PR-1

• Sampling


  The method or process of selecting respondents or people to answer questions meant to yield data for a research study
• Population


  The bigger group from where you choose the sample
• Sampling frame


  The list of the members of the population from where you will get the sample
• The beginning of sampling could be traced back to the early political activities of the Americans in 1920 when Literary Digest did a pioneering survey about the American citizens' favorite among the 1920 presidential candidates
• This was the very first survey that served as the impetus for the discovery by academic researchers of other sampling strategies that they categorized into two classes:probability sampling or unbiased sampling and non-probability sampling
• Probability sampling


  Involves all members listed in the sampling frame representing a certain population focused on by your study. An equal chance of participation in the sampling or selection process is given to every member listed in the sampling frame
• By means of this unbiased sampling, you can obtain a sample that can represent the population under study or of showing strong similarities in characteristics with the members of the population
• Sampling error


  Manifested by strong dissimilarity between the sample and the ones listed in the sampling frame
• The smaller the sample is, the bigger the number of sampling errors. Thus, choose to have a bigger sample of respondents to avoid sampling errors
• The right sample size also depends on whether the group is heterogeneous or homogeneous. The first group requires a bigger size; the second, a smaller one
• For a study in the field of social sciences requiring an in-depth investigation of something such as one involving the national government, the right sample size ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 or up to 2,500. On the other hand, hundreds, not thousands, of respondent's source for a study about any local government unit
• Simple random sampling


  The best type of probability sampling through which you can choose sample from a population. Using a pure-chance selection, you assure every member the same opportunity to be in the sample
• Simple random sampling methods

  1. Have a list of all members of the population; write each name on a card and choose cards through a pure-chance selection

  2. Have a list of all members; give a number to member and then use randomized or unordered numbers in selecting names from the list
• Systematic sampling


  Chance and system are the ones to determine who should compose the sample
• Stratified sampling


  The group comprising the sample is chosen in a way that such group is liable to subdivision during the data analysis stage
• Cluster sampling


  Makes you isolate a set of persons instead of individual members to serve as sample members
• Most sampling in qualitative research entails purposive sampling of some kind. Probability sampling which is applied in quantitative research is not appropriate to qualitative research
• Purposive sampling


  Researchers seek out groups, settings and individuals where the processes being studied are most likely to occur
• Theoretical sampling


  Choosing cases in terms of your theory, choosing 'deviant' cases, and changing the size of your sample during the research
• Non-probability sampling


  Disregards random selection of subjects. The subjects are chosen based on their availability or the purpose of the study, and in some cases, on the sole discretion of the researcher
• Types of non-probability sampling

  • Quota sampling
  • Voluntary sampling
  • Purposive or Judgmental sampling
  • Availability sampling
  • Snowball sampling
• Qualitative researchers must heed some ethical considerations when collect data. Qualitative researchers are obliged to respect the rights, needs, values, and desires of their informants
• Qualitative researchers must heed some ethical considerations when collecting data
• Qualitative researchers are obliged to respect the rights, needs, values, and desires of their informants
• The nature of qualitative data collection methods and procedures sometimes creates situations where qualitative researchers find themselves in ethical dilemmas
• Ethnographic research is always obtrusive; participant observation invades the life of the informant and sensitive information is frequently revealed
• Ethical safeguards for qualitative researchers

  • Clear and written articulation of the research objectives and description of how data will be used
  • Written permission from the informant to proceed with the study as articulated
  • Informing the informant of all data collection devices and activities
  • Verbatim transcriptions and written interpretations and reports will be made available to the informant
  • Prioritizing the informant's rights, interests, and wishes when choices are made regarding reporting the data
  • Giving the informant the discretion to decide about his or her anonymity
• Addressing the questions shifts the discussion to sampling which is another important component of the research methodology
• Structured observation or systematic observation


  A technique in which the researcher employs explicitly formulated rules for the observation and recording of behavior
• Participant observation


  One of the best-known methods of research in the social sciences, entailing the relatively prolonged immersion of the observer in a social setting in which he or she seeks to observe the behavior of members of that setting
• Nonparticipant observation


  Used to describe a situation in which the observer observes but does not participate in what is going on in the social setting
• Unstructured observation


  Does not entail the use of an observation schedule for the recording of behavior, instead the aim is to record as much data as possible the behavior of participants with the aim of developing a narrative account of that behavior

  
• Simple observation


  The observer is unobtrusive and is not observed by those being observed, with no influence over the situation being observed
• Contrived observation


  The observer actively alters the situation to observe the effects of an intervention
• Differences between structured interview and qualitative interview

  • Structured interview: Structured approach to maximize reliability and validity of measurement, reflects researcher's concerns, rambling discouraged, standardization strictly followed, generates answers that can be coded and processed quickly, one-time interview

  Qualitative interview: Emphasis on greater generality in initial research ideas and interviewees' own perspectives, greater interest in interviewee's point of view, rambling encouraged, can depart from schedule, flexible, generates rich, detailed answers, may involve multiple interviews
• Observation


  A technique of gathering data whereby the researcher personally watches, interacts, or communicates with the subjects of the research, recording what people do and say in their everyday life
• Observation


  • Allows the researcher to obtain firsthand knowledge about subjects' behavior and interactions, can be done in a participatory or non-participatory manner, can be done overtly or covertly
• Participant observation


  The observer takes part in the activities of the individual or group being observed, using a diary or logbook to record descriptive observations and narrative reflections
• Non-participant or structured observation


  The observer watches and listens to the subjects without participating, recording observations using a checklist or observation schedule
• Direct observation


  The observer sees or hears everything that happens in the observation directly