SAMPLING

What is your population of interest? To whom do you want to generalize your results? All doctors School children Indians Women aged 15-45 years Other Can you sample the entire population?

SAMPLING
A sample is a smaller (but hopefully representative) collection of units from a population used to determine truths about that population (Field, 2005) Why sample? Resources (time, money) and workload Gives results with known accuracy that can be calculated mathematically

Sample Vs. Census

Type of Study 1. Budget 2. Time available 3. Population size 4. Variance in the characteristic 5. Cost of sampling errors 6. Cost of nonsampling errors 7. Nature of measurement 8. Attention to individual cases Conditions Favoring the Use of Sample Census Small Short Large Small Low High Destructive Yes Large Long Small Large High Low Nondestructive No

The sampling process

POPULATION

INFERENCE

SAMPLE

Regarding the sample

POPULATION (N)

IS THE SAMPLE REPRESENTATIVE?

SAMPLE (n)

SAMPLING.
3 factors that influence sample representativeness
Sampling procedure Sample size Participation (response)

When might you sample the entire population?

When your population is very small When you have extensive resources When you dont expect a very high response

The Sampling Design Process

Define the Population Determine the Sampling Frame Select Sampling Technique(s) Determine the Sample Size Execute the Sampling Process

Define the Target Population

The target population is the collection of elements or objects that possess the information sought by the researcher and about which inferences are to be made. The target population should be defined in terms of elements, sampling units, extent, and time.
An element is the object about which or from which the information is desired, e.g., the respondent. A sampling unit is an element, or a unit containing the element, that is available for selection at some stage of the sampling process. Extent refers to the geographical boundaries. Time is the time period under consideration.

The sampling frame is the list from which the potential respondents are drawn. IMA Registrars office Class rosters Telephone directory

Hey, Wait a Minute..

I DONT KNOW HOW TO SELECT THE SAMPLE!!!

Classification of Sampling Techniques

Sampling Techniques

Nonprobability Sampling Techniques

Probability Sampling Techniques

Convenience Sampling

Judgmental Sampling

Quota Sampling

Snowball Sampling

Simple Random Sampling

Systematic Sampling

Stratified Sampling

Cluster Sampling

Other Sampling Techniques

Convenience Sampling
Convenience sampling attempts to obtain a sample of convenient elements. Often, respondents are selected because they happen to be in the right place at the right time.
Use of students, and members of social organizations Personal interviews without qualifying the respondents

Department stores using charge account lists People on the street interviews

A Graphical Illustration of Convenience Sampling

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Group D happens to assemble at a convenient time and place. So all the elements in this Group are selected. The resulting sample consists of elements 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. Note, no elements are selected from group A, B, C and E.

Judgmental Sampling
Judgmental sampling is a form of convenience sampling in which the population elements are selected based on the judgment of the researcher.
Test markets Purchase engineers selected in industrial marketing research Expert witnesses used in court

Graphical Illustration of Judgmental Sampling

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The researcher considers groups B, C and E to be typical and convenient. Within each of these groups one or two elements are selected based on typicality and convenience. The resulting sample consists of elements 8, 10, 11, 13, and 24. Note, no elements are selected from groups A and D.

Quota Sampling
Quota sampling may be viewed as two-stage restricted judgmental sampling.
The first stage consists of developing control categories, or quotas, of population elements. In the second stage, sample elements are selected based on convenience or judgment. Control Variable
Sex

Population composition
Percentage

Sample composition
Percentage Number

Male Female

48 52 ____ 100

48 52 ____ 100

480 520 ____ 1000

A Graphical Illustration of Quota Sampling

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A quota of one element from each group, A to E, is imposed. Within each group, one element is selected based on judgment or convenience. The resulting sample consists of elements 3, 6, 13, 20 and 22. Note, one element is selected from each column or group.

Snowball Sampling
In snowball sampling, an initial group of respondents is selected, usually at random.
After being interviewed, these respondents are asked to identify others who belong to the target population of interest. Subsequent respondents are selected based on the referrals. This sampling method results in low sampling variance and costs. Examples are members of scattered minority group, industrial buyer-seller research

A Graphical Illustration of Snowball Sampling

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Elements 2 and 9 are selected randomly from groups A and B. Element 2 refers elements 12 and 13. Element 9 refers element 18. The resulting sample consists of elements 2, 9, 12, 13, and 18. Note, there are no elements from group E.

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Simple Random Sampling

Each element in the population has a known and equal probability of selection. Each possible sample of a given size (n) has a known and equal probability of being the sample actually selected. This implies that every element is selected independently of every other element.

A Graphical Illustration of Simple Random Sampling

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Select five random numbers from 1 to 25. The resulting sample consists of population elements 3, 7, 9, 16, and 24. Note, there is no element from Group C.

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Systematic Sampling
The sample is chosen by selecting a random starting point and then picking every ith element in succession from the sampling frame. The sampling interval, i, is determined by dividing the population size N by the sample size n and rounding to the nearest integer. When the ordering of the elements is related to the characteristic of interest, systematic sampling increases the representativeness of the sample. For example: annual sales of all firms in a given industry.

Systematic Sampling
If the ordering of the elements produces a cyclical pattern, systematic sampling may decrease the representativeness of the sample. For example: monthly sales of a department store. For example, there are 100,000 elements in the population and a sample of 1,000 is desired. In this case the sampling interval, i, is 100. A random number between 1 and 100 is selected. If, for example, this number is 23, the sample consists of elements 23, 123, 223, 323, 423, 523, and so on.

A Graphical Illustration of Systematic Sampling

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Select a random number between 1 and 5, say 2. The resulting sample consists of population 2, (2+5=) 7, (2+5x2=) 12, (2+5x3=)17, and (2+5x4=) 22. Note, all the elements are selected from a single row.

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Stratified Sampling
A two-step process in which the population is partitioned into subpopulations, or strata. The strata should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive in that every population element should be assigned to one and only one stratum and no population elements should be omitted. Next, elements are selected from each stratum by a random procedure, usually SRS.

A major objective of stratified sampling is to increase precision without increasing cost.

Stratified Sampling
The elements within a stratum should be as homogeneous as possible, but the elements in different strata should be as heterogeneous as possible. The stratification variables should also be closely related to the characteristic of interest. Finally, the variables should decrease the cost of the stratification process by being easy to measure and apply. Examples are, demographic characteristics, size of the form, type of customer, type of industry etc.

Stratified Sampling
In proportionate stratified sampling, the size of the sample drawn from each stratum is proportionate to the relative size of that stratum in the total population. In disproportionate stratified sampling, the size of the sample from each stratum is proportionate to the relative size of that stratum and to the standard deviation of the distribution of the characteristic of interest among all the elements in that stratum.

A Graphical Illustration of Stratified Sampling

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Randomly select a number from 1 to 5 for each stratum, A to E. The resulting sample consists of population elements 4, 7, 13, 19 and 21. Note, one element is selected from each column.

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Cluster Sampling
The target population is first divided into mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subpopulations, or clusters. Then a random sample of clusters is selected, based on a probability sampling technique such as SRS. For each selected cluster, either all the elements are included in the sample (one-stage) or a sample of elements is drawn probabilistically (two-stage).

Cluster Sampling
Elements within a cluster should be as heterogeneous as possible, but clusters themselves should be as homogeneous as possible. Ideally, each cluster should be a small-scale representation of the population.

A Graphical Illustration of Cluster Sampling (2-Stage)

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Randomly select 3 clusters, B, D and E. Within each cluster, randomly select one or two elements. The resulting sample consists of population elements 7, 18, 20, 21, and 23. Note, no elements are selected from clusters A and C.

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Types of Cluster Sampling

Cluster Sampling

One-Stage Sampling

Two-Stage Sampling

Multistage Sampling

Strengths and Weaknesses of Basic Sampling Techniques

Technique
Nonprobability Sampling Convenience sampling

Strengths
Least expensive, least time-consuming, most convenient Low cost, convenient, not time-consuming Sample can be controlled for certain characteristics Can estimate rare characteristics Easily understood, results projectable Can increase representativeness, easier to implement than SRS, sampling frame not necessary Include all important subpopulations, precision Easy to implement, cost effective

Weaknesses
Selection bias, sample not representative, not recommended for descriptive or causal research Does not allow generalization, subjective Selection bias, no assurance of representativeness Time-consuming Difficult to construct sampling frame, expensive, lower precision, representativeness no assurance of

Judgmental sampling Quota sampling

Snowball sampling Probability sampling

Simple random sampling (SRS)

Systematic sampling

Can decrease

representativeness

Stratified sampling Cluster sampling

Difficult to select relevant stratification variables, not feasible to stratify on many variables, expensive Imprecise, difficult to compute and interpret results

Procedures for Drawing Probability SamplesSimple Random

Sampling

Simple Random Sampling

1. Select a suitable sampling frame. 2. Each element is assigned a number from 1 to N (pop. size). 3. Generate n (sample size) different random numbers between 1 and N.

4. The numbers generated denote the elements that should be included in the sample.

Procedures for Drawing Probability Samples Systematic Sampling

1. Select a suitable sampling frame.

2. Each element is assigned a number from 1 to N (pop. size). 3. Determine the sampling interval i:i=N/n. If i is a fraction, round to the nearest integer. 4. Select a random number, r, between 1 and i, as explained in simple random sampling. 5. The elements with the following numbers will comprise the systematic random sample: r, r+i,r+2i,r+3i,r+4i,...,r+(n-1)i.

Procedures for Drawing Probability Samples

1. Select a suitable frame.

Stratified Sampling

2. Select the stratification variable(s) and the number of strata, H. 3. Divide the entire population into H strata. Based on the classification variable, each element of the population is assigned to one of the H strata. 4. In each stratum, number the elements from 1 to Nh (the pop. size of stratum h). 5. Determine the sample size of each stratum, nh, based on proportionate or disproportionate stratified sampling, where
H

nh = n
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6. In each stratum, select a simple random sample of size nh

Procedures for Drawing Probability Samples

Cluster Sampling

1. Assign a number from 1 to N to each element in the population.

2. Divide the population into C clusters of which c will be included in the sample. 3. Calculate the sampling interval i, i=N/c (round to nearest integer). 4. Select a random number r between 1 and i, as explained in simple random sampling. 5. Identify elements with the following numbers: r,r+i,r+2i,... r+(c-1)i. 6. Select the clusters that contain the identified elements. 7. Select sampling units within each selected cluster based on SRS or systematic sampling.

A Classification of Internet Sampling

Internet Sampling

Online Intercept Sampling

Recruited Online Sampling

Other Techniques

Nonrandom Random

Panel

Nonpanel
Opt-in List Rentals

Recruited Panels

Opt-in Panels

Choosing Nonprobability Vs. Probability Sampling

Factors Nature of research Relative magnitude of sampling and nonsampling errors Variability in the population Statistical considerations Operational considerations Conditions Favoring the Use of Nonprobability Probability sampling sampling Exploratory Nonsampling errors are larger Homogeneous (low) Unfavorable Favorable Conclusive Sampling errors are larger Heterogeneous (high) Favorable Unfavorable

Regarding the inference

POPULATION (N) INFERENCE

IS THE
SAMPLE (n)

INFERENCE GENERALIZABLE?