Research Methodology & IPR

Module 3
Sampling: Concepts, Types of Sampling,
Probability Sampling: simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified random sampling, cluster
sampling,
Non Probability Sampling: convenience sampling- judgmental sampling, snowball sampling, quota
sampling, Errors in sampling.

Terminologies in Sampling:

Population: In sampling, a population signifies the units that we are interested in studying. These units
could be people, cases, and pieces of data. A population is the total group of people about who you are
researching and about which you want to draw conclusions.

When we are interested in a population, it is often impractical and sometimes undesirable to try and
study the entire population. For example, if the population we were interested in was frequent, male
Facebook users in the United States, this could be millions of users (i.e., millions of units). If we chose to
study these Facebook users using structured interviews (i.e., our chosen research method), it could take
a lifetime. Therefore, we choose to study just a sample of these Facebook users.

Sample: A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population. It simply means selecting the group
that you will actually collect data from in your research. This is called Sampling.

A population can be defined in terms of geographical location, age, income etc.

Sample Frame: The sampling frame is the actual list of individuals that the sample is drawn from. Ideally,
it should include the entire target population.

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Example: You are doing a research on working conditions at a social media marketing company. Your
population is all 1000 employees of the company. Your sampling frame is the company’s HR database,
which lists the names and contact details of every employee.

Sampling Size: The sample size is the measure of the number of individual samples used in an
experiment. The number of individuals you should include in your sample depends on various factors,
including the size and variability of the population.

Unit: A unit is a thing being studied. Usually it is people. But it can also be additional selection criteria
used to choose the units to study.

Assignment: The drawn samples are assigned to different groups.

Sampling Fraction: When there are n people selected from the population N, then the sampling fraction
is calculated as n/N. This can be expressed as a number or a percentage.

Sampling Error: This is the standard error for the sample distribution and measures the variation across
different samples. Larger sample sizes will lead to a smaller sampling error.

Systematic Error: A systematic Error is the one caused by human error during the design or
implementation of the experiment.

Strata: Strata is a subgroup within a population or sample frame. This helps reduce error.

Sampling is an essential part of any research project. The right sampling method can make or break the
validity of our research. It is essential to pick the right sampling methods for your question.

Steps in Sampling Design Process:

 Stage 1: Clearly Define Target Population.

 Stage2: Select Sampling Frame.

 Stage 3: Choose Sampling Technique.

 Stage 4: Determine Sample Size.

 Stage 5: Collect Data.

Characteristics of a Good Sample Design

The characteristics of a good sample as follows;

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 Sample design must result in a truly representative sample,

 Sample design must be such which results in a small sampling error,

 Sample design must be such that systematic bias can be controlled in a better way, and

 Sample should be such that the results of the sample study can be applied, in general, for the
universe with a reasonable level of confidence.

Census sample: Census is the process of collecting data from every member of a population,
while sampling is the process of collecting data from a subset of a population. In a census, every
member of a population is included, while in sampling, a smaller group of individuals is selected to
represent the population as a whole.

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Advantages of Sampling:

 Reduced data requirements: Sampling allows for the analysis of a smaller, representative subset
of data rather than the entire dataset, reducing the computational and storage requirements.
 Increased efficiency: Sampling can significantly increase the efficiency of data analysis, allowing
for faster and more cost-effective conclusions to be drawn.
 Better representation: Sampling can ensure that the subset of data used for analysis is more
representative of the entire dataset, leading to more accurate and reliable conclusions.
 Simplification of data: Sampling can simplify complex data sets and make them more
manageable for analysis.
 Identification of patterns: Sampling can be used to identify patterns and trends in large data sets
that may not be apparent when analyzing the entire dataset.
 Cost-effective: Sampling is often less expensive and time-consuming than analyzing an entire
dataset, making it an attractive option for organizations with limited resources.
 Improve generalization: Sampling can lead to better generalization of findings to the population,
as sample is a representative subset of the population.

Disadvantages of Sampling:

 Sampling error: The potential for sampling error, or the difference between the sample and
population statistics, can lead to inaccurate conclusions and unreliable results.
 Bias: Sampling methods that are not properly executed can introduce bias into the sample,
leading to inaccurate conclusions about the population.
 Missing data: Sampling can result in missing data, which can affect the validity and reliability of
the results.
 Small sample size: A small sample size can lead to low precision and high variability in the
results, making it difficult to draw accurate conclusions about the population.
 Inadequate knowledge of population: Sampling can lead to inaccurate conclusions if the
researcher has inadequate knowledge of the population being studied.

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Types of Sampling:

Probability Sampling: Probability sampling is a sampling technique where a researcher selects a few
criteria and chooses members of a population randomly. All the members have an equal opportunity to
participate in the sample with this selection parameter.

Types of Probability Sampling/Probability Sampling Techniques:

A. Simple Random Sampling: In a simple random sample, every member of the population has an
equal chance of being selected. Your sample frame should include the whole population. To
conduct this type of sampling, you can use tools like random number generators or other
techniques that are based entirely on chance.

Example: You want to select a simple random sample of 1000 employees of a social media
marketing company. You assign a number to every employee in the company database from 1 to
1000, and use a random number generator to select 100 members.

B. Systematic sampling: Systematic sampling is similar to simple random sampling, but it is usually
slightly easier to conduct. Every member of the population is listed with a number, but instead of
randomly generating numbers, individuals are chosen at regular intervals.
Example: All employees of the company are listed in alphabetical order. From the first 10 numbers,
you randomly select a starting point: number 5. From number 5 onwards, every 10 th person on the
list is selected (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and so on), and you end up with a sample of 100 people.

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C. Stratified Sampling: Stratified sampling involves dividing the population into subpopulations that
may differ in important ways. It allows you to draw more precise conclusions by ensuring that
every subgroup is properly represented in the sample. To use this sampling method, you divide the
population into subgroups (called strata) based on the relevant characteristics (age, income bracket
etc)
Example: The organization has 800 female employees and 200 male employees. You want to
ensure that the sample reflects the gender balance of the company, so you sort the population into
two strata based on gender. Then you use random sampling on each group, selecting 80 women
and 20 men, which gives you a representative sample of 100 people.
D. Cluster Sampling: Cluster sampling involves dividing the population into subgroups, but each
subgroup should have similar characteristics to the whole sample. Instead of sampling individuals
from each subgroup, you randomly select the entire subgroups.
Example: The organization has offices in 10 cities across the country (all with roughly the same
number of employees in similar roles). You don’t have the capacity to travel to every office to
collect your data, so you use random sampling to select 3 offices – these are your clusters.

1. Non-probability sampling:

In a non-probability sample, individuals are selected based on non-random criteria, and not every
individual has a chance of being included. This type of sample is easier and cheaper to access, but it has
a higher risk of sampling bias. That means the inferences you can make about the population are
weaker than with probability samples, and your conclusions may be more limited. If you use a non-
probability sample, you should still aim to make it as representative of the population as possible.

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A. Convenience Sampling: A convenience sample simply includes the individuals who happen to be
most accessible to the researcher. This is an easy way to gather initial data, but there is no way
to tell if the sample is representative of the population, so it can’t produce generalized results. It
is risk for both sampling bias and selection bias.
Example: You are researching opinions about student support services in your university, so
after each of your classes, you ask your fellow students to complete a survey on the topic. This is
a convenient way to gather data, but as you only surveyed students taking the same classes as
you at the same level, the sample is not representative of all the students at your university.
B. Judgmental Sampling: This sampling is also called as Purposive Sampling. It involves the
researcher using their expertise to select a sample that is most useful to the purposes of the
research. It is often used in qualitative research, where the researcher wants to gain detailed
knowledge about a specific phenomenon rather than make statistical inferences, or where the
population is very small and specific. An effective purposive sample must have clear criteria and
rationale for inclusion.
Example: You want to know more about the opinions and experiences of disabled students at
your university, so you purposefully select a number of students with different support needs in
order to gather a varied range of data on their experiences with student services.
C. Snowball Sampling: If the population is hard to access, snowball sampling can be used to recruit
participants via other participants. The number of people you have access to “snowballs” as you
get in contact with more people. The downside here is also representativeness, as you have no

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way of knowing how representative your sample is due to the reliance on participants recruiting
others.
Example: You are researching experiences of homelessness in your city. Since there is no list of
all homeless people in the city, probability sampling isn’t possible. You meet one person who
agrees to participate in the research, and she puts you in contact with other homeless people
that she knows in the area.
D. Quota Sampling: Quota sampling relies on non-random selection of a predetermined number or
proportion of units. This is called quota. Or it is defined as a non-probability sampling method in
which researchers create a convenience sample involving individuals that represent a population.
Researchers choose these individuals according to specific traits or qualities.

Example: A researcher wants to survey individuals about what smart phone brand they prefer to
use. He/she considers a sample size of 500 respondents. Also, he/she is only interested in
surveying ten states in the US. Here’s how the researcher can divide the population by quotas:

Gender: 250 males and 250 females

Age: 100 respondents each between the ages of 16-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, and 51+

Employment status: 350 employed and 150 unemployed people.

(Researchers apply further nested quotas . For eg, out of the 150 unemployed people, 100 must
be students.)

Location: 50 responses per state

Errors in Sampling:

What is a sampling error?

 A sampling error occurs when the sample used in the study does not represent the entire
population. Although sampling errors occur frequently, researchers always include a margin of
error in their conclusions as a matter of statistical practice.
 The margin of error is the amount allowed for a miscalculation to represent the difference
between the sample and the actual population.
 Sampling errors are differences between a sample’s values and the actual population’s values.
This is because a sample does not accurately represent the whole population of data.
 Since there was a mistake in collecting the data, the results from sampling are no longer valid.
Also, when a sample is chosen randomly or because of bias, it doesn’t represent the whole
population, and sampling errors are likely to happen.

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 It is possible to avoid them if analysts carefully choose representative subsets of data from
which to draw conclusions about the entire population. Factors including sample size and
design, diversity in the population, and sampling percentage all contribute to sampling errors.
 Diversity in the population increases the error in the estimations since it causes sampling to
produce mixed results. Increasing the size of the samples allows them to represent the
population more accurately, reducing the impact of population variation.

1. Population Specification Error: A population specification error occurs when researchers

For example, imagine a research study about kid’s apparel. Who is the right person to
survey? It can be the parents, only the mother, or the child. The parents make purchase
decisions, but the kids may influence their choice.

2. Sample Frame Error: Sampling frame error occurs when researchers target the sub-
population incorrectly while selecting the sample.
Example: Picking a database of sample frame that includes the data of customers of XY
broadband connection services of the past 5 years. This can be outdated because customers
might have switched their broadband services since the 5 years.
3. Selection Error: Selection error occurs when respondents self-select themselves to
participate in the study. You can control selection errors by going the extra step to request

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responses from the entire sample. Only interested ones respond. Pre-survey planning,
follow-ups, and a neat and clean survey design will boost respondents’ participation rate.

Sampling Errors: Sampling errors occur due to a disparity in the representativeness of the
respondents. It majorly happens when the researcher does not plan his sample carefully. These
sampling errors can be controlled and eliminated by creating a careful sample design, having a
large enough sample to reflect the entire population, or using an online sample or survey
audiences to collect responses.

Example: Let’s say a political party conducts a survey to find out how well-liked their candidate
is before a major election. Instead of picking a random sample of the whole population to
survey, they only ask their own members.

The sample would be skewed since party members may have extremely different opinions and
tastes from the rest of the population. Party members may care more about their candidate’s
ideals or be more loyal to them. This may cause the survey to suggest more support than the
general population has.

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