Sampling

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 Describe sampling

Reference (target) Population Tabor Kifle Ketema

School Children

School children in
Tabor Schools
Source Population
Class (Student)
Sampling Frame Registers of schools

Sample unit Each 20 students

randomly selected
from each class in
Study Subjects Tabor Schools
/study unit
Students who
provide information
to the research team
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 Sampling #1
• Sampling is the process of selecting units (e.g.,
people, organizations) from a population of
interest for research purpose
• So that, by studying the sample we may fairly
generalize our results back to the population
from which they were chosen
• In sampling, the population is divided into a
number of parts called sampling units

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 Sampling #2

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 Sampling #3
• Key terms
 Sampling - is the process of selecting a representative group from
the population under study
 The target population is the total group of individuals from which
the sample might be drawn
 A sample - is the group of people who take part in the
investigation. The people who take part are referred to as
“participants”
 A subsample (study unit) – is the group that actually completes
your study
 Generalizability - refers to the extent to which we can apply the
findings of our research to the target population we are interested

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 Sampling #4
Key terms used in sampling
questions (to be answered) terms

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 Advantages and disadvantages of
sampling
Advantages of sampling

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 Advantages of sampling #1
1. Low cost of sampling
• If data were to be collected for the entire population, the cost will be
quite high. A sample is a small proportion of a population. So, the
cost will be lower if data is collected for a sample of population
which is a big advantage.
2. Less time consuming in sampling
• Use of sampling takes less time also. It consumes less time than
census technique. Tabulation, analysis etc., take much less time in
the case of a sample than in the case of a population.
3. Scope of sampling is high
• The investigator is concerned with the generalization of data. To
study a whole population in order to arrive at generalizations would
be impractical.
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 Advantages of sampling #2
4. Accuracy of data is high
• Having drawn a sample and computed the
desired descriptive statistics, it is possible to
determine the stability of the obtained sample
value
• A sample represents the population from which
its is drawn
• It permits a high degree of accuracy due to a
limited area of operations
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 Advantages of sampling #3
5. Organization of convenience
• Organizational problems involved in sampling
are very few
• Study of samples involves less space and
equipment
6. Intensive and exhaustive data
• In sample studies, measurements or
observations are made of a limited number
• So, intensive and exhaustive data are collected
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 Advantages of sampling #4
7. Suitable in limited resources
• The resources available within an organization
may be limited
• Studying the entire universe is not viable
8. Better rapport
• An effective research study requires a good
rapport between the researcher and the
respondents
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 Advantages and disadvantages of
sampling
Disadvantages of sampling

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 Disadvantages of sampling #1
1. Chances of bias
• The serious limitation of the sampling method is that
it involves biased selection and thereby leads us to
draw erroneous conclusions
• Bias arises when the method of selection of sample
employed is faulty
2. Difficulties in selecting a truly representative sample
• Selection of a truly representative sample is difficult
when the phenomena under study are of a complex
nature

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 Disadvantages of sampling #2
3. Inadequate knowledge in the subject
• Use of sampling method requires adequate
subject specific knowledge in sampling
technique
• When the researcher lacks specialized
knowledge in sampling, he may commit
serious mistakes

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 Disadvantages of sampling #3
4. Changeability of units
• When the units of the population are not in
homogeneous, the sampling technique will be
unscientific
5. Impossibility of sampling
• Deriving a representative sample is difficult,
when the universe is too small or too
heterogeneous. In this case, census study is the
only alternative.
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 Types of Sampling Methods
Probability and Non-
probability sampling methods

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 Probability and Non-probability sampling
methods #1
• Sampling takes on two forms in statistics:
probability sampling and non-probability
sampling
• Probability sampling uses random sampling
techniques to create a sample
• Non-probability sampling techniques use
non-random processes like researcher
judgment or convenience sampling

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 Probability and Non-
probability sampling methods

Probability sampling method

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 Probability sampling method #1
• A probability sampling method is any method
of sampling that utilizes some form of random
selection
• In order to have a random selection method,
you must set up some process or procedure
that assures that the different units or every
member of your population have equal
probabilities or equal chance of being chosen

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 Probability sampling method #2
• Probability sampling gives you the best chance
to create a sample that is truly representative
of the population
• Humans have long practiced various forms of
random selection, such as picking a name out
of a hat
• These days, we tend to use computers as the
mechanism for generating random numbers as
the basis for random selection
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 Probability sampling method

Simple Random Sampling

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 Simple Random sampling

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 Simple random sampling #1
• The simplest form of random sampling
• It is the process of assigning the random
numbers to the elements of the population
and selecting some of them by way of certain
specific rule (like highest among the local
group/row lowest among the group/row etc)

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 Simple random sampling #2
• Objective
– To select n units out of N such that each NCn has
an equal chance of being selected.
• Procedure
– Use a table of random numbers, a computer
random number generator, or a mechanical device
to select the sample

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 Simple random sampling #3
• Description of words
– N = the number of cases in the sampling frame
– n = the number of cases in the sample
– NCn = the number of combinations (subsets) of n
from N
– f = n/N = the sampling fraction

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 Simple random sampling #4
• Let's assume that we are doing some research
with a small service agency that wishes to
assess clients' views of quality of service over
the past year
• For the sake of the example, let's say you want
to select 100 clients to survey and that there
were 1000 clients over the past 12 months

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 Simple random sampling #5
• Description of words
– N=?
– n=?
– NCn = ?

– f=?

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 Simple random sampling #6
• Description of words
– N = 1000
– n = 100
– NCn =

– f = 100/1000 = 0.1 or 10%

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 Simple random sampling #7
• Because simple random sampling is a fair way
to select a sample,
– It is reasonable to generalize the results from the
sample back to the population

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 Simple random sampling (SRS)

Advantages

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 SRS: Advantages #1
• Better chances that the sample represents the
whole population
– Simple random sampling uses random numbers
which ensures that the samples vary as much as the
population itself
• Can be concluded in shorter time duration
– This process is simple and short
– It takes lesser time to complete
– The saved time can be used for analysis and
interpretation
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 SRS: Advantages #2
• Involves lesser degree of judgment
– While assigning the random number to an item of the
population, the person assigns the number in a random
sequence that means the process is unbiased as it doesn't
involve the judgment of the person performing the sampling
• Costs less money
– Once the task of assignment of random number to different
items of population is done the process is half done
– This process saves cost and time to a great extent and its
simplicity ensures that we do not have to spend too many
resources

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 SRS: Advantages #3
• Comparatively easier way of sampling
– Probability sampling does not involve any complex
and long process
• Can be done even by non- technical persons
too
– Assignment of random number can be done by
any kind of person after a short briefing

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 Simple random sampling (SRS)

Disadvantages

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 SRS: Disadvantages #3
• The two main disadvantages are
– Risks of selecting samples from a few variations
only
– Redundant and monotony

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 Probability sampling method

Systematic Random Sampling

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 Systematic simple sampling

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 Systematic random sampling #1
• is the one in which every kth
• unit is selected with no cyclic repetition
• Also called interval sampling

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 Systematic random sampling #2
• Here are the steps you need to follow in order
to achieve a systematic random sample:
– number the units in the population from 1 to N
– decide on the n (sample size) that you want or
need
– k = N/n = the interval size
– randomly select an integer between 1 to k
– then take every kth unit

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 Systematic random sampling #3
• Let's assume that we have a population that
only has
– N=100 people in it and
– that you want to take a sample of n=20

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 Systematic random sampling #4
• What is the sampling fraction f?
• The interval size k?

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 Systematic simple sampling #5

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 Systematic random sampling

Advantage

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 Advantage #1
• Easier than stratified random sampling and
more effective than simple random sampling
• You do not need to classify data in systematic
random sampling as in stratified random
sampling
• And it is more effective than simple random
sampling as it avoids judgment

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 Advantage #2
• Less time consuming
– It does not cost the time for stratification
• Cost effective
– Stratification would cost lots of resources
– Thus it is more effective than others
• Avoids judgments
– Once the first sample is chosen, the role
of the judgment finishes

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 Systematic random sampling

Disadvantage

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 Disadvantage #1
• The two major disadvantages of systematic
random sampling methods are
– Size of the population may not be
known before the sampling starts
– Assumption that the population is uniform may
not always prove to be true

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 Probability sampling method

Stratified Random Sampling

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 Stratified random sampling

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 Stratified random sampling

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 Stratified random sampling #1
• Stratified random sampling, also sometimes
called proportional or quota random
sampling,
– involves dividing your population into
homogeneous subgroups
– then taking a simple random sample in each
subgroup

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 Stratified random sampling #2
• The population is first divided into groups
(strata) according to a characteristic of interest
(eg. sex, race, ethnicity, geographic area, etc)
• The variable used for stratification should be
one that result homogeneity with in strata and
heterogeneity among strata

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 Stratified random sampling #3

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• To distribute the total sample size (n = 175)
into the different strata we can use:
• Probability proportional to size/PPS
(Proportional allocation technique): this is
obtained by:
• ni = Ni/N ×n
– Where, ni is the sample size of the ith stratum
– Ni is population size of the ith stratum
– n is the total sample size
– N is the total population size
• For example, for the above data, the 1 st
stratum will have sample size
• n1 = 156/1664 × 175 = 16
• Then select 16 children from the first
stratum by SRS or systematic sampling
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 Stratified random sampling

Advantages

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 Advantages
• The representativeness of the sample is
improved.
• That is, adequate representation of minority
subgroups of interest can be ensured by
– stratification and
– by varying the sampling fraction between strata as
required

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 Stratified random sampling

Disadvantages

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 Disadvantage
• The main disadvantage of stratified random
sampling method is;
– Sampling frame for the entire population has to be
prepared separately for each stratum

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 Probability sampling method

Cluster sampling

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 Cluster sampling #1
• In this sampling scheme, the selection of the
required sample is done on groups of study
units (clusters) instead of each study unit
individually
• The sampling unit is a cluster, and the
sampling frame is a list of these clusters

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 Cluster sampling #2
• The reference population (homogeneous) is
divided into clusters
• These clusters are often geographic units (eg.
districts, villages) or organizational units (eg.
clinics, training groups)
• A sample of such clusters is selected
• All the units in the selected clusters are
studied

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 Cluster sampling #3
• Remember;
– It is preferable to select a large number of small
clusters rather than a small number of large
clusters

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 Cluster sampling: Advantages
• A list of all individual study units in the
reference population is not required

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 Cluster sampling: Disadvantages
• It is based on the assumption that the
characteristic to be studied is uniformly
distributed throughout the reference
population, which may not always be the case
• Hence, sampling error is usually higher than
for a simple random sample of the same size

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 Non-Probability Sampling

Reading Assignment!

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 Errors in Sampling

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