Research methods Flashcards
definition of target population?
the population under investigation from which the sample is drawn
definition of biased sample
a sample that doesn’t represent the target population
definition of representative sample
a sample that represents the larger population
definition of sampling
the selection of part of a larger population in order to indicate what the population is like
what is opportunity sampling?
a sample made up of anyone who is available
what is volunteer sampling?
a sample drawn from people who volunteer to take part in the research
what is stratified sampling?
a sample which reflects the proportion of certain characteristics in the target population. Members of the sample are randomly selected
what is random sampling?
a sample which is randomly selected from the target population
strengths and weaknesses of opportunity sampling
S-randomly selected so sampling bias- researcher less control of who’s selected
W- not everyone in target population has equal chance of being selected
strengths and weaknesses of volunteer sampling
S- quick, cheap and easy way of obtaining ppts
W- researchers have no control so more chance of sample bias
strengths and weaknesses of stratified sampling
S- allows researchers to make sure that certain aspects of the target population are represented
W- have to be proportionally represented
strengths and weaknesses of random sampling
S-everyone equal chance of being selected
W- can’t guarantee large sample
what is quantitative data?
measurements or scores in the forms of numbers
strengths and weaknesses of quantitative data
S- quick and easy to analyse and compare (objective)
W- can’t get in depth detailed answers and individual differences can’t be identified
what is qualitative data
not arrived at by statistical
