sampling

Question 1

what is a sample?

Answer 1

a group of people who take part in a research investigation, taken from a target population

Question 2

what is a population?

Answer 2

a group of people who are the focus of the researcher’s interest

Question 3

what is meant by sampling techniques?

Answer 3

the method used to select a sample from the population

Question 4

what is a random sample?

Answer 4

all members of the target population have an equal chance of selection. a complete list of the tagret populationis numbered and then a sample is selected using a lottery method

Question 5

what are the strengths of a random sample? (1)

Answer 5

increased validity, potentially unbiased

Question 6

whate are the weaknesses of a random sample? (2)

Answer 6

use of chance methods can still be unrepresentative of the target population
some ppts may refuse to take part, resulting in more of a volunteer sample

Question 7

what is a systematic sample?

Answer 7

every Nth member of the target population is selected. A sampling frame is produced, then a sampling system is nominated . This may be randomly generated to reduce bias.

Question 8

what are the strengths of a systematic sample? (1)

Answer 8

once the system is selected, the researcher has no influence over the ppts that are selected

Question 9

what are the weaknesses of a systematic sample? (2)

Answer 9

can be time-consuming to arrange and carry out
ppts could refuse, resulting in a volunteer sample

Question 10

what is a stratified sample?

Answer 10

the composition of the sample represents the proportions of people in certain ubgroups (strata) within a target population. the researcher identifies the strata that make up the population then wokrs out the proprtions neded for a representative sample

Question 11

what are the strengths of a stratified sample? (1)

Answer 11

representative, accuractely reflects the composition of the population

Question 12

what are the weaknesses of a startified sample? (1)

Answer 12

identified strata cannot always represent all the ways in which people are differnt, therefore cannot be truly representative

Question 13

what is an opportunity sample?

Answer 13

researchers select anyone who is willing and avaiable at the time of their study

Question 14

what are the strengths of an opportunity sample? (1)

Answer 14

convenient and cost friendly

Question 15

what are weaknesses of an opportunity sample? (2)

Answer 15

unrepresentative of the target popoulation, drawn from a very specific area
open to researcher bias, researcher has full control over who is asked to take part

Question 16

what is a volunteer sample?

Answer 16

participnats selecting themselves to be a part of research. can be through advertising or asking in person

Question 17

what are the strengths of a volunteer sample? (1)

Answer 17

very easy to carry out, minimal input from the researcher

Question 18

what are the weaknesses of a volunteer sample?

Answer 18

volunteer bias, ppts who volunteer may have more of a desire to please the researcher, which can affect validity

Question 19

what is bias?

Answer 19

when certain groups are over or under-represented within a selected sample. this limits the amount of generalisations that can be drawn from research

Question 20

what is generalisation?

Answer 20

the extent to which findings can be applied to the wider population.