Population, Sample, and Sampling

Techniques

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 Population,…
Important concepts in sampling
• Population( target, accessible)
• An element
• Sample
• Sampling frame
• Sampling unit
• Sample size
• Sampling techniques
– Probability
– Non-probability
 Population,…
Population
• all people or items with the characteristic one wishes to
understand.
• a theoretically specified aggregation of elements
• All the elements that meet the criteria for inclusion in a study (Burns and
Grove, 2003)
Target and accessible population
• Target population (reference population): Is that population about which
an investigator wishes to draw a conclusion.
• Study population ( accessible population): Population from which the
sample actually is drawn and about which a conclusion can be made.
• For Practical reasons the study population is often more limited than the
target population.
• In some instances, the target population and the population sampled are
identical.
 Population,..
• What is your population of interest?
• To whom do you want to generalize your
results?
– All doctors
– School children
– Ethiopians
– Women aged 15-45 years
– Other
• Can you sample the entire population?
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 Population,…
An element
• is a unit (e.g., person, object) of a population
Sampling frame
• the list from which the potential respondents are
drawn or
• The list of units from which the sample is to be
selected.
• The existence of an adequate and up-to-date
sampling frame often defines the study population.
Sampling unit
• The unit of selection in the sampling process. For example, in
a sample of districts, the sampling unit is a district; in a
sample of persons, a person, etc.
Population,..

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 Population,…
Sampling
• refers to the selection of a subset of persons or things from a
larger population, also known as a sampling frame (Scott &
Morrison, 2007:219), with the intention of representing the
particular population (Gall et al., 2007:166; Neuman,
2011:246)
• a process of selecting a group of people, events or behavior
with which to conduct a study.
• closely related to generalizability of the findings
 Population,…
Sample
• A smaller (but hopefully representative) collection of
units from a population used to determine truths
about that population (Field, 2005)
• Why sample?
– Resources (time, money) and workload
– Gives results with known accuracy that can
be calculated mathematically
• A carefully selected sample can provide data representative of
the population from which it is drawn.
 Population,…
When taking a sample, we will be confronted
with the following questions
• What is the group of people from which we
want to draw a sample?
• How many people do we need in our sample?
• How will these people be selected?
 Population,..
• 3 factors that influence sample representative-
ness
• Sampling procedure
• Sample size
• Participation (response)

• When might you sample the entire population?

• When your population is very small
• When you have extensive resources
• When you don’t expect a very high response

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 Population,…

Sampling Process
• The sampling process comprises several stages:
– Defining the population of concern
– Specifying a sampling frame, a set of items or events
possible to measure
– Specifying a sampling method for selecting items or
events from the frame
– Determining the sample size
– Sampling and data collecting

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 Population,…

Sample size
• One of the first questions that the researcher typically asks
• concerns with the number of subjects that need to be included in his
sample.
• Technically, the size of the sample depends upon the precision the
researcher desires in estimating the population parameter at a particular
confidence level.
• There is no single rule that can be used to determine sample size.
• The best answer to the question of size is to use as large a sample as
possible.
 Sampling
• With a large sample the data are likely to be more accurate and precise.
• It was pointed out that the larger the sample, the smaller the standard error.
• Because a sample is only part of a population, generalization from a sample to a
population usually involves error.
• The size of a sample is an important element in determining the statistical precision
with which population values can be estimated.
• There are two basic types of error that can occur in the process of generalizing from
a sample to a population:
– Sampling, or random, error
– Non sampling, or systematic, error (SE), bias.
 Sampling…
Sampling Error
• results from the ‘‘luck of the draw’’: too many
elements of one kind and not enough elements of
another kind.
• as sample size increases, SE decreases, albeit slowly.
• The larger the sample, the more likely the results are
to represent the population.
• if the population is relatively homogeneous, SE will
be small
• heterogeneity can be estimated from random sample
data, using the standard deviation or an analogous
 Sampling…

Non sampling error

• is often a more serious problem than SE, because non sampling error
cannot be controlled by increasing sample
• Non sampling error can be organized into three categories:
Selection bias is the systematic tendency to exclude some elements from the
sample
Nonresponse bias the extent that respondents and non respondents differ
on variables of interest
Response bias occurs when respondents ‘‘shade the truth’’ because of
interviewer attitudes, the wording of questions, or the juxtaposition of
questions.
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SAMPLING BREAKDOWN
 Population,…
Reflection Question
Review literatures and develop notes on sample
size determination including some scientific
formulas

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 Population,…

SAMPLE DESIGNS

– Non-probability sampling

– Probability sampling
 Probability sampling
• One in which every unit in the population has a
chance (greater than zero) of being selected in the
sample, and this probability can be accurately
determined.
• Also known as ‘random sampling’ or ‘chance
sampling’.
• Every item of the universe has an equal chance of
inclusion in the sample.
• Here it is blind chance alone that determines whether
one item or the other is selected.
 Probability Sampling

Probability sampling techniques:

• Simple Random Sampling,
• Systematic Sampling,
• Stratified Random Sampling,
• Cluster Sampling
• Multistage Sampling.
• Multiphase sampling

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 Probability sampling

Simple Random Sampling

• Applicable when population is small, homogeneous & readily
available
• Each element of the frame thus has an equal probability of
selection.
• May be the best known sampling strategy.
• A commonly used simple random sampling procedure is:
– to assign a number to each element in the sampling frame
– use an unbiased process, such as a random number generator,
to select elements from the sampling frame.
•

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 Probability Sampling

Advantages
• Estimates are easy to calculate.
• Simple random sampling is always an equal probability of
selection( EPS) design, but not all EPS designs are simple
random sampling.
Disadvantages
• If sampling frame large, this method impracticable.
• Minority subgroups of interest in population may not be
present in sample in sufficient numbers for study.

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 Probability Sampling

Replacement of Selected Units

• Sampling schemes may be without replacement
('WOR' - no element can be selected more than
once in the same sample) or with replacement
('WR' - an element may appear multiple times in
the one sample).

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 Probability sampling

Systematic random sampling

• uses a list of population elements.
• relies on arranging the target population according to some ordering scheme
and then selecting elements at regular intervals through that ordered list.
• Individuals are chosen at regular intervals (for example, every 5 th , 10th , etc.)
from the sampling frame.
• Ideally we randomly select a number to tell us where to start selecting
individuals from the list.

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 Probability sampling
• For example, a systematic sample is to be selected from1000
students of a school. The sample size is decided to be 100.
• The sampling fraction is: 100/1000 = 1/10.
• The number of the first student to be included in the sample is
chosen randomly by picking one out of the first ten pieces of
paper, numbered 1 to 10.
• If number 5 is picked, every tenth student will be included in
the sample, starting with student number 5, until 100 students
are selected.
• Students with the following numbers will be included in the
sample: 5,15, 25, 35,45, . . . , 985, 995.
 Probability Sampling…

ADVANTAGES:
• Sample easy to select
• Suitable sampling frame can be identified easily
• Sample evenly spread over entire reference population
DISADVANTAGES:
• Sample may be biased if hidden periodicity in population coincides
with that of selection.
• Difficult to assess precision of estimate from one survey.

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 Probability Sampling……
Stratified sampling
• Where population embraces a number of distinct categories, the frame can be
organized into separate "strata."
• In a stratified sample, the sampling frame is divided into non overlapping
groups or strata (e.g., age groups, gender
• Every unit in a stratum has same chance of being selected.
• Using same sampling fraction for all strata ensures proportionate
representation in the sample.
• Adequate representation of minority subgroups of interest can be ensured
by stratification & varying sampling fraction between strata as required.
• Then a random sample is taken from each stratum. This technique, for
example, can be used to study a small subgroup of a population that could
be excluded in a simple random sample.
 Probability Sampling……

Drawbacks
• Sampling frame of entire population has to be prepared separately for each
stratum
• when examining multiple criteria, stratifying variables may be related to
some, but not to others, further complicating the design, and potentially
reducing the utility of the strata.
• In some cases (such as designs with a large number of strata, or those with
a specified minimum sample size per group), stratified sampling can
potentially require a larger sample than would other methods

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 Probability Sampling

Cluster Sampling
• is an example of 'two-stage sampling' .
• First stage a sample of areas is chosen;
• Second stage a sample of respondents within those areas
is selected.
• Population divided into clusters of homogeneous units,
usually based on geographical contiguity.
• Sampling units are groups rather than individuals.

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 Probability sampling
• Enables random sampling from either a very large population or one that is
geographically diverse.
• An important objective of cluster sampling is to reduce costs by increasing
sampling efficiency.
• A problem with cluster sampling is that, although every cluster has the
same chance of being selected, elements within large clusters have a
greatly reduced chance of being selected in the final sample.
• Using the probability proportionate to size (PPS) technique corrects this
error.
• PPS takes into account the difference in cluster size and adjusts the chance
that clusters will be selected.
• That is, PPS increases the odds that elements in larger clusters will be
selected.
 Probability Sampling…….

Advantages :
• Cuts down on the cost of preparing a sampling
frame.
• This can reduce travel and other administrative
costs.
Disadvantages: sampling error is higher for a
simple random sample of same size.

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 Probability Sampling

Difference Between Strata and Clusters

• Although strata and clusters are both non-
overlapping subsets of the population, they differ in
several ways.
• All strata are represented in the sample; but only a
subset of clusters are in the sample.
• With stratified sampling, the best survey results
occur when elements within strata are internally
homogeneous.
• With cluster sampling, the best results occur when
elements within clusters are internally heterogeneous

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 Probability Sampling…
Multi-Stage Sampling:
• Complex form of cluster sampling in which two or more
levels of units are embedded one in the other.
• This technique, is essentially the process of taking random
samples of preceding random samples.
• This method is appropriate when the population is large and
widely scattered.
• The number of stages of sampling is the number of times a
sampling procedure is carried out.
• The primary sampling unit - first sampling stage;
• The secondary sampling unit - second sampling stage, etc.
 Probability Sampling

• First stage, random number of zones chosen in all states.

• Followed by random number of woredas, kebeles.
• Then third stage units will be houses.
• All ultimate units (houses, for instance) selected at last step are
surveyed.
• Multistage sampling used frequently when a complete list of all
members of the population not exists and is inappropriate.

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 Multi Phase Sampling

In multi phase sampling

• part of the information collected from whole sample
• Part from subsample.
• Survey by such procedure is less costly, less laborious &
more purposeful

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 Non Probability Sampling
• Non random sampling.
• Elements of the population have an unknown chance of being selected.
• Some elements of population have no chance of selection
• Members are selected from the population in some nonrandom manner
• At best, nonrandom sampling strategies can yield a sample that is
representative of a population.
• At worst, nonrandom sampling strategies can yield a non representative
sample with an unknown amount of error.
 Non Probability Sampling

Nonprobability Sampling techniques

• Availability/ convenience Sampling
• Purposive/Judgmental sampling
• Snowball sampling
• Quota Sampling

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 Non Probability Sampling
Availability/convenience sampling
• is a method in which for convenience sake the study units that happen to
be available at the time of data collection are selected
• a technique in which elements are selected because of their accessibility
to the researcher.
• the sample being drawn from that part of the population which is close to
hand.
• That is, readily available and convenient.
• This type of sampling is most useful for pilot testing.
• Sometimes known as opportunity sampling or accidental or haphazard
sampling.
• An example of an availability, or convenience, sample is one in which
participants are selected from the clinic, facility, or educational institution
at which the researcher is employed.
• Bias is likely to be Basic Terms and Concepts introduced
 Non Probability Sampling
Purposive/judgment sampling
• Purposive sampling involves the use of the researcher’s knowledge of the
population in terms of research goals.
• That is, elements are selected based on the researcher’s judgment that they
will provide access to the desired information.
• The researcher chooses the sample based on who they think would be
appropriate for the study.
• This is used primarily when there is a limited number of people that have
expertise in the area being researched
• For example, sometimes purposive sampling is used to select typical cases,
and sometimes it is used to select atypical cases.
• Purposive sampling also can be used to select participants based on their
willingness to be studied or on their knowledge of a particular topic.
 Non Probability Sampling
Snowball sampling
• Sampling from a known network.
• Used to identify participants when appropriate
candidates for study are difficult to locate.
• Existing study subjects are used to recruit more
subjects into the sample.
• Known members of a population help identify other
members of their population.
 Non Probability Sampling

Quota Sampling
• A nonprobability version of stratified sampling.
• The distinguishing feature of a quota sample is that guidelines are set to ensure
that the sample represents certain characteristics in proportion to their
prevalence in the population.
• The population is first segmented into mutually exclusive sub-groups, just as in
stratified sampling.
• Then judgment used to select subjects or units from each segment based on a
specified proportion.
• It is this second step which makes the technique one of non-probability
sampling.
• In quota sampling the selection of the sample is non-random.
• For example interviewers might be tempted to interview those who look most
helpful.

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