes 180 Grade 7, 160
Grade 8, 150 Grade 9, and 110 Grade 10. If the computed sample size is 240,
the following proportionate sampling will be as follows.

The number of members per subgroup is divided by the total accessible sample size.
The percentage result of members per subgroup will be multiplied from the computed total
sample size. After obtaining the sample size per strata, then simple random sampling will be
done for the selection of samples from each group.
Sample Size per Subgroups
180/600 = .30x 240 = 72 Grade 7 students
160/600 = .27x 240 = 65 Grade 8 students
150/600 = .25x 240 = 60 Grade 9 students
110/600 = .18x 240 = 43 Grade 10 students
100% 240 respondents

Cluster Sampling. This procedure is usually applied in large-scale studies,


geographical spread out of the population is a challenge, and gathering information will be
very time-consuming. Similar to stratified random sampling, cluster sampling also involves
grouping of the population according to subgroups or clusters. It is a method where multiple
clusters of people from the chosen population will be
created by the researcher in order to have
homogenous characteristics.

For example, a researcher would like to


interview of all public senior high school students
across Mindanao. As a researcher cluster will be
selected to satisfy the plan size. In the given
example, the first cluster can be by region, the
second cluster can be by division, and the third
cluster can be by district.
https://bit.ly/2UTiZzp
Another way of doing cluster sampling is
illustrated on the figure on the right side.

Systematic Sampling. This procedure is as simple as selecting samples every nth


(example every 2nd, 5th) of the chosen population until arriving at a desired total number of
sample size. Therefore the selection is based on a predetermined interval. Dividing the
population size by the sample size, the interval will be obtained. For example, from a total
population of 75, you have 25 samples; using systematic sampling, you will decide to select
every 3rd person on the list of individuals.

Activity 1. Determine the Sampling Procedure

Directions: Identify the sampling procedure used in each given situation. Write your answer
on the space provided and then explain your choice.
Sampling
Sample Situation Procedure Justification

Activity 2. Search the design and sampling procedure.

Directions: Search in the internet for a sample research study. Identify the research design
used and its sampling procedure.
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

■ Title of the
Research Study
■ Research Design

■ Characteristics
of Population

■ Sampling
Procedure

■ Sample Size

■ Source

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