RESEARCH NOTE PART 6

SELECTION OF SUBJECTS
1. Population
2. Sample
3. Sampling Frame
4. Sample Size
5. Sampling Procedures:
Probability:

Non Probability

Simple Random Sample

Stratified Sample
Cluster Sample
Convenience
Judgment
Quota

POPULATION
The aggregate of the elements defined prior to selection of the sample. All
members of any well-defined class of people, events, or objects.
Target Population
Accessible Population
SAMPLE
A small group drawn from the population and contains the characteristics of the
population.
PURPOSE OF SAMPLE
- To obtain information concerning the population.
- Concept of inductive reasoning is part of the scientific approach. Method
involves making observation and then drawing conclusions from those
observations.
- Sample must be representative if one is to be able to generalize with
confidence from the sample to the population
SAMPLING
- Which sample/organization to study out of the total population of
organizations.
- Samples are often chosen by precise procedure that aim to represent the
population.
- Select a sample that will facilitate the analysis to be made of the data.
Provides a means of identifying and locating the population elements.
- Organization of the frame often exerts a strong influence on the sampling
design.
- Ideal sampling frame would list each population element once and once only.
SAMPLING FRAME

A sampling frame is a list of all the sampling units available for selection at a stage
of the sampling process. At the final stage, the actual sample is drawn from such a
list. Some of the more creative thinking in a research project may be related to the
specification of a sampling frame.
A frame may be a class list, list of registered voters, a telephone book, an employee
lists, or even a map. In the case of a map we would be sampling pieces of
geography. A city block would be an example. The frame list may be printed or
stored in a computer file, on tape or disk. Once a population is specified, you then
search for a good sampling frame. Often the availability of a sampling frame
defines the population, as no perfect fit is available between population and frame.
SAMPLE SIZE
To determine an appropriate sample size: First, specify the degree of precision
required. Eg. 95% Confidence Interval - should be a sample percentage plus or
minus 2.5%. This specification, thus requires that 1.96 SE (p) =2.5%, where p=
population percentage. Non response rate has to be taken into consideration.
FACTORS DETERMINING SAMPLE SIZE
1. Number of groups to be analyzed
2. Value of information and accuracy required of the results.
3. Cost of accessing the sample
4. Variability of the population
SMALL OR LARGE SAMPLES?
Between the economy and convenience of small samples lies a trade off point
balancing practical considerations against statistical power and generalizability.
Small samples are more appropriate for in depth case studies or where complex
techniques of eliciting or evaluating behaviour are involved, such as psychodrama,
role playing, intensive counseling, or interviewing procedures, or projective
instruments
Nevertheless, it remains true that the larger the sample, the smaller the sampling
error and other things being equal, it is preferable to increase the sample size
wherever practical.
STEP IN SELECTING A SAMPLE
STEP 1: Define the population. This would include: the elements, the
sampling units, the
extent, and the time.
STEP 2: Identify the sampling frame from which the sample will be selected.
STEP 3: Decide on a sample size. Here we determine how many elements to
include in the
sample. Deciding when a sample is too big or too small is a difficult
problem.

STEP 4: Select a specific procedure by which the sample will be determined.

Exactly how will
the decision be made on which population elements to include in the
sample?
STEP 5: Physically select the sample based upon the procedure previously
described.
SAMPLING PROCEDURES
There are many different procedures by which researchers may select their
samples, but one fundamental concept must be established at the outset - the
distinction between:
(1) a probability sample, and
(2) a non probability sample.
PROBABILITY SAMPLING
In probability sampling, each element of the population has a known chance of
being selected for the sample. The sampling is done by mathematical decision
rules that leave no discretion to the researcher.
A known chance and not an equal chance of being selected. An equal-chance
probability sampling is only a very special case of probability sampling called
sample random sampling. The probability sample allows the calculation of the
likely extent to which the sample value differs from the population value of interest.
This difference is called sampling error.
TYPES OF PROBABILITY SAMPLING
1. RANDOM SAMPLING
2. STRATIFIED SAMPLING
3. SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
4. CLUSTER SAMPLING
RANDOM SAMPLING
The best known of the sampling procedures is random sampling. The basic
characteristic of random sampling is that all members of the population have an
equal and independent chance of being included in the sample. That is, for every
pair of elements X and Y, Xs chance of being selected equals Ys chance, and the
selection of X in no way affects Ys probability of selection.
The steps in
1.
2.
3.

Random Sampling are:

Definition of the population
Listing of all members of the population.
Selection of the sample by employing a procedure where sheer chance
determines which members on the list are drawn for the sample.

With a small population one might put the name or identification number of each
member on a slip of paper and place these slips in a box, mix them well, than

blindly draw the needed number of slips from the box. Those slips drawn make up
the sample.
A more systematic procedure for drawing a random sample is to refer to a Table of
Random Numbers. This is a table containing columns of digits that have been
mechanically generated, usually by a computer, to assure a random order. Each
member in the population is identified with a distinct number and then n numbers
are selected from the Table of Random Numbers. The n numbers chosen from the
table represent the n elements selected for the study.
STRATIFIED SAMPLING
When the population consists of a number of subgroups or strata that may differ in
the characteristics being studied, it is often desirable to use a form of sampling
called stratified sampling. For example, if one were conducting a poll designed to
assess opinions on a certain political issue, it would be advisable to subdivide the
population into groups on the basis of age or occupation.
This is because one would expect opinions to differ systematically among various
age or occupational groups. IN stratified sampling, one first identifies the strata of
interest and then draws a specified number of subjects from each stratum. The
basis for stratification may be geographical or it may involve characteristics of the
population, such as income, occupation, gender.
In the study of youths, for example, one may be interested not merely in surveying
the attitudes of youths who reside in small towns with those who live in mediumsize and large cities. In such a case, one would divide the youth population into
three groups, based on the size of the towns in which they reside, and then
randomly select independent samples from each stratum.
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
Still another form of sampling is called systematic sampling. This procedure
involves drawing a sample by taking every kth case from a list of the population.
One first decides how many subjects he wants in the sample (n). Since he knows
the total number of members in the population (N), he simply divides N by n and
then determines the sampling interval (k) to apply to the list.
The first member is randomly selected from the first k members of the list, and then
every kth member of the population is selected for the sample. For example, let us
assume a total population of 500 subjects and a desired sample size of 50 (n); thus,
k = N/n = 500/50 = 10.
One would start near the top of the list so that the first case could be randomly
selected from the first ten cases, and then every tenth case thereafter would be
selected. Say the third name or number on the list was the first to be selected.
Then the sampling interval k or 10 is added to 3 and the thirteenth person falls in

the sample, so does the twenty-third and so on, adding the constant sampling
interval until the end of the list is reached.
Systematic sampling differs from simple random sampling in that the various
choices are not independent. Once the first case is chosen, all subsequent cases to
be included in the sample are automatically determined.
CLUSTER SAMPLING
It is very difficult, if not impossible, to list all members of a target population and
select the sample from among them. The population of Malaysia secondary school
students, for example, is so large that one cannot list all of its members for the
purpose of drawing a sample.
In addition, it would be a very expensive undertaking to study a sample that is
scattered all over the country. In this case, it would be more convenient to study
subjects in naturally occurring groups or clusters. That is, the researcher would
choose a number of schools randomly from a list of schools and then include all the
students in those schools in his sample.
This kind of sampling is referred to as cluster sampling since the unit chosen is not
an individual but a group of individuals who are naturally together. These
individuals constitute a cluster insofar as they are alike with respect to
characteristics relevant to the variables of the study.

NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING

In non-probability sampling, the selection of a population element to be part of the
sample is based in some part on the judgment of the researcher. There is no known
chance of any particular element in the population being selected.
Therefore, it is impossible to calculate the sampling error that has occurred. There
is no way to determine whether or not the sample estimates calculated from a non
probability sample are accurate or not.
CONVENIENCE SAMPLING
Convenience samples are selected, as the name implies, on the basis of the
convenience of the researcher. Examples are:
(1) asking for people to volunteer to test products and using these people as
respondents,
(2) stopping people in a shopping mall to get their opinion,
(3) using students for conducting an experiment,
(4) having people in the streets interviewed by a television interviewer, etc.

In each instance, the sampling unit or element is self-selected or has been selected
because it was easily available. In all cases, it is unclear as to what population the
actual sample is drawn from. The television interviewer may state that her sample
represents the community. Clearly, she is wrong. Most members of the community
had no chance of being selected. It is only those who happened to be where the
interviewer was at that time of the show who had a chance of being selected. Even
the exact chance of these people being selected is unknown.
In such cases, the difference between the population value of interest and the
sample value is unknown, in terms of both size and direction.
We cannot measure sampling error, and clearly we cannot make definitive or
conclusive statements about the results from such a sample. However,
convenience samples can be most easily justified at the exploratory stage of
research , as a basis for generating hypotheses and for conclusive studies where the
manager is willing to accept the risk that the study results might have great
inaccuracies.
Convenience sampling is extensively used in practice.
JUDGEMENT SAMPLING
Judgment samples or purposive samples are selected on the basis of what some
experts thinks those particular sampling units or elements will contribute to
answering the particular research question at hand. For example, in test marketing,
a judgment is made as to which cities constitute the best ones for testing the
marketability of a new product.
In industrial marketing research, the decision to interview a purchasing agent about
a given product constitutes a judgment sample. He/she must be regarded as a
representative of the company by the person who draws the sample. Other
examples could include an instructors choice of someone to start a class
discussion: expert witnesses presenting their views in court, and the selection of
stores in an area to try out a new display.
Again, the degree and direction of error are unknown and definitive statements are
not meaningful. However, if the expert judgment is valid, the sample will be a
better one than is a convenience sample is used.
Judgment sampling is moderately used in practice.