selection of participants Flashcards
research methods
How do you gather participants?
- Decide who your population/target population is
- Select a sample from the target population
What are the 5 types of sampling?
- Random sampling
- Opportunity sampling
- Volunteer sampling
- Systematic sampling
- Stratified sampling
What is random sampling?
Every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen.
What are the advantages of random sampling?
-unbiased way to select participants as the researcher does not control who participates
-the sample is likely to be representative and therefore results can be generalised
What are the disadvantages of random sampling?
-sometimes difficult to get details of everyone in the target population due to data protection laws
-those selected may refuse to take part
-no guarantee a representative sample
What is opportunity sampling?
This is where you select anybody who is convenient
What are the advantages of opportunity sampling?
-convenient way to select participants than a random sample
What are the disadvantages of opportunity sampling?
-likely to create a biased, unrepresentative sample making the results ungeneralisable of the whole population
What is volunteer sampling?
This is where researchers advertise for participants and they volunteer their participation
What are the advanteges of volunteer sampling?
-practical and easy method to get participants
What are the disadvantages of volunteer sampling?
-lacks generalisability- they’re unrepresentative of the target population
What is systematic sampling?
A sampling rate is produces and then every nth person is chosen
What are the advanteges of systematic sampling?
- unbiased method of gathering participants as who is chosen is out of the researchers hands
What are the disadvantages of systematic sampling?
- a representative sample is not necessarily going to be produced- can’t be generalised
What is a stratified sample?
To carry out a stratifies sample you would:
1. Identify strata or subgroups in the target population
2 calculate the relative proportion of each stratum based on their proportion in the general population
3. Select the required number of participants from each strata using a random sampling method
What are the advantages of stratified sampling?
-likely to lead to a more representative and so generalisable sample than random or systematic sampling
What are the disadvantages of stratified sampling?
-only possible if the researcher has sufficient information about the participants characterised
-time consuming compared to other methods
