Collection of a small amount of data to see if meaningful results can be obtained. Useful to check response rate and the type of data obtained.
Target population
The group you are collecting information about and will apply your results to.
Questionnaire
A set of questions designed to obtain data.
Sampling method where you select a fixed number from each group within the population.
Random sampling
Every member of the population has an equal chance of selection. Reduces bias and is more representative than other methods.
Sample
A selection of the population chosen rather than asking every member of the population.
Sampling frame
A list of the entire population from which your sample can be selected.
Sampling method
The method you use to select a sample (i.e. quota, stratified, systematic, convenience, cluster, random)
Sampling unit
Each individual person or item that is to be sampled.
Stratified
Sample contains members of each stratum (group) of the population in proportion to the size of each stratum. The sample from each stratum is selected randomly.
Systematic Sample
Choose a starting point from the sampling frame at random then select items at a regular interval (every 10th item).
