Sampling

Question 1

What is one of the most important things about most types of method?

Answer 1

How representative of the target population your participants are

Question 2

Why do researchers need to use sampling techniques?

Answer 2

Because it isn’t possible to study the whole of the population directly, so they need a sample of people who are representative (or typical) of the target population as a whole

Question 3

What would statistically be the ideal type of sample?

Answer 3

A random sample, where any member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

Question 4

Define ‘random sample’.

Answer 4

A sample in which any member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

Question 5

What is the problem with random samples?

Answer 5

It is quite difficult to obtain a truly random sample

Question 6

Give a strength of random samples.

Answer 6

Everyone in the target population has an equal chance of being selected, so the sample is more representative than other samples

Question 7

Give 2 weaknesses of random samples?

Answer 7

• Can be complex and time consuming to gather a random sample compared with other methods (e.g. opportunity sampling)
• Can never be a true representation of a target population that is large as not everyone is on a list that can be drawn from

Question 8

What is opportunity sampling?

Answer 8

When psychologists and researchers take their sample from people that they have the opportunity of studying

Question 9

Give a strength of opportunity sampling.

Answer 9

A quicker and easier way of sampling people as you take advantage of people around you, so the research can be done more quickly.

Question 10

Give 2 weaknesses of opportunity sampling.

Answer 10

• May be biased as there could be a certain type of people you see and so it doesn’t account for everyone in the target population (unlike random samples), so it is less representative
• Could suffer from experimenter bias, where the researcher unwittingly selects people that they perceive will be co-operative or give the results they want, leading to a lack of validity.

Question 11

What is self-selecting sampling?

Answer 11

When participants sign up and select themselves to be part of the research, usually responding to adverts in the newspaper, mail, or posters around a university campus.

Question 12

Give 2 strengths of self-selected samples.

Answer 12

• Fairly easy to administer

- Recruits a large number of participants

Question 13

Give a weakness of self-selected samples.

Answer 13

• Can result in bias as it could be that there are certain types of people that are willing to sign themselves up for psychological research
• May be more likely to impress the experimenter and so show demand characteristics