Unit 5

Sampling
 Sample
• A sample is “a smaller (but hopefully
representative) collection of units from a
population used to determine truths
about that population” (Field, 2005)
 Sampling
 The process of obtaining information from a subset (sample)
of a larger group (population)
 The results for the sample are then used to make estimates
of the larger group
 Faster and cheaper than asking the entire population
 Two keys
1. Selecting the right people
 Have to be selected scientifically so that they are
representative of the population
2. Selecting the right number of the right people
 To minimize sampling errors I.e. choosing the wrong
people by chance
 SAMPLING
• Sample -- contacting a portion of the
population (e.g., 10% or 25%)
– best with a very large population (n)
– easiest with a homogeneous population
• Census -- the entire population
– most useful is the population ("n") is small
– or the cost of making an error is high
 Population Vs. Sample
Population of Interest

Population Sample
Sample

Parameter Statistic

We measure the sample using statistics in order to draw

inferences about the population and its parameters.
Characteristics of Good Samples
• Representative

• Accessible

• Low cost
 …this (bad)…

Sample
Population
…or this (VERY bad)…

Sample

Population
 Terminology
Population
The entire group of people of interest from whom
the researcher needs to obtain information.
Element (sampling unit)
one unit from a population
Sampling
The selection of a subset of the population
Sampling Frame
Listing of population from which a sample is chosen
Census
A polling of the entire population
Survey
A polling of the sample
 Terminology
Parameter
 The variable of interest

Statistic
 The information obtained from the sample about the
parameter

Goal
To be able to make inferences about the population
parameter from knowledge of the relevant statistic - to
draw general conclusions about the entire body of units

Critical Assumption
The sample chosen is representative of the population
 Steps in Sampling Process
1.Define the population
2.Identify the sampling frame
3.Select a sampling design or procedure
4.Determine the sample size
5.Draw the sample
Sampling Design Process
Define Population

Determine Sampling Frame

Determine Sampling Procedure

Probability Sampling Non-Probability Sampling

Simple Random Sampling Convenience
Systematic Random Sampling Judgmental
Stratified Sampling Quota
Cluster Sampling Snow-ball

Determine Appropriate
Sample Size

Execute Sampling
Design
 Step 1. Define the Target
Population
It addresses the question “Ideally, who do you
want to survey?” i.e. those who have the
information sought What are their
characteristics. Who should be excluded?
– age, gender, product use, those in industry
– Geographic area
It involves
– defining population units
– setting population boundaries
– Screening (e.g. security questions, product use )
Step 1. Define the Target Population
The Element ...... individuals
families
seminar groups

sampling Unit…. individuals over 20

families with 2 kids
seminar groups at ”new” university

Extent ............ individuals who have bought “one”

families who eat fast food
seminar groups doing MR

Timing .......... bought over the last seven days

 Step 1. Define the Target
Population

The target population for a toy store can

be defined as all households with children
living in Calgary.
What’s wrong with this definition?
 Step 2. Determine the Sampling
Frame
 Obtaining a “list” of population (how will you reach sample)
 Students who eat at McDonalds?
 young people at random in the street?
 phone book
 students union listing
 University mailing list
 Problems with lists
 omissions
 ineligibles
 duplications
 Procedures
 E.g. individuals who have spent two or more hours on the
internet in the last week
Step 2. Determine the Sampling
Frame
Select “sample units”
 Individuals
 Household
 Streets
 Telephone numbers
 Companies
 Step 3. Selecting a Sampling
Design
 Probability sampling - equal chance of being
included in the sample (random)
– simple random sampling
– systematic sampling
– stratified sampling
– cluster sampling
 Non-probability sampling - - unequal chance of
being included in the sample (non-random)
– convenience sampling
– judgement sampling
– snowball sampling
– quota sampling
There are many types of sampling,
most sampling types can be
categorized as:

a) Probability sampling and

b) Non-probability sampling

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 a) Probability sampling:-
is one in which every unit in the
population has a chance ( greater than Zero)
of being selected in the sample, and this
probability can be accurately determined. The
combinations of these traits make it possible
to produce unbiased estimates of population
totals, by weighing sampled units according to
their probability of selection.

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 Probability Sampling is of the
following types:

1.Simple Random sampling

2.Stratified Random sampling
3.Systematic Random sampling
4. Cluster/ Area sampling

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 Non-Probability sampling:

• Non probability sampling plans are those

that provide no basis for estimating how
closely the sample characteristics
approximate the parameters of the
population from which the sample was
obtained. In fact the investigator is
generally unable to identify the parent
population.
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 Non-Probability sampling may be
classified into:-
1.Convenience or Accidental sampling
2.Purposive or judgment sampling
3.Quota sampling
4.Snow – ball sampling

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 Simple Random sampling: -
A simple random sample is one in which each element of the
population has an equal and independent chance of being included
in the sample i.e.
a sample selected by randomization method is known as simple
random sample and this technique is simple random-sampling.
Randomization is a method and is done by using a number of
techniques as:-
a)Tossing a coin
b)Throwing a disc
c)Lottery method
d)Blind folded method
e)by using random table of Tipett’s Table

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 Simple Random Sampling (SRS)
• Population members are selected directly from the
sampling frame
• Equal probability of selection for every member
(sample size/population size)
• 400/10,000 = .04
• Use random number table or random number
generator
 Systematic Sampling:
Systematic sampling relies on arranging
the target population according to some
ordering scheme and then selecting
elements at regular start and then proceeds
with the selection of every Kth element
from the onwards.
In this case K= (population size). It is
important that the starting point is not
automatically the first in the list, but is
instead randomly chosen from within the
first to the Kth element in the list.
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 Example
A simple eg:- would be to select every
3rd name from the telephone directory
(an every 3rd sample, also referred to
as sampling with a skip of 2).

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 Stratified Sampling
It is an improvement over the earlier
method, when employing this techniques,
the researcher divides his/her population in
strata on the basis of some characteristics
and from each of these smaller homogenous
groups (strata) drawn at random a pre-
determined number of Units.
Researcher should choose that characteristic or
criterion which seems to be more relevant in
his/her research work.
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Stratified Random Sampling
 -
a) Disproportionate Stratified Sampling
Means that the size of the sample in each Unit is
not proportionate to the size of the unit but depends
upon considerations involving personal judgment and
convenience.
b) Proportionate sampling: -
Refers to the selection from each sampling unit of a
sample that is proportionate to the size of the unit.

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These three are clear from the following table as given below

Disproportionate Proportionate
Levels stratified stratified Population
sampling sampling

HG 35 25 250

AG 43 40 400
L.G 22 35 350

Sample 100 100 1000

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 Cluster sampling:
To select the intact group as a whole is known as a
cluster sampling. In cluster sampling the sample units
contain groups of elements (clusters) instead of
individual members or items in the population.
Eg :- Rather than listing all elementary school
children in a given city and random selecting 15 per
cent these students for the sample, a researcher lists
all of the elementary schools in the city, selects at
random 15 percent of these clusters of units, and uses
all of the children in the selected schools as the
sample.

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 cluster or area random sampling

divide population into

clusters (usually along
geographic boundaries)
randomly sample clusters
measure units within
sampled clusters
 Non- probability sampling
methods :
Convenience or accidental sampling: It
means selecting sample units in a ‘1 hit and miss
fashion’. Example: interviewing people whom we
happen to meet. This sampling also means selecting
whatever sampling units are conveniently available.
Example: A teacher may select students in his class.
This method is also known as accidental
sampling because the respondents whom the
researcher meets accidentally are included in the
sample.
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 Purposive or Judgment
Sampling:
• This method means deliberate selection of
sample units that conform to some pre-
determined criteria. This is also known as
judgment sampling. This involves selection
of cases which we judge as the most
appropriate ones for the given study. It is
based on the judgment of the researcher or
some expert. It does not aim at searching a
cross section of a population. 35
 Quota Sampling:
• This is a form of convenient sampling involving
selection of quota groups of accessible sampling
units by traits such as Sex, Social class etc. In
specific proportions, each investigator may be given
an assignment of quota groups specified by the pre-
determined traits in specific proportions. He/she can
then select accessible persons belonging to those
groups in the area assigned to him.
• Quota sampling is therefore, a method of stratified sampling
in which the selection within strata is non-random. Quota
sampling is used in studies like marketing survey, opinion
polls, and readership survey which do not aim at precision but
to get quickly some crude results.

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 Quota Sampling

Let us assume you wanted to interview tourists coming to a

community to study their activities and spending. Based on
national research you know that 60% come for
vacation/pleasure, 20% are VFR (visiting friends and relatives),
15% come for business and 5% for conventions and meetings.
You also know that 80% come from within the province. 10%
from other parts of Canada, and 10% are international. A total
of 500 tourists are to be intercepted at major tourist spots
(attractions, events, hotels, convention centre, etc.), as you
would in a convenience sample. The number of interviews could
therefore be determined based on the proportion a given
characteristic represents in the population. For instance, once
300 pleasure travellers have been interviewed, this category
would no longer be pursued, and only those who state that one
of the other purposes was their reason for coming would be
interviewed until these quotas were filled.
 Alberta Canada International Totals

Pleasure .48 .06 .06 .60

Visiting .16 .02 .02 .20

Business .12 .015 .015 .15

Convention .04 .005 .005 .05

Totals .80 .10 .10 100

Snow ball sampling:
Is a technique of building up a list or a sample of
a special population by using an initial set of its
members as informants. For example a
researcher wants to study the problem faced by
Nepalese in another country, Say, he/she may
identify an initial group of Nepalese through
some source like Nepalese Embassy, Then he/she
can ask each one of them to supply names of
other Nepalese known to them and continue this
procedure until he/she gets an exhaustive list
from which he/she can draw a sample or make a
census survey.
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• This sampling technique may also be used
in socio-metric studies. For example, the
members of a social group may be asked to
name the persons with whom they have
social contacts, each one of the persons so
named may also be asked to do so, and so
on. The researcher may thus get a
constellation of associates and analyze it.
Step 4: Deter mine Sample Size
• “How large should my sample be in order for it to be
representative”?
•Larger samples are not necessarily better – how
representative a sample it depends on the sampling technique
used and the size of the population.
•Determining sample size is dependent of how much error
you are prepared to accept in your sample.
Step 4: Deter mine Sample Size
• Sample size is a function of three things:
– Size of the population of interest
– Decision about how important is it to be accurate?
• Confidence level
– Decision about how important is to be precise?
• Sampling error (also called margin of error) or
confidence interval
• In general, accuracy and precision is improved by
increasing the sample size

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 Step 5: Execute sample design
• Ensure entire population included
• However it depends on sampling methods
 Sampling error

– Difference between survey result and

population value due to random selection
of sample
– Greater with smaller sample sizes
– Induces lack of precision
 Non-Sampling Errors (I)
Non-sampling Error
–systematic Error
–the level of it is NOT controlled by sample size.
• The basic types of non-sampling error
– Non-response error
– Response or data error

• A non-response error occurs when units selected as

part of the sampling procedure do not respond in
whole or in part
– If non-respondents are not different from those that did
respond, there is no non-response error
 Non-Sampling Errors (II)
• A response or data error is any systematic
bias that occurs during data collection,
analysis or interpretation
– Respondent error (e.g., lying, forgetting, etc.)
– Interviewer bias
– Recording errors
– Poorly designed questionnaires
 Reducing the Sampling Errors
1. By increasing the size of
the sample. The sampling error can be
reduced by increasing the sample size. If
the sample size n is equal to the population
size , then the sampling error is zero. As the
size increases, the sample gets closer to the
actual population, thereby decreasing the
potential for deviations from the actual
population.
2. By Stratification. When the population contains
homogeneous units, a simple random sample is
likely to be representative of the population. But if
the population contains dissimilar units, a simple
random sample may fail to be representative of all
kinds of units, in the population. To improve the
result of the sample, the sample design is
modified. The population is divided into different
groups containing similar units. These groups are
called strata. From each group (stratum), a sub-
sample is selected in a random manner.
3. Replication
• Replicate your study by taking the same
measurement repeatedly, using more than
one subject or multiple groups, or by
undertaking multiple studies. Replication
allows you to swamp out sampling errors.