Session 5

Sampling Methods
 The Marketing Research Process

Step 1: Defining the Problem

Step 2: Developing an Approach to the Problem

Step 3: Formulating a Research Design

Step 4: Doing Field Work or Collecting Data

Step 5: Preparing and Analyzing Data

Step 6: Preparing and Presenting the Report

Tasks Involved In a Research Design
Define the Information Needed

Design the Exploratory, Descriptive,

and/or Causal Phases of the Research

Specify the Measurement and Scaling

Procedures

Construct a Questionnaire

Specify the Sampling Process and the

Sample Size

Develop a Plan of Data Analysis

 Example
• The Department of Health in Hong Kong would like to conduct
a survey to gauge Hong Kong citizens’ awareness on obesity
and related diseases, as well as their opinions on weight
management.

• Shall we interview all Hong Kong citizen (i.e., census) or ask a

subgroup of them (i.e., sampling)?

Census – is an investigation involving measurement of all the individual elements that make up
the population – a total enumeration rather than a sample.
 Sample vs. Census
• Sampling is preferred to census when
– Budget is limited
– Time available is short
– Population size is large
– Variations in the characteristics is small
– Cost of sampling error is low (e.g. no worry about omitting some major
respondents in your study)
– Cost of non-sampling error is high (e.g., when interviewer errors is
high)

Sampling error: the error due to the particular sample selected being an imperfect representation
of the population of interest.
Nonsampling error: result from a variety of causes, including errors in problem definition,
approach, scales, questionnaire design, survey methods, interviewing techniques, and data
preparation and analysis
Population and Sample

Population Sample

Use sample to estimate population

 Sampling Design Process
Step 1: Define the Target Population

Step 2: Determine the Sampling Frame

Nonprobability Sampling Probability Sampling

• Convenience Sampling
Step 3: Select Sampling
•
Method
Simple Random Sampling
• Judgmental Sampling • Systematic Sampling
• Quota Sampling • Stratified Sampling
• Snowball Sampling • Cluster Sampling

Step 4: Determine the Sample Size

Step 5: Execute the Sampling Process

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBbSme4ZmlI
 Step1: Define the Target Population

• The target population is the collection of elements or objects

(e.g., respondents, stores) that posses the information sought
by the researcher and about which inferences are to be made.

• It is defined in terms of the following:

• An Population element is the object about which or from which the
information is desired, e.g., the respondents, stores, sales territories,
or college students
• A sampling unit is an element, or a unit containing the element, that
is available for selection at some stage of the sampling process
• Extent refers to the geographical boundaries.
• Time is the time period under consideration.
Suppose you want to know the opinion of KMB
bus passengers towards their services
 Example
Suppose you want to know the opinion of KMB bus
passengers towards their services
Extent:
Time Frame: Hong Kong
during the period
of Dec 1-14,
2018 [i.e., your
survey period] Target
Population

Sampling Unit: An element (e.g.

KMB bus passengers aged 18-60) Element:
or a unit containing all elements (e.g., KMB bus
KMB bus passengers aged 18-60 who passengers aged
traveled by the selected bus routes 18-60
such as 41A, 41M, 44)
 Step 2: Determine the Sampling Frame
(where to draw the sample?)

• Sampling frame: a listing of the members of the target

population that can be used to create and/or draw the sample
– E.g. student list, telephone book, company directories,
customer list, map, membership list, computer program for
generating telephone numbers
• Can be purchased from third-party companies specializing in sample
preparation, or put together by combining several sources.
 Sampling Frame Error

Target Population:
Single parent households
in Hong Kong in 2021

Sampling Frame:
Telephone list supplied by a
commercial vendor, which
includes all the household
phone number in HK in 2020

Sampling frame error: the degree to which the sample frame fails to account for
all of the population.
e.g. Possible sampling frame error from telephone book??
- Does not contain listed nos.
- Does not contain nos. of new residents
- Inactive nos.
 How to handle sampling frame error?
• The population can be redefined in terms of sampling
frame
– e.g. if the telephone book is our sampling frame, it now becomes
our population

• The representativeness of the research frame can be

verified during the data collection process
– e.g. screen the respondents through qualifying respondents

Screening Question:
Are you coming from the single parent family?
 Yes
 No [thanks respondent, terminate interview]
 Step 3: Select a sampling technique

Classification of Sampling Techniques

Figure 12.6
Classification of
Sampling Techniques

Sampling
Techniques

Nonprobability Probability
Sampling Sampling
Techniques Techniques
 Step 3: Select a sampling technique
Target respondents: All CityU students
Data collection: Data collection:
___________________________________ _________________________________________________
___________________________________ ________________________________________________

Nonprobability sampling Probability sampling

• Relies on the personal judgment • Elements are selected by chance, i.e.

and/or convenience (i.e. non random)
of the researcher in selecting sample
elements.
• Samples may yield good estimates of
population characteristics, however,
they do not permit an objective
evaluation of the precision of the
sample results
• Estimates obtained are not
statistically projected to the
population
randomly
• Each element of the population has a
fixed probabilistic chance of being
selected for the sample
• This permits the researcher to make
inferences or projections to the target
population from which the sample
was drawn.
• Tend to be more objective and allow
the use of statistical techniques
Classification of Sampling Techniques
 Figure
12.7
Non-
probabili
ty
Samplin
g
Techniqu
es

Nonprobability Sampling Techniques

Convenience Judgmental Quota Snowball

Sampling Sampling Sampling Sampling
 Convenience Sampling

• Attempts to obtain a sample of convenient elements.

Often, respondents are selected because they happen to be
in the right place at the right time.
– E.g. mall-intercept interview
 Convenience Sampling
Suppose the population consists of 25 people and we have to
select a sample of size 5. A, B, C, D and E represent groups

Group D happens to
present at a convenient
time and place. So
elements 16, 17, 18, 19,
and 20 are selected.
Note, no elements are
selected from group A, B,
C, and E.

(e.g., street interview, use of students, Mall intercept interviews

without qualifying the respondents) 19
 Judgmental Sampling
• A form of convenience sampling in which the population
elements are purposively selected based on the judgment of
the researchers
• The researcher chooses the sampling elements because
he/she believes they represent the population of interest

1 2 3 4 5

Who would you like to invite for your

study if your target sample is for
those who can speak in English?
 Judgmental Sampling

The researcher considers

groups B, C, and E to be
typical and convenient.
Within each of these groups
one or two elements are
selected. Note, no elements
are selected from groups A
and D.

(e.g., person 11 is chosen as it is believed that he is

representative of many people) 21
 Quota Sampling

• May be viewed as two-stage restricted judgmental sampling.

– 1st stage:
• Develop control categories or quotas of population
elements, usually based on the accurate secondary
data (e.g. census)
– 2nd stage:
• By imposing quotas proportionate to the population
distribution, the researcher use convenience or
judgment sampling process (i.e. nonrandom) to select a
sample
 Questionnaire Design for Quota Sampling Method

• Screening Question
– Q1. Gender
• Female ___
• Male ___

– Q2. Age
• 18-30 ___
• 31-45 ___
• 46-60 ___
• Over 60 ___
Quota Sheets
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Population Sample composition (i.e.
composition calculate quota based on
from Census 1000 sample size)

Control % % Required Achieved

Characteristics
Gender
Male 48%
Female 52%
100%
Age (years)
18-30 27%
31-45 39%
46-60 16%
Over 60 18%
100%
Quota Sampling

A quota is given to each

group. Within each
group, one element is
selected based on
judgment or
convenience.

25
 Snowball Sampling

• An initial group of respondents is selected, usually at random.

After being interviewed, these respondents are asked to
identify others who belong to the target population of
interest. Subsequent respondents are selected based on the
referrals (non random).
– Begins with probability sample but results in nonprobability sample.
– For example,
• B-to-B buyer/seller relationships study
• Referral from groups with special characteristics e.g. people with
homosexual relationship
• When Facebook friends are asked to invite their own Facebook
friends
 Snowball Sampling

Elements 2 and 9 are

selected randomly from
groups A and B.
Element 2 refers
elements 12 and 13.
Element 9 refers
element 18. Note, there
is no element from group
E.

(useful when it is difficult to find a sample, e.g., survey widowed

men under 35 years old)
27
 Strengths and weaknesses of
basic Nonprobability Sampling Techniques
Technique Strengths Weaknesses
Nonprobability Sampling Techniques

Convenience sampling Cheapest and sample not

fastest; representative;
most convenient
Judgmental sampling Low cost; fast, Subjective, does not
convenient; allow generalization
Quota sampling Sample can be No assurance of
controlled for representativeness
certain
characteristics
Snowball sampling Can estimate rare Time consuming
characteristics

28
Classification of Sampling Techniques
Figur
e 12.8

Proba
bility
Samp
ling
Techni
ques

Probability Sampling Techniques

Simple Random Systematic Stratified Cluster

Sampling Sampling Sampling Sampling
 Simple Random Sampling (SRS)

• Every element is selected independently and randomly from a

sampling frame.

• Each element in the population has a known and equal

probability of selection
– probability=sample size / population size =4/20 =1/5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Sampling
frame e.g.
student list

• E.g. mark six, lucky draw with all members…

Simple Random Sampling (SRS)
Sampling frame
includes all
elements of target
population

Select five random

numbers from 1 to 25.
Note, there is no
element from Group C.

32
 Systematic Sampling

• Sample is chosen by selecting a random starting point

and then picking every ith element in succession from
the sampling frame

• Sampling interval(i)= Population Size(N)/sample size(n)

• =100/20=5
 Systematic Sampling

Population Size

Sample Size
Sampling
Frame
e.g. student list
 Systematic Sampling

Select a random number

between 1 to 5, say 2.
The resulting sample
consists of population 2,
(2+5=) 7, (2+5x2=) 12,
(2+5x3=) 17, and (2+5x4=)
22. Note, all the elements
are selected from a single
row.

(e.g., Internet pop-up survey for every ith visitors)

35
 Systematic Sampling

• Variation:
• Choose every 5th visitor,
• every 10th house,
• every 15th minute in
shopping mall, street etc.

Systematic sampling can be applied without knowledge of the makeup of the sampling frame,
which is usually employed in consumer mail, telephone, mall-intercept, and internet surveys .
 Stratified Sampling
• Step 1:
– The population is divided into subgroups (i.e. strata)
• Elements within strata must be similar while between strata must differ
• No population elements should be omitted >> every population element should be
assigned to one stratum
– e.g. male/female; light/medium/heavy users
» Note: the stratification variables should be closely related to the
characteristic of interest
• Step 2:
– Elements are randomly selected from each stratum (use probability
sampling e.g., random sampling, systematic sampling)

Suppose your
S1 - Female S2-Male research topic is
related to cosmetic
FF MMM M
product and the
F F M M M stratification variable
M M M M is gender
M
 Stratified Sampling

Elements within A (or B, C,

D, E) are homogeneous.

Randomly select a number

from 1 to 5 for each
stratum, A to E. Note, one
element is selected from
each column.

(e.g., a research on financial service divides people by income

groups, i.e., income “stratas”, and select samples from each strata
38
 Cluster Sampling
• Step 1:
– Divided the populations into two or more subgroups (i.e. clusters)
• Differ within a cluster but similar between different clusters
– Usually based on natural groupings
» e.g. by geographical areas (HK, KLN, NT); by course (MR, PR, CB); by flight number
(CX711; CX500; CX812)
– Then a random sample of clusters is selected based on a probability sampling
technique e.g. randomly pick C2 and C3
• Step 2:
– For each selected cluster,
• One-stage cluster sampling: all the elements are included in the sample
Or Two-stage cluster sampling: a sample of elements is drawn probabilistically

Suppose your
research topic is still
C1-HK Island C2- KLN C3-NT related to cosmetic
F F F F F FF product. Gender is
FM MF
M F M F F F important but the
MMMM
M MM F MMM cluster is based on the
F F M geographical location
as a natural grouping
 Cluster Sampling

Elements within A (or B, C,

D, E) are heterogeneous.

Randomly select 3
clusters, B, D, and E.
Then, select all elements
in these clusters (one-
stage) or further within
each cluster, randomly
select one or two
elements (two-stage).

(e.g., the researcher sample city blocks and then all/some of the
households within the selected blocks are included in the sample
40
 Difference between Cluster and Stratified sampling method

Cluster Sampling Stratified Sampling

* Only a sample of the subpopulations * All of the subpopulations (strata) are
(clusters) is selected for sampling selected for sampling
* Within a cluster, elements should be * Within a strata, elements should be
different (heterogeneous), whereas homogeneous with clear differences
homogeneity or similarity is (heterogeneity) between the strata
maintained between different
clusters
* A sampling frame is needed only for * A complete sampling frame for the
the clusters selected for the sample entire stratified subpopulations
should be drawn
* Increases sample efficiency by * Increase precision
decreasing costs
 Strengths and weaknesses of
basic Probability Sampling Techniques
Technique Strengths Weaknesses
Probability Sampling Techniques
Simple random Easily understood expensive; lower
sampling (SRS) Precision;
Systematic sampling easier to implement Can decrease
than SRS representativeness
Stratified sampling Includes all Important not feasible to
subpopulations; stratify on many
variables; expensive
Cluster sampling Easy to implement; Imprecise, difficult
Low cost to interpret results

42
 Choosing Nonprobability vs. Probability Sampling

CONDITIONS FAVORING THE USE OF

Factors Nonprobability Sampling Probability Sampling

Nature of research Exploratory Conclusive

Relative magnitude of Nonsampling errors are Sampling errors are larger

sampling and nonsampling larger (e.g. interviewer (i.e. the difference between
errors errors) results obtained for a
sample and the results from
the whole population)

Variability in the population Homogeneous Heterogeneous

(low) (high)

Statistical considerations Unfavorable Favorable

Operational considerations Favorable Unfavorable
 Sampling Design Process -RECAP
Step 1: Define the Target Population

Step 2: Determine the Sampling Frame

Nonprobability Sampling Probability Sampling

• Convenience Sampling
Step 3: Select Sampling
•
Method
Simple Random Sampling
• Judgmental Sampling • Systematic Sampling
• Quota Sampling • Stratified Sampling
• Snowball Sampling • Cluster Sampling

Step 4: Determine the Sample Size

Step 5: Execute the Sampling Process

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBbSme4ZmlI
 Step 4: Determine the sample sizes

• The size of the sample will be a function of the accuracy

of the sample.

• Two major considerations:

– Research Design
• Exploratory research: smaller sample size
• Conclusive research (descriptive/causal): larger sample size

– Financial, Statistical and Managerial Issues

– resources constraints, the nature of analysis (e.g., sophisticated analysis need
larger sample, the number of variables (e.g., larger sample for more
variables), the importance of decision (e.g. larger sample to increase the
precision of information)
 Step 4: Determine the sample sizes

Statistical approach to calculate sample size

Sample Size determination by Means:

 z 2 2
n 2
D
 = An estimate of the population standard deviation
Z = The desired level of confidence that the sample result will fall within a certain range
(result +/- sampling error), in standard errors or Z values.
D = Level of precision (the maximum permissible difference between the sample mean
and the population mean)
 Step 4: Determine the sample sizes
• How to estimate the population
standard deviation σ?
– Use results from past study
– Conduct a pilot survey
– Use of secondary source of data (i.e. age
from census)

• Z and D are set by the researcher, based on

statistical, managerial and financial criteria
Level of Confidence Z Z Value

90% 1.64
95% 1.96
99% 2.58

For more understanding of confidence level, please watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFWsuO9f74o
0.475
0.025
 An example
• Suppose a researcher wants to determine the sample size of a
survey of identifying the average $ spent of customers of their visit
to Taste Supermarket
• A similar survey which was taken 6 months ago showed the
 = $85
• The researcher wants to use the CL of 95% (i.e. z value = 1.96 from
the normal distribution table)
• The precision level will be set at +/- $10 (i.e. D= $10)

n= 1.962 x 852
102
= 277.5

Hence, the required sample will be 278

 Exercise
• The management of a McDonald wants to determine
the average monthly amount spent by households in
its fast food restaurants.
• He wants to be 95% confident of the findings and
does not want the error to exceed plus or minus $5.
• What sample size would have resulted in a standard
deviation of $45?
Step 4: Determine the sample sizes
 Step 5: Execute the sampling process

• Specify operational instructions

• Clear definitions of steps
• Clear guidelines to interviewers

• An example of a Sampling plan:

1. Target population: Any female who is HK citizen and aged between 18-45
who used makeup and skincare products during the survey period.
2. Sampling frame: Customers from three department stores in Hong Kong
3. Sampling technique: Probability sampling (systematic sampling)
4. Sample Size: 300
5. Execution: Allocate 3 interviewers into stores A, B & C and survey 100
females by systematic sampling (i.e. every 5 walk by and choose the last
one)
 Another example of sampling plan
• Target population:
– Any respondents aged 16-45
• Sampling unit:
– Any respondents aged 16-45 (single element)
• Sampling technique:
– Quota sampling (by age, gender and location)
Location Age 6-30 Age 31-45
Wellcome supermarket Male: 45 Male: 60
Female: 55 Female: 40
Taste supermarket Male: 45 Male: 60
Female: 55 Female: 40

• Sample size: 400

• Execution:
– Allocate 4 interviewers outside two supermarkets. By imposing quotas
proportionate to the gender distribution, interviewers use convenience
sampling process to select a sample.
– Interview period is from 15-20 Oct 2018 in the morning (10-11am), afternoon
(2-3pm) and night (7-8pm).
Example - KMB Bus Survey
Example - KMB Bus Survey (Cont’d)
• The end!