Lesson 9 (Sampling Process And Techniques, Including Access And Gate keeping

Question 1

Define population

Answer 1

Refers to everybody in the group that you wish to study

E.g. all teenagers ages 16-19 in the UK

Question 2

Define sample

Answer 2

Selection of people from the population. A sample is necessary as researchers do not have time or money to study everyone in the population

Question 3

Define representative

Answer 3

The sample should be representative of the population it was drawn from. The sample should have the same characteristics as the population as a whole.

If sample is representative then generalisation can be made and results can be applied to the population as a whole

Question 4

Define sampling unit

Answer 4

These are members of the population that you wish to study in terms of number and characteristics

Question 5

Define sampling frame

Answer 5

Once the research population has been identified, a sampling frame is used which consists of a list of members from the population that you wish to study.
The source for this could be the electoral roll or telephone directories (these have problems through)

Question 6

State 8 types of sampling methods

Answer 6

Random
Systematic 
Stratified 
Snowball
Volunteer
Opportunity 
Purposive 
Quota

Question 7

Describe random sampling

Advs? Disadvs?

Answer 7

Every member of the ambling frame has an equal chance of being selected. (E.g. drawing names out of the hat).

Advs: it limits bias (as participants are selected by chance), relatively quick sampling sampling method
Disadvs: the sample by chance may not be representative of the population, sample that are randomly chosen might not want to take part or not be able to be contacted (therefore sampling process needs to be conducted again)

Question 8

Describe systematic sampling

Answer 8

The methods systematically selects people from sampling unit to form the sampling unit e.g. by choosing every 2nd, 5th, 10th person of the list.

Advs: researcher has a sense of control of the sampling process, easy/ organised to execute as names are picked out from the sampling frame

Disadvs: the people chosen may not be representative of the larger population so data cant be generalised

Question 9

Describe stratified sampling

Advs? Disadvs?

Answer 9

Ensures sample is representative. Population are divided into strata in terms of characteristics e.g. age, gender. A sample is then selected that reflects these characteristics. Data about the sample can be gained from the UK Census.

Advs: high degree of representativeness
Disadvs: May be time consuming to organise strata and research Census

Question 10

Describe snowball sampling

Answer 10

The researcher finds someone who is willing to take part in their research e.g. maybe a gang member. The participant is then asked to find another person to also take part I the research. A network is built up and the sample grows [like a snowball].

Advs: quicker/ less effort to find ample in compared to stratified sampling, get sample that has characteristics as the the participant would have the correct links to the rest of the population
Disadvs: may not be representative as the snowball effect may lead to participants will have similar characteristics (no variety), theres a chance not many people would like to participate in the research so the network built may not be big (so small sample)

Question 11

Describe volunteers sampling process
Advs?
Disadvs?

Answer 11

Researchers can try attract volunteers who might wish to take part in the research [by promoting their research through advertising/ leaflets/ poster] - people read the info and decide if they would volunteer their time.

Advs: cost effective as sociologists wouldn’t have to pay volunteers, ethical as participants approach the researcher
Disadvs: not many people might be interested therefore small sample, sample who volunteer may not be representative

Question 12

Describe opportunity sampling process
Advs?
Disadvs?

Answer 12

Involves selecting participants simply because it is convenient to do so (e.g. if sociologists have easy access to this group as they ms have regular contact with them)

Advs: time efficient (as not time spent finding sampling frame and research) compared to stratified sampling
Disadvs: bias as the sample may know the researcher so they may give desired characteristics, the sample may not be representative [characteristics may not resemble the ones of the larger population]

Question 13

Define purposive sampling
Advs?
Disadvs?

Answer 13

Used by researchers who know what type of sample they are looking for and therefore go and find that specific sample at a specific location

Advs: as its specific researcher would obtain the researcher would obtain the specific data they want to collect, time efficient as you dont need to spend time researching characteristics like in stratified sampling

Disadvs: bias as researcher chooses participants directly, may not be representative as specific sample are likely to possess all similar characteristics

Question 14

Define quote sample

Advs?

Disadvs?

Answer 14

Researcher may conduct their research in the street and look for people who could take part in their research

Advs: random (as going up to different people) so prevents bias
Disadvs: people asked may not want to take part in the research whihc may limit sample size and therefore validity and representativeness

Question 15

Why might a sociologist want to gain ‘access’ into a group they want to study?

Answer 15

They want to gain access, usually through gatekeeper who controls access to group, to get valid and reliable data from sample

Question 16

Who are gatekeepers of a group?

Answer 16

Someone who knows sample directly [can provide or deny sociologist to access the group]