stats Flashcards
what is a population?
the whole set of items that are of interest
what is a sample?
some subset of items chosen from the population
what is sampling unit?
each individual thing in the population that can be sampled
what is a sampling frame?
a numbered list of the entire population - individually named or numbered
what is a cenus?
data collected from an entire population
compare census and sample:
census:
✓gives a 100% accurate result
✖time consuming
✖expensive
✖cannot be used when testing involves destruction
✖large volume of data to process
sample:
✖data may not be large enough to represnt small sub-groups
how could you improve sample size
use a larger sample size
mention number (10% of population size)
what is a sampling error?
the difference between the actual value and the value to got from a sample
eg: comparing your sample results to the census results
What is bias?
the systematic error in the collection of the sample
what can result in a biased sample?
- sample not representative of the population
- leading questions- are you a law abiding citezen
- the wrong person asking questions
- small sample size
what is random sampling?
every item has an equal chance of being selected for sample
what is non-random sampling?
sample selection is based on other factors than just random chance
what is simple random sampling?
SRS
every sample has an equal chnace of being seleted
how would you carry out simple random sampling?
- allocate a number between 1 ans N to each individual- so tht every item in sampling frame has an identifying number
- using a random number generator to select ‘15’ different numbers between 1 and ‘120’ discard any repeated numbers or numbers above ‘120’, select 2 digit numbers at a time
- **individulas corresponding to these numbers become the sample **
what are the advantages and disadvantages of simple random sampling?
✓bias free
✓cheap and eay to implement
✓each individual has a known equal chance of being selected
✖not suitable when population size is large
✖sampling frame needed
what is systematic sampling?
required elements are chosen at regular intervals in ordered list
(first perosn is also chosen at random)
the sampling frame must be random, there shpuld be no patterns
how would you carry out systematic sampling?
- determine k
- randomly select a number between 1-k
- start with the individulal of this number
- select the every kth person
- these people will be in the sample
what are the advantages and disadvantages of systematic sampling?
✓simple
✓suitable for large samples
✖sampling frame needed
✖can introduce bias if the sampling frame is not random
what is stratified sampling?
the population is dividied into groups (strata) and a simple random sample is carried out in each group
same proportion is taken from each group
how would you carry out stratified sampling?
- perform calculation to know how many you want from each group
- label each group from ‘1- 15’
- use random number generator to select ‘2’ different numbers from1-15
- those with the corresponfong numbers become the sample
what are the advantages and disadvantages of stratified sampling?
✓reflects population structure
✓gurantees proprtional respresentation of groups within population
✖population must be clearly classified into distinct strata
✖sampling frame needed
what is convenience sampling?
samples are taken from people who are available at time of study, who meet criteria