Data Collection

Question 1

Probability Sampling Methods

Answer 1

> . Random sampling
. Systematic sampling
. Stratified sampling
. Clustered sampling

Question 2

Bias

Answer 2

Bias is in essence a non-representativeness

Question 3

Non-Probability Sampling: Part 1

Answer 3

you do not start with a complete sampling frame, so some individuals have no chance of being selected. Consequently, you cannot estimate the effect of sampling error and there is a significant risk of ending up with a non-representative sample which produces non-generalisable results. However, non-probability sampling methods tend to be cheaper and more convenient, and they are useful for exploratory research and hypothesis generation.

Question 4

Non-Probability Sampling: Part 2

Answer 4

> . Convenience sampling
. Quota sampling
. Judgment sampling
. Snowball sampling

Question 5

1. Convenience sampling

Answer 5

Convenience sampling is perhaps the easiest method of sampling, because participants are selected based on availability and willingness to take part. Useful results can be obtained, but the results are prone to significant bias, because those who volunteer to take part may be different from those who choose not to (volunteer bias), and the sample may not be representative of other characteristics, such as age or sex. Note: volunteer bias is a risk of all non-probability sampling methods.

Question 6

2. Quota sampling

Answer 6

This method of sampling is often used by market researchers. Interviewers are given a quota of subjects of a specified type to attempt to recruit. For example, an interviewer might be told to go out and select 20 adult men, 20 adult women, 10 teenage girls and 10 teenage boys so that they could interview them about their television viewing. Ideally the quotas chosen would proportionally represent the characteristics of the underlying population.

Question 7

3. Judgement (or Purposive) Sampling: Part 1

Answer 7

Also known as selective, or subjective, sampling, this technique relies on the judgement of the researcher when choosing who to ask to participate. Researchers may implicitly thus choose a “representative” sample to suit their needs, or specifically approach individuals with certain characteristics. This approach is often used by the media when canvassing the public for opinions and in qualitative research.

Question 8

3. Judgement (or Purposive) Sampling: Part 2

Answer 8

Judgement sampling has the advantage of being time-and cost-effective to perform whilst resulting in a range of responses (particularly useful in qualitative research). However, in addition to volunteer bias, it is also prone to errors of judgement by the researcher and the findings, whilst being potentially broad, will not necessarily be representative.

Question 9

4. Snowball sampling

Answer 9

This method is commonly used in social sciences when investigating hard-to-reach groups. Existing subjects are asked to nominate further subjects known to them, so the sample increases in size like a rolling snowball. For example, when carrying out a survey of risk behaviours amongst intravenous drug users, participants may be asked to nominate other users to be interviewed.
Snowball sampling can be effective when a sampling frame is difficult to identify. However, by selecting friends and acquaintances of subjects already investigated, there is a significant risk of selection bias (choosing a large number of people with similar characteristics or views to the initial individual identified).

Question 10

Phenomenon of interest

Answer 10

Concept being studied
Examples:
Experiences of cancer patients;
Experiences of women in childbirth;
Experiences of refugees; or
Exploring the experience of changing countries.

Question 11

Good Research Question

Answer 11

>. non-biased 
>. Focused
>. Answerable
>. Pertinent 
>. Intriguing
>. Relevant

Question 12

Aspects of PI to be considered

Answer 12

> . How did researcher arrive at this phenomenon?
. What exactly is the phenomenon being explored?
. What is the research question?

Question 13

How a research question is developed

Answer 13

> . Choose a topic
. Narrow your topic using and, or, or not
. Narrow your topic by addressing time, place and particular group
. Ask a question you will be interested in researching

Question 14

Design (method(s) employed in research)

Answer 14

>. Participant Observation
>. Surveys
>. Interviews
>. Focus Groups
>. Experiments
>. Secondary Data Analysis/ Archival Study