Week 6 - Sampling and Power Estimation Flashcards
what is population (P of PICO)?
the entire aggregation of cases in which a researcher is interested.
what is a sample?
a subset of a population participating in a research study.
what are the basic sampling concepts in quant research?
- Researchers use a sampling/sample plan to obtain an accessible sample
- Accessible sample is based on designated criteria
- Helps us to understand the broader target population for which to generalize
what is sampling?
the process of selecting cases to represent a desired population
what is a representative sample?
one whose characteristics closely approximate those of the population. Example: gender or age group
what is eligibility or inclusion criteria for sampling?
the defined attributes of a target population. Example: diagnosis, age group, practice constraints of convenience, people’s ability/interest to participate, research design considerations (i.e. placebo vs drug), presence of symptoms (i.e. migraine aura).
what are exclusion criteria in sampling?
the characteristics of a population that people must not posses. Example: you wish to study premature infants’ reactions to an intervention; you would want to exclude full-term infants by age and/or weight criteria.
explain the sampling plan
need to think about how many subjects will be selected and how many to include
what are the two key goals in sampling?
- Representativeness
- Adequate size
what is strata in sampling?
subpopulations within the overall population. It is comprised of 1 or more characteristics that are mutually exclusive. Example: College degree or no college degree; Illicit drug use or no illicit drug use.
what is staged sampling?
sampling that is accomplished over multiple stages. Example: Stage 1=census records within indicated counties; Stage 2=Medicare enrollees; Stage 3=selecting individuals >65 with a diagnosis of COPD.
what is sampling bias?
the systemic overrepresentation or underrepresentation of a population subgroup on a characteristic relevant to the research question. This may happen in the short term due to costs, practicality with no big effects. However if eligibility-inclusion criteria are continuously restricted over a longer period of time, this can impact generalizability of entire segments of the population.
what is a sampling error?
differences between sample values (i.e. HDL cholesterol in a sample of Type 2 diabetics) and population values (overall HDL average in the U.S. population [norm referenced for age]).
what is probability sampling?
involves random selection of elements, which ensures greater confidence in representativeness
what is non-probability sampling?
uses selection by non-random methods
what are the key factors for probability sampling?
- Samples are randomly selected
- Everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected
- Used to control sampling bias
- Useful when focus is on population diversity
- Used when researcher needs to ensure accuracy
- Finding correct target population is not simple
what are the key factors of non-probability sampling?
- Samples are selected based on researcher’s judgement
- Not everyone has an equal chance to participate
- Sampling bias is not a primary concern
- Useful in environment that shares similar traits
- Does not help representation of population accurately
- Finding target population is very simple
when do you use probability sampling?
- when you want to reduce the sampling bias
- when the population is usually diverse
- to create an accurate sample
what are the different types of probability sampling?
- simple random sampling
- stratified random sampling
- cluster sampling
- systemic sampling
what is simple random sampling?
an entirely random method of selecting the sample. This sampling method assigns numbers to all the individuals in the population (sample) and then randomly chooses from those numbers through an automated process. The numbers chosen are the members included in the sample. (most basic probability sampling)
what is stratified random sampling?
involves a method where the researcher divides a more extensive population into smaller homogenous (and often unequal) groups that usually don’t overlap (strata) but represent the entire population. While sampling, subgroups are organized, and then a random sample is drawn from each group separately. Example: a school comprising of 1000 students has the following breakdowns: 20%AA, 20%Hispanic, 10% Asian, and 50% White students. So a stratified sample would draw 20, 20, 10 and 50 students from each respective strata groups.
what is cluster sampling?
selection of broad groups (clusters) rather than selecting individuals. Each cluster usually involves a population with its own elements. Example: hospitals, universities, country, state or region. Then the researcher creates smaller subunits: family, city, school programs and departments.