Research Methods-Sampling Flashcards
What are the people taking part in your study called?
Participants.
What is the target population?
The group of people that the researcher is interested in. The group of people from whom a sample is drawn. The group of people about whom generalisations can be made.
What is the population?
The population is the group from whom the sample is drawn.
If the sample is only taken from schools in warwickshire, the findings of the study can only be applied to that group of people and not students in the U.K. And certainly not all over the world.
What is opportunity sampling?
Opportunity sampling is the sampling technique most used by sociology students. It consists of taking the sample from people who are available at the time the study is carried out and fit the criteria you are looking for.
Evaluation of Opportunity Sampling:
+ the easiest method because you use the first participants you can find, which means it takes less time to locate your sample than if your using one of the other techniques.
- inevitably biased as the sample is drawn from a small part of the target population. E.g if you took your sample from people in them on a Monday morning, then it would be unlikely to include professional people (at work) or people from rural areas.
What is random sampling?
A sampling technique which is defined as a sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen. This involves identifying everyone in the target population and then selecting the number of participants you need in a way that gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being picked.
Evaluation of a Random Sampling:
+ unbiased everyone if the target population have an equal chance.
- researcher may end up with an unrepresentative and therefore biased sample (e.g more boys than girls) because not everyone agrees to participate.
What is self-selected (volunteer) sampling?
Self selected sampling consists of participants becoming part of a study because they volunteer when asked or in response to an advent.
Evaluation of Volunteer Sampling:
+ access to variety of participants (e.g all the people who read a newspaper) which may make the sample more representative and less biased.
- sample is biased as participants are likely to be more highly motivated and/or with extra time on their hands (= volunteer bias).
