Probability Sampling Techniques

After going through this learning material, you are expected to:
a. identify what probability sampling technique is and its type;
b. determine the type of probability sampling technique applied in sample scenarios; and,
c. examine the sampling technique used in other researches.

Directions: Read and analyze the following statements. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your
answer in your paper.
1. This is the basic probability sampling design in which the chance of selection is the same for every member
of the population.
A. Cluster Sampling C. Stratified Random Sampling
B. Simple Random Sampling D. Systematic Random Sampling
2. It is sampling technique used when the target respondents in a research study are spread across a
geographical location.
A. Cluster Sampling C. Simple Random Sampling
B. Multi-Stage Sampling D. Systematic Random Sampling
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE about probability sampling?
A. Probability sampling is a biased selection of sample.
B. Probability sampling is a subjective type of selecting a sample.
C. Probability sampling involves randomization in selecting a sample.
D. Probability sampling gives an unequal chance of selection for every element of the population.
4. Which of the following is an example of simple random sampling?
A. Selecting 10 winners of cellphones from a raffle draw
B. Selecting five teachers from each department in the school
C. Selecting all students in five chosen schools as participants of the pilot testing
D. Selecting every 5th participant in the list of all employees in the Supermarket
5. At a private College institution, ten out of twenty research classes are randomly selected and all the
students from ten selected classes are included in the study. What type of probability sampling technique
was used in the scenario?
A. Cluster Sampling C. Simple Random Sampling
B. Multi-Stage Sampling D. Systematic Random Sampling

In a normal classroom set up, teachers usually use an index card to randomly select students for oral
recitation. This is to avoid bias selection of students. The same goes for sampling, the researchers use
random sampling to avoid being bias in the selection of the sample for their study.
 The selection of components of the sample that will give a representative view of the whole is known
as the sampling technique. Selecting samples can be biased or unbiased. This lesson focuses on selecting
sample unbiasedly. This is called probability sampling.
Probability Sampling refers to a sampling technique in which samples are obtained using some
objective chance mechanism, thus involving randomization. Please take note that (1) if your population is
LESS THAN 50, go away from probability sampling and (2) your sample size should be AT LEAST 30.
Probability sampling techniques give all elements of the population an equal chance of being selected but
using this technique may consume a lot of time and effort of the researchers.
After having your target population and sample, it is time to decide how to select the sample of the
study. There are different types of selecting samples under probability sampling.

According to Prieto, Naval, and Carey (2017) and Faltado et al. (2017), below are the types of
probability sampling techniques used in quantitative research.

1. Simple Random Sampling. This is the basic probability sampling design in which the chance of
selection is the same for every member of the population. To conduct this sampling technique, the researcher
should ensure first that he/she has the complete list of all the elements (sampling frame) of his/her target
population. From the list, the sample is drawn so that all elements have equal number of chances to be
selected.
Here are ways of selecting samples:
• By utilizing a TABLE OF RANDOM NUMBERS
• By using the LOTTERY TECHNIQUES / FISHBOWL METHOD
• By using DIGITAL RANDOM PICKER APPLICATION
Example:
The researcher’s target respondents are all Grade 12 students. Suppose there are 800 Grade 12
students, and he only needs to select 470 as the sample. Using simple random sampling, the researcher
puts the 800 names of Grade 12 students in a box and then pick only 470 names to participate in his study.

2. Systematic Random Sampling. It is a sampling that follows regular intervals from a list. It has specific
steps and procedures in doing the random selection of the samples. With this sampling technique, it may
spread the selected samples evenly across the entire population than simple random sampling.
Here are the steps to follow in doing this technique:
1. Number all the participants in the population from 1 to N (N is the total population).
2. Compute for the sample size.
3. Divide the population to the desired sample size (population ÷ sample size = number interval).
4. Randomly pick a number between 1 to the value you obtain from step 3.
5. Start counting from the number you get in step 4 using the interval you get from step 3.
Example:
For instance, the population size of your study is 500 and you come up with 100 as your sample size. You
decided to use the systematic sampling technique in your study.
Step 3: 500 ÷ 100 = 5 (your interval will be every 5th in the list);
 Step 4: The number you obtain in first step is 5, then you must choose one number from 1 to 5 as
your starting point. Let us say you choose number 3.
Step 5: Since you choose number 3, then you are going to start counting from number 3 and follow
by every 5th in the list.
Therefore, your respondents will be the students listed as number 3, 8, 13, 18, 23… until it reaches
the maximum number which is 500.

3. Stratified Random Sampling. The population is divided into groups called strata and then simple
random sampling is applied in selecting samples from each group. This is the best random sampling method
when the researcher wishes to have a representative sample of population.
Example:
The target population of the researcher is 1200 junior high school students with the desired sample
size of 800. The researcher gets the number of students per level. And then divide each number of students
per level by the total population of 1200 and multiply by the desired sample size of 300. Using the illustration
below, it clearly defines that the researchers would get 233 respondents from 1st year high school, 200
respondents from 2nd year high school, 187 respondents from 3rd year high school, and 180 respondents
from 4th year high school.

4. Cluster Sampling. The largest scale surveys used the cluster sampling method. It is used when the
target respondents in a research study are spread across a GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. In this method,
the population is group into what we called CLUSTER. Simple random sampling is used in selecting the
cluster.
Example:
Mr. X wants to explore the performance of LGU employees across various parts of NCR. Mr. X creates
16 clusters of LGU units. He then randomly selects 5 clusters to conduct his research. And all the employees
of the selected clusters are included in the study.
5. Multi-Stage Sampling. This refers to the procedure as in cluster sampling which moves through a series of
stages.
Example:
An organization intends to conduct a survey to analyze the performance of smartphones across
Philippines. They divided the entire country’s population into cities (clusters) and randomly selected five cities
out of all the cities. And then the organization randomly picks only one barangay in each city and filters all
the people in each selected barangay who use smartphones.

A. Read and analyze the following statements. Identify the word/s being described in each statement.
________1. It is a sampling technique that uses the fishbowl method.
________2. It includes a series of stages before arriving at the final samples.
________3. In cluster sampling, the population is divided into groups called __.
 ________4. It is sampling technique used when the target population is scattered in a different
geographical area.
________5. This is a process of selecting a sample that represents the total population.
________6. In stratified random sampling, the population is divided into groups called __.
________7. It refers to a sampling technique in which samples are obtained using some objective chance
mechanism.
________8. It is a sampling that follows regular intervals from a list.
________9. It is a type of probability sampling where the chance of selection is the same for every
member of the population.
________10. It is a type of probability sampling where respondents are divided into groups and in each
group the research selects samples.
B. In each of the following scenarios, identify the sampling method being used then justify your answer.
1. A group of volunteers has a list of the 100 senators. They decided to survey every 10th senator on the
list about their position on farm subsidies.
___________________________________________________________________________
2. The president of a college randomly selects two students from each department to serve on a board.
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Peter decided to divide the private companies in NCR into five groups. He randomly picked two
companies and interviewed all the workers of those companies.
___________________________________________________________________________
4. A girl wishes to make a study about the effectiveness of APK application to the productivity of the
employees. She randomly picks the name of participants to be included in her study from the full list of
the workers in SMX Company.
___________________________________________________________________________
5. The secretary of Education randomly selects 10 schools out of all schools in NCR for testing and 40
student names are randomly selected from a student list in each 10 selected schools.
___________________________________________________________________________

POSTTEST
Directions: Read and analyze the following statements. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your
answer in your paper.
1. What sampling technique follows regular intervals from a list?
A. Cluster Sampling C. Stratified Random Sampling
B. Simple Random Sampling D. Systematic Random Sampling
2. What sampling technique uses the procedure of cluster sampling which moves through a series of stages?
A. Cluster Sampling C. Simple Random Sampling
B. Multi-Stage Sampling D. Systematic Random Sampling
3. Which of the following statements shows the weakness of probability sampling?
A. Probability sampling selects sample unbiasedly.
B. Probability sampling is costly and time consuming.
C. Probability sampling involves randomization in selecting a sample.
D. Probability sampling gives an unequal chance of selection for every element of the population.
4. Which of the following scenario is an example of stratified random sampling?
A. The teacher randomly picks students’ name through their index card for recitation.
B. The owner of the store decided to randomly pick five employees to win the Christmas prizes.
C. The vlogger randomly selects two students in every section of a certain school to include in his vlog.
D. The private organization randomly selected one school in Pasig and all the students at the selected schools
were given school supplies.
5. In a certain public school in Pasig, the researcher picked his sample using a draw lot where all the names
of the students are placed in one box. What type of probability sampling technique was used in the scenario?
A. Cluster Sampling C. Simple Random Sampling
B. Multi-Stage Sampling D. Systematic Random Sampling