Chapter 5

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Discussion Topics
 Participants, subjects, and samples
 Probability sampling
 Non-probability sampling
 Issues related to sampling
 Criteria for evaluating sampling procedures

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Subjects, Participants, and Samples
 Participant or Subject
 Person from whom data are collected
 The term “subject” is gradually being phased out
 It is being replaced by “participant” and “source of data”
 Sample – the collective group of subjects or
participants from whom data are collected

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Sampling Procedures
 Two types of procedures
 Probability
 Statistically driven sampling techniques where the probability of being
selected is known
 Purpose is to select a group of participants representative of the larger
group of subjects from which they are selected
 Non-probability
 Pragmatically driven sampling techniques where the probability of being
selected is not known
 Purpose is to select participants who can be particularly informative
about the research issues

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Probability Sampling
 Method of sampling in which participants are selected
randomly from a population in such a way that the
researcher knows the probability of selecting each
participant.
 In a sample of 10 from a population of 100, each subject has a 10%
chance of being included in the sample
 In a sample of 50 from a population of 100, each participant has a
50% chance of being in included in the sample

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Probability Sampling
 Population: a large group of individuals to whom the
results of a study can be generalized
 Target population: the group to whom the results are intended to be
generalized
 Sampling frame (i.e., survey population or accessible population)
 The group to whom the researcher has access and from which the actual
sample will be drawn
 Often the sampling frame and the target population are different

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Probability Sampling
 The goal of probability sampling is to select a sample that is
representative of the population from which it is selected
 Sampling error - the difference between the “true” result and the
“observed” result that can be attributed to using samples rather
than populations
 Sampling bias - the difference between the “observed” and “true”
results that is attributed to the sampling mistakes of the researcher.

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Probability Sampling
 Types of probability techniques
 Simple random - a number is assigned to each subject in
the population and a table of random numbers or a
computer is used to select subjects randomly from the
population
 Systematic - a number is assigned to each subject in the
population, and every nth member of the population is
selected

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Probability Sampling
 Types of probability techniques
 Stratified sampling - similar to random sampling with the exception
that subjects are selected randomly from strata, or subgroups, of the
population
 Strata: homogeneous subgroups within a population
 Males and females
 Certified and non-certified teachers
 Proportional stratified sample
 Disproportional stratified sampling

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Probability Sampling
 Types of probability techniques
 Cluster sampling: similar to random sampling except
that naturally occurring groups are randomly selected
first, then subjects are randomly selected from these
sampled groups
 Useful when it is impossible to identify all of the individuals
in a population
 Typical educational clusters are districts, schools, or
classrooms

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Probability Sampling
 Five steps in selecting probability samples
 Define the target population
 Identify the sampling frame
 Determine the sample size
 Select the sampling strategy (i.e., procedure)
 Select the sample

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Non-Probability Sampling
 Method of sampling in which the probability of
selecting a participant is unknown
 It is often not possible to use probability sampling
techniques due to access, time, resource or financial
constraints
 It is often desirable to select subjects who can be
particularly informative about the research issues

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Non-Probability Sampling
 Three categories of non-probability sampling
procedures
 Convenience sampling
 Purposive
 Quota

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Non-Probability Sampling
 Convenience sampling: selecting a participant or group of
participants based on their availability to the researcher
 Typical of much educational research given the constraints under
which it is conducted
 The major concern is the limited generalizability of the results from
the sample to any population
 Examples
 Students enrolled in the researcher’s classes
 Fourth-grade students in two local, parochial schools to which the
researcher has access

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Non-Probability Sampling
 Purposive sampling: selection of particularly informative or
useful participants
 Typically selects a few information-rich participants who are
studied in-depth
 Also known as purposeful sampling
 Examples
 It is reasonable to select “expert” teachers if one is trying to understand
how teachers use effective instructional strategies
 It is reasonable to select physically fit individuals if one is trying to
identify effective exercise behaviors

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Non-Probability Sampling
 Quota sampling: non-random sampling representative
of a larger population
 Used when the researcher cannot use probability
sampling procedures but does want a sample that is
somewhat representative of the population
 Similar to stratified sampling with the exception that the
subjects are selected non-randomly

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Non-Probability Sampling
 Types of non-probability techniques
 Typical case: selecting a representative participant
 Extreme case: selecting a unique or atypical participant
 Maximum variation: selecting participants to represent extreme
cases
 Snowball (i.e., network): selecting participants from
recommendations of other participants
 Critical case: selecting the most important participants to
understand the phenomena being studied

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Using Sampling Procedures
 Quantitative studies
 The desired use of probability sampling due to the ability to
generalize the results to the larger population
 Frequent use of non-probability techniques - particularly
convenience sampling - due to access, time, resource, or financial
constraints
 Qualitative studies
 Almost exclusive reliance on non-probability techniques -
particularly purposeful sampling

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Sampling and Results
 How might the sampling procedures affect the results?
 Need to identify the sampling procedure used
 Need to evaluate the sampling procedure in light of the
research problems and conclusions
 Need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of specific
sampling procedures (see Table 5.2, p. 123)

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Sampling and Results
 Sampling error: the difference between the “true” result and the
“observed” result that can be attributed to using samples rather
than populations
 In a sample of 99 from a population of 100
 The observed result is likely to be very, very close to the true result
 Sampling error is minimal
 In a sample of 2 from a population of 100
 The observed result is likely to be somewhat different from the true result
 Sampling error is high

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Sampling and Results
 Sampling bias: the difference between the “observed” and
“true” results that is attributed to the sampling mistakes of the
researcher
 Deliberately sampling participants with certain attributes
 Positive attitudes
 High self-esteem
 High level of achievement
 Using participants from different populations and assigning them
to different treatment groups
 Males to an experimental treatment group and females to a traditional
treatment group

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Sampling and Results
 How might the characteristics of the participants affect
the results?
 Volunteer samples
 Different characteristics between volunteers and non-volunteers
can lead to different responses
 Educational level
 Socio-economic status
 Need for social approval
 Conformity
 Commonly used due to their availability

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Sampling and Results
 Subject motivation
 Specific characteristics of the sample can predispose them
to respond in certain ways
 Only selecting teachers using holistic language strategies
would likely predispose them to respond favorably to an
attitudinal scale focusing on holistic language instruction
 Only selecting students who participate in extra-curricular
activities might predispose them to certain types of
responses

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Sampling and Results
 Sample size - general rules of thumb
 Quantitative studies
 30 participants for correlational research
 15 participants in each group for experimental research
 Approximately 250 responses for survey research
 Qualitative studies - a sufficient number of participants are
needed to ensure that no new information is forthcoming from
additional cases

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Sampling and Results
 Sample Size
 Need to interpret results very carefully - results form
studies using very large or very small samples can be
misleading
 Results indicating “no difference” or “no relationship” in
studies with small samples an be problematic
 Results of “differences” or “relationships” in studies can be
problematic

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Criteria for Evaluating Sampling
Procedures
 Participants should be described clearly with specific
and detailed information related to demographic and
other personal characteristics
 The population should be clearly defined.
 The sampling procedure should be clearly described.

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Criteria for Evaluating Sampling
Procedures
 The return rate should be reported and analyzed.
 Less than a 60% return rate requires further analysis
 Comparison of the responses of respondents to non-
respondents
 The selection of participants should be free of bias.

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Criteria for Evaluating Sampling
Procedures
 Selection procedures should be appropriate for the
problem being investigated.
 Adequate sample sizes should be used.
 Qualitative studies should have informative and
knowledgeable subjects.

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