Introduction to Research Design and Statistics
Sampling Designs
Population, Units, Subjects and Samples
The entire group of objects, people or variables about which information is wanted is
called a population. Individual members of the population are called units. When
we are studying people, we called the units subjects. A sample is a part of the population
that is examined in order to gather information about the population.
Types of Samples
- Voluntary response sample
- Convenience (accidental, haphazard) sample
- Simple random sample
- Stratified random sample
- Cluster random sample
- Multistage sample design
Cautions About Sampling
- Undercoverage
- Nonresponse
- Response bias
- Social desirability
- Wording of questions
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Phil Ender, 30Jun98