PLANNING AND

CONDUCTING SURVEYS
OBTAINING DATA
PLANNING AND CONDUCTING SURVEYS

Method of Measurement

- The questions or measuring devices we use to obtain data.

- Should be designed to produce the most accurate data possible
and should be free of measurement bias.
Measurement bias
- Occurs when variables are measured incorrectly.
- is the reason we refrain from asking leading questions from a poll
and always check the zero on the scale before weighing anything
in a laboratory.
PLANNING AND CONDUCTING SURVEYS

Pretest
- Helps improve the questionnaire or measurement procedure, but
also helps determine a good plan for data collection and data
management.

Data analysis should should lead to clearly stated conclusions that

relate to the original purpose of the study.
PLANNING AND CONDUCTING SURVEYS

Key Elements of the Survey include the following:

1. State the objectives clearly.

2. Define the target population carefully.
3. Design the sample selection plan using randomization, so as to
reduce sampling bias.
4. Decide on a method of measurement that will reduce
measurement bias.
PLANNING AND CONDUCTING SURVEYS

5. Use a pretest to try out the plan.

6. Organize the data collection and data management.

7. Plan for careful and thorough data analysis.

8. Write conclusions in light of the original objectives

PLANNING AND CONDUCTING SURVEYS
SAMPLING METHODS
SAMPLING METHODS

● Once we decide to get information from the sample and not to

conduct a census, the question that arises is how to get a sample.

● Some procedures use probabilistic approaches to determine which

item of the pouplation is to be selected in the sample and some
don’t.
BIASED SAMPLING

EXAMPLE:
- Although the selection of a jury pool may be random, the actual
jury selection from the available pool of jurors is not a random
process. Using their judgement, lawyers from both parties
question prospective jurors and decide who is to be selected as
the jury for a given case.
● This may result to a biased jury, that is, selection of those with
specific opinions .
BIASED SAMPLING
● Such procedure is known as biased sampling.
● This approach uses no probability and is entirely based on the judgement
of the persons selecting the sample.
Example of biased sampling:
a. Sample of convenience
b. Volunteer sampling

● A sampling method is biased if it tends to give samples in which some

characteristics of the population is underrepresented or
overrepresented.
BIASED SAMPLING

● A sampling method is biased if it tends to give samples in which

some characteristics of the population is underrepresented or
overrepresented.
SAMPLING METHOD

● Sampling methods, such as simple random, stratified

random, systematic and cluster, that are based on

probabilistic selection of samples generally result in unbiased

outcomes.
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING

SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING - is a process of obtaining a sample from

a population in which each each samle of size n has an equal chance of
being selected.

- No preference for a specific population items over the others, as all

items has the same chance of being selected.
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING

TWO DIFFERENT WAYS OF SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING -

a. Sampling with replacement from a finite population

b. Sampling without replacement from an infinite population
Sampling with replacement from a finite population

EXAMPLE - In selecting a sample of motherboards from a batch of 50

boards, suppose the first board selected at random and tested is
added back to the population before selecting the second board. With
this scheme, the chance for selection remains the same for both
boards, namely, 1 out of 50. When two boards are drawn with
replacement, the probability of selecting two specific boards in order
is ( 1/50 ) ( 1/50 ) = 0.00040 and is the same regardless of the boards
specified.
Sampling without replacement from an infinite population

EXAMPLE: - In selecting the sample, of mother boards, suppose the

first sampled board is not added back to the population of 50 boards
before the second sample board is selected at random. Then, the
probability of selecting two specified boards in order is

(1/50)( 1/49 ) = 0.00041 , a slight decrease

Note: As from a very large population compared to the sample size

yields approximately the same result as sampling with replacement.
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING

- The frame is divided into consecutive segments, a random starting

point is selected from the segment, and then a sample is taken
from the same point in the segment.
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING

EXAMPLE:
- Suppose a quality control engineer is interested in checking the
quality of items coming off the automated production line
producing 20 items per minute.
- Based on the inspected, he will decide whether the automated
procedure is working as per specifications.
- Random sampling can become confusing and time - consuming, so
he selects a random number from numbers between 1 and 20, say
15.
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING

- Then he instructs the machine supervisor to inspect the 15th item

on the beginning of the day and then every 20th item coming off
the production line, that is, inspect item numbers 15, 35, 55,75,
95,....
STRATIFIED SAMPLING
Strata
- are homogeneous groups of population units, that is, units in a given
stratum are similar in some important characteristics, whereas those
in different strata differ in those characteristics.
STRATIFIED SAMPLING

If a population is divided into homogeneous strata and a simple

random sample is selected from each stratum, the result is a
stratified random sample.

EXAMPLE:
- Students in a university could be grouped by their year or major
or a city could be divided into geographic zones.
STRATIFIED SAMPLING

EXAMPLE:

- Suppose a company recieves its supply pf switches from three

different suppliers ( A, B, C ). Then each supplier forms a natural
stratum. By taking separate random samples from different
suppliers (strata), the industrial engineer can also measure
differemces among suppliers.
STRATIFIED SAMPLING

- Such a stratified sampling procedure could provide an accurate

estimate within each stratum while leading to a more precised
(reduced variation) combined estimate for the population as a
whole.
CLUSTER SAMPLING
- A population is divided into groups called clusters, and a simple
random of clusters is selected.
- Then, either every unit is measured in each sampled cluster
cluster, or a second-stage random sample is selected from each
sampled cluster.
- Often a cost-saving method because a sampling frame is not
needed for each cluster, but only for the selected clusters.
CLUSTER SAMPLING

EXAMPLE:
- If population items are packed 24 to a box, it would be
time-consuming to take a random sample or a systematic sample
that basically involves opening each box.
Note:
We can consider each box as one cluster, select a few boxes at
random from the entire shipment, and then inspect all items from
the selected boxes.
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING
● All sampling designs are subject to sampling error, variation
inherent in the sampling process.
● This sampling error can be controlled to some extent by a good
sampling design and can be measured by the inferential
techniques that will be used.
● One major problem in sample surveys is use of an incorrect
sampling frame.
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING

EXAMPLE:
- A telephone survey conducted using a telephone directory
excludes those with unlisted phone numbers; however,
computerized random digit dialing solves this problem.
Note:
Another problem that arises in sample surveys is that interviewers
sometimes subtitute another person if the selected person is
unavailable, an action that can introduce serious bias into the result.
SOURCES OF BIAS IN SURVEYS
- A survey is biased of it systematically favors certain outcomes.
- A bias can occur for many different reasons, such as improper wording
of a question, the interviewer’s behavior, nonrandom selection of
sample, improper frame, and so on.

Response bias - Occurs due to the behavior of the interviewer or

respondent.

Non-response bias - May occur if the person selected for the interview
cannot be contacted or refuses to answer.
THE END