Sampling Methods

Cards (14)

  • What is the target population in research?
    The people to generalize results to
  • What is a sample in research?
    A subset representing the target population
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of volunteer sampling?
    Advantages:
    • Convenient and ethical with informed consent
    • Access to a wide variety of participants

    Disadvantages:
    • Often unrepresentative due to self-selection
    • Sample depends on advertisement placement
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of opportunity sampling?
    Advantages:
    • Quick, convenient, and ethical
    • Requires no prior planning

    Disadvantages:
    • Very unrepresentative and biased
    • Limited to a small subgroup of the target population
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of systematic sampling?
    Advantages:
    • Relatively unbiased selection process
    • Reduces investigator bias

    Disadvantages:
    • Sample could be biased by chance
    • Requires access to a full list of the target population
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of random sampling?
    Advantages:
    • Best chance of a representative sample
    • Equal chance of selection for all members

    Disadvantages:
    • Time-consuming for large populations
    • Small samples may still be biased
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of stratified sampling?
    Advantages:
    • More representative due to proportional representation
    • Deliberate effort to represent subgroups

    Disadvantages:
    • Time-consuming to identify subcategories
    • Still has weaknesses of random sampling
  • How does stratified sampling improve representativeness compared to other sampling methods?
    It selects participants in proportion to subgroups
  • If a researcher wants to ensure all subgroups are represented, which sampling method should they use?
    Stratified sampling
  • What is a key characteristic of random sampling?
    Each member has an equal chance of selection
  • What is a potential issue with systematic sampling?
    It could be biased by chance selection
  • Why might opportunity sampling lead to bias?
    Researchers may choose 'helpful' looking individuals
  • What is a disadvantage of volunteer sampling?
    It often results in an unrepresentative sample
  • What is a common characteristic of all sampling methods discussed?
    They aim to select participants from a target population