22. CHOOSING A SAMPLING METHOD

Question 1

1. What 4 factors does choosing a Sampling Method depend on?

Answer 1

IT DEPENDS ON:
- the aim of the study
- the nature of the Source Population
- the Sample Size
- other practical issues

Question 2

2. Give some examples of practical issues that we can run into when we are sampling a group of individuals?

Answer 2

• financial resources
• time availability

Question 3

3. What method should we use when there are no financial and time constraints?

Answer 3

IT IS ALWAYS STRONGLY ADVISED TO USE:
- Probability Random Sampling Techniques
- this minimises the selection bias

Question 4

4. What is the ideal method to use if we have a small sample, and no time or financial constraints?

Answer 4

• the Stratified Random Sampling Technique

Question 5

5. What can be said about the representativeness of the sample when we are dealing with Non-Random Sampling techniques?

Answer 5

• the representativeness of the sample is always
  questionable
• we assume that the selection bias is operating at some
  extent

Question 6

6. What is an example of what Descriptive Research investigates?

Answer 6

• it investigates the prevalence of a disease in a
  population

Question 7

7. What can be said about the representativeness of the Sample used in Descriptive Research?

Answer 7

• it is extremely important to have a perfectly
  representative sample

THIS IS BECAUSE:
- the selection bias will greatly influence the findings

Question 8

8. What is an example of what Analytic Research investigates?

Answer 8

• it investigates exposure-outcome associations

Question 9

9. What can be said about the representativeness of the Sample used in Analytic Research?

Answer 9

IT IS ACCEPTABLE
- to have minor deviations from a perfectly
representative sample

THIS IS BECAUSE:
- minor selection bias may not affect the findings at a
large extent

Question 10

10. What kind of sampling should always be avoided regardless of the study design?

Answer 10

• Convenience Sampling