Sampling Flashcards

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1
Q

Who is the target population

A
  • the group of people from whom the sample is draw
  • e.g. if the sample of pps is taken from sixth form schools in salisbury, the findings of the study can only be applied to that group of people
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2
Q

Why do psychologists use sampling techniques

A
  • to choose poeple who are representative of the population as a whole
  • if your sample is representative then you can generalise the results of your study to the wider population
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3
Q

What is opportunity sampling

A
  • taking the sample from people who are available at the time the study is carried out, and fit the criteria you are looking for
  • most used by psychology students
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4
Q

Advantages of opportunity sapling

A
  • quick and practical way of getting a sample

- natural expereiments have to be used as the researcher has no control over who is studied

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5
Q

Disadvantages of opportunity sampling

A
  • unrepresentative-cannot be generalised to target population
  • pps have the option to decline-so sample may then become self selected
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6
Q

What is random sampling

A
  • every member of a population has an equal chance of being chosen
  • identifying everyone in the target population and then selecting the number of pps you need in a way that gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being picked
  • could be done manually e.g. using a hat, or computer e.g. randomly picking numbers
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7
Q

Advantages of random sampling

A
  • unbiased selection-therefore more likely to be representative
  • generalisation-if representative then results can be generalised to the target population
  • everyone has an equal chance of being selected
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8
Q

Disadvantages of random sampling

A
  • impractical-difficult to achieve and get full details of the target population. Not all will be available and some may not want to take part
  • not representative-does not guarantee an unbiased sample
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9
Q

What is stratified sampling

A

classifying the population into categories and then choosing a sample which consists of pps from each category in the same proportions as they are in the populatoin

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10
Q

Advantages of stratified sampling

A
  • unbiased selection-therefore more likely to be representative
  • generalisation-if representative then results can be generalised to the target population
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11
Q

Disadvantages of stratified sampling

A
  • knowledge of population characteristics required. May not be available
  • time consuming
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12
Q

What is self selected (volunteer) sampling

A
  • pps becoming part of a study because they volunteer when asked or in response to an advert
  • researcher may then select those suitable for study
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13
Q

Advantages of volunteer sampling

A
  • ease of formation-creating sample requires little effort
  • less chance of the “screw you” phenomenon-pps are eager to take part so less chance of deliberate sabotage
  • large number of people may respons so allows for more in depth analysis and more accurate results
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14
Q

Disadvantages of volunteer sampling

A
  • unrepresentative-volunteers tend to be a certain “type” of person so cannot generalise to target population
  • demand characteristics-volunteers are eafer to please so increases the chance of demand characteristics
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15
Q

What is systematic sampling

A
  • taking the nth person from a list to create a sample
  • e.g. if a company has a workforce of 1000 employees and a sample of 20pps is needed, then 1000÷20=50. Therefore take every 50th name from the list of employees to make a sample
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16
Q

Advantages of systematic sampling

A
  • unbiased-increases chance of representative sample
  • generalisation-the results are representative of the population, unless certain characteristics of the population are repeated for every nth person but this is unlikely
  • simple and effective way of generating a sample with a random element-evenly sampled
17
Q

Disadvantages of systematic sampling

A
  • periodic traits-can interact with a hidden periodic trait within a population
  • not representative-unbiased selection does not always guarantee an unbaised sample e.g. all females could be selected
  • can be difficult to identify traits and characteristics
18
Q

The majority of psychological reserach has been on what kinds of societies

A

-western
-educated
-industralised
-rich
-industralised
This means most research is not remotely representative of the whole worlds population