sampling

• generalisability

  the degree to which you can apply the results of your study to a broader population
• sample

  smaller sub group drawn from the wider group we are researching
• sampling

  process of creating of sample

  ensures that people we have chosen to include in study are representative of research population

  preferred by positivists- they wish to make general, law-like statements about society
• sampling frame

  list of all the members of the population we are interested in studying

  e.g young and willmott used electoral register to research family life
• sampling techniques

  random sampling

  stratified sampling

  snowball sampling

  quota sampling

  quasi-random sampling/ systematic sampling
• representative sampling

  ensures people we include in our study represents of research population
• non representative sampling

  used when representative sampling is unattainable

  or when sociologist wants to find a group that may prove hypothesis wrong

  
  

  practical reasons - social characteristics may not be known, respondents may refuse to participate

  
  

  theoretical reasons - interpretivists less concerned to make generalisations so don't need representative sample
• non representative sampling

  snowball sampling

  opportunity sampling
• representative sampling

  random sampling

  systematic sampling or quasi-random sampling

  stratified random sampling

  quota sampling
• random sampling

  sample is selected purely by chance

  everyone has an equal chance
• systematic sampling

  also called quasi-random sampling

  where every nth person in the sampling frame is selected

  e.g Young and Wilmott used every 36th name on the electoral register
• quota sampling

  the population is stratified (broken down)

  then each interviewer is given an exact number of people from categories they need to fill

  interviewer keeps at this task until quota is filled

  interviewers find people to fill pre-set quotas, which may be according to their proportion in the survey population
• snowball sampling

  researcher selects one person, asks them to put them in touch with other people
• opportunity sampling

  involves choosing from those individuals who are easiest to access

  e.g class of pupils, passer-by in the street
• stratified sampling


  researcher first breaks down the population in the sampling frame by age, class, gender then random sample is created in the same proportions