SAMPLING AND DATA COLLECTION

POPULATION

A Population is a complete set of persons

or objects that possess some common
characteristic that is of interest to the
researcher.
The population for a study usually is
described as being composed of 2 groups-
the target population and the accessible
population.
 TARGET POPULATION

• The target population which is also called the

universe is composed of the entire group of
people or objects to which the researcher
wishes to generalize the findings of the study.
• The target population consists of people or
things that meet the designated set of criteria
of interest to the researcher.
 ACCESSIBLE POPULATION

• The researcher usually samples

from an available group, called the
accessible population or study
population.
• The need to identify the accessible
population is very important for
nurse-researchers.
 ELIGIBILITY
CRITERIA/INCLUSION CRITERIA

• In identifying a population the researcher

should be specific about the criteria that
define who is included.
• As far as possible, the researcher must
consider the exact criteria by which it could
be decided whether an individual would or
would not be classified as a member of the
population in question.
 CONSIDERATIONS IN INCLUSION OR
EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Costs: Some criteria reflect cost

constraints.
For example, when non-English speaking
people are excluded. This does not
necessarily mean that the researchers
is/are not interested in non-English
speakers, but may rather reflect the fact
that the researcher cannot afford to have
translators and people who can collect data
Practical Concerns: sometimes, there are
practical constraints. Such as difficulty in
including people in rural areas, people who are
hearing impaired and so on.
People’s ability to participate in a study: the
health condition of some people may preclude
their participation. For example, people with
mental impairments, who are in coma, who are
in an unstable medical condition may need to
be excluded.
Design Considerations: it is sometimes
advantageous to define a fairly homogenous
sample as a means of controlling extraneous
variables.
 SAMPLE
Although researchers are always interested in
populations, an entire population is generally not
used in the research study.
The accuracy that is gained when all members are
included is often not worth the time and the money.
In most nursing research studies, a sample or subset
of the population is selected to represent the
population.
A Sample consists of subset of units that compose
of population.
 SAMPLING

• Sampling refers to the process of selecting a

portion of the population to represent the
entire population.
• A single member of a population is called as
element.
• Elements, or members of a population are
selected from a sampling frame.
 SAMPLING CRITERIA

• The sampling criteria may be designed to

make the population as homogenous as
possible, or to control extraneous variables.
• However, narrow and restrictive sampling
criteria will reduce the sample size or make
obtaining a sample difficult.
• Representativeness means that the sample
must be like the population in as many ways
as possible.
• In addition, a sample needs to be
representative of such characteristics as
age, gender, ethnicity, income and
education which often influence the
study variables.
• A measure or numerical value of a
sample is called a statistic.
• A measure or numerical value of a
population is called as parameter.
 SAMPLING DESIGNS

Sampling designs can be grouped

into two categories:-
1. Probability Sampling
2.Non-Probability Sampling
 SAMPLING METHODS

NON-PROBABILITY
PROBABILITY
SAMPLING
SAMPLING METHOD
METHOD

SIMPLE RANDOM
CONVENIENCE
SAMPLING
SAMPLING

STRATIFIED
RANDOM
SAMPLING QUOTA SAMPLING

CLUSTER RANDOM
SAMPLING
PURPOSIVE
SAMPLING
SYSTEMATIC
RANDOM SNOW BALL
SAMPLING SAMPLING
 PROBABILITY SAMPLING

• Probability sampling involves some form of

random selection in choosing the elements.
• The hallmark of a probability sample is that a
researcher is in a position to specify the
probability that each element of the population
will be included in the sample.
• Probability sampling is the more respected of
the two approaches because greater confidence
can be placed in the representativeness of
probability samples.
 PROBABILITY SAMPLING METHODS

• Are those in which sample elements are

automatically selected by some scheme
under which a particular sample of given
size from a specified population has some
known probability being selected.
 PROBABILITY SAMPLING METHODS

• Simple Random Sampling

• Stratified Random Sampling
• Cluster Random Sampling
• Systematic Random Sampling
 SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING

• Simple random sampling is a type of probability

sampling that ensures that each element of the
population has an equal and independent chance of
being chose.
• The word simple does not mean easy or
uncomplicated infact, simple random sampling can
be quite complex and time consuming, especially if a
large sample is desired.
 CONT…

• The first step is to identify the accessible population

and enumerate the list all the elements of the
population.
• This listing is called sampling frame.
• After the sampling frame is developed, a method
must be selected to choose the sample.
• Slips of paper representing each element in the
population could be placed in a hat or bowl and
sample selected by reaching in and drawing out as
many slips of paper, as the desired size of the
sample.
 MERITS & DEMERITS

MERITS
• This method requires minimum knowledge of
population in advance.
• This method is free from classification error.
• Sampling error can be easily computed and the
accuracy can be estimated easily.
DEMERITS
This method does not make use of knowledge
about the population which researcher may have.
Time and cost of collecting data become too large.
 STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING

• In stratified random sampling, the population

is divided into subgroups, or strata according
to some variable or variables of importance to
the research study.
• After the population is divided into 2 or more
strata a simple random sample is taken from
each of these subgroups.
 CLUSTER RANDOM SAMPLING

• In large Scale studies, where the

population is geographically spread out,
sampling procedures can be very
difficult and time consuming.
• Also, it may be difficult or impossible to
get a total listing of populations.
• It saves money and time.
 SYSTEMATIC RANDOM SAMPLING

• Systematic random sampling involves

selecting every nth element of the
population, such as every 5 th, 8th or 21st
element.
• The first step is to obtain a list of the
total population (N).
• Then the sample size (n) is determined.
• Then the sampling interval width (K) is
determined by N/n.
 NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING

In Non-Probability samples, elements

are selected by non-random methods,
there is no way to estimate the
probability that each element has of
being included in a non-probability
sample, and every element usually
does not have a chance for inclusion.
 CONT..

• In Non-Probability Sampling, the sample

elements are chosen from the population
by non-random methods.
• In this sampling method, certain
elements of the population may have no
chance of being included in the sample.
• Samples involve convenience and the
desire to use available subjects.
 PURPOSIVE SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Judgemental sampling, also

known as purposive sampling, is
a type of non-probability
sampling. This means that the
selection of the sample is not
based on chance. Instead, the
researcher selects participants for
the study based on specific
criteria that are predetermined by
the researcher.
 CONVENIENCE SAMPLING

• In the sample which appear convenient to the

researcher.
• It is also reffered to as accidental or
incidental and involves choosing readily
available people.
• There is no accurate way to determine their
representativeness.
• It saves time and money.
 FACTORS INFLUENCING
SAMPLING PROCESS
• Sample Size
• Nature of the Researcher
• Inexperienced Investigator
• Lack of Interest
• Lack of Honesty
• Intensive Workload
• Inadequate Supervision
• Lack of time
• Large Geographic Area
• Natural Calamities