Topic 4

SAMPLING

Damian Jeremia,
OUTLINE
DEFINITION OF TERMS
PURPOSE OF SAMPLING
SAMPLING METHODS
BIAS IN SAMPLING
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
STUDY POPULATION
A specified group of persons or things
to be studied. e.g. people, schools,
households, etc.

SAMPLE
A subset of a population whose
properties are to be generalized to the
whole population
DEFINITIONS – cont.
SAMPLING
The process of selecting study units
from a population

SAMPLING UNIT
The unit of selection in the sampling
process, e.g. person, a school, a
household, etc.
Study population

Sample

Sampling
Sampling: A Pictorial View

Sampled
(Study)
Population Sample

Target Population

Target Population  Sampled Population  Sample

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DEFINITIONS – cont.
SAMPLING FRAME
A list of units from which a sample is to be
picked

SAMPLING FRACTION (Sampling ratio)

A proportion of sampling units to be picked
from a specified sampling frame
= number of units in a sample
number of units in sampling frame
 DEFINITIONS – cont.

SAMPLING INTERVAL
An interval at which units are picked
from a sampling frame when systematic
sampling is done.
What makes a "good"
sample?
A RUSsIaN sample:
◦ Representative
◦ Unbiased
◦ Sampling Error can be quantified
◦ Maximum Information for minimum cost
◦ Non-sampling error is corrected for as
much as possible.

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What makes a "good"
sample?
When using qualitative research
approaches, however,
representativeness of the sample is
NOT a primary concern
 Key respondents should never be
chosen at random, but purposively
from among those who have the best
possible knowledge, experience or
overview with respect to topic of your
study.
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WHY SAMPLING?
Sampling is necessary when the study
population is very big and the resources are
not adequate to reach everyone in the
population.

Important Considerations when sampling:

The sample should be representative of the
study population. i.e. It should have all the
important characteristics of the population
from which it was drawn.
SAMPLING METHODS
Non- probability methods
 Convenience sampling
 Quota sampling

Probability methods
 Simple random sampling
 Systematic sampling
 Stratified sampling
 Cluster sampling
 Multi-stage sampling
Non- probability methods
CONVENIENCE SAMPLING
The study units available at the time of
data collection are selected and studied.

◦ Disadvantage: Sample may not be

representative of the study population, thus
generalizations made from the findings in
the sample may be incorrect
QUOTA SAMPLING
(Purposive Selection)

Composition of the sample e.g. age, sex,

social class etc. is determined in advance
by the researcher.
Those units are then sought to fill these
quotas.

Disadvantage: May not be

representative of the study population
 Probability methods
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING

The study units are randomly selected

i.e. using either a lottery method or use
of random number table.

e.g. Selection of a sample of 50 students

from a school with 250 students
By lottery method
STEPS:
◦ Prepare sampling frame
◦ Assign numbers to each unit (1 – 250)
◦ Write the numbers on pieces of paper
◦ Fold the papers and put in a box
◦ The box is shaken vigorously
◦ Pick 50 pieces of paper, one at a time.
Students with numbers corresponding to
those picked will constitute the sample.
 By use of Random number table
STEPS:
 Prepare a sampling frame
 See if the total number of units is a one, two, three, digit
number.
 Allocate numbers to every unit e.g. 0,1,2,
 Decide on how you are going to move across the numbers.
 Choose a starting point on the table by pin-pointing with a pointer
 Read the numbers successively from the table according to the
predetermined direction.
* Pick only those numbers which are within range of your
sampling frame
* Ignore those which do not appear in the list and those that
reappear after they have been selected
* Continue the process until desired sample is obtained
* Pick those individuals whose numbers coincide with
chosen random numbers
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
Units are chosen from the sampling
frame on regular intervals.
The interval is determined by
calculating the sampling fraction first.
e.g. Choose 100 people from a population of 1000:
Sampling fraction 100 = 1
1000 10
Therefore: Sampling interval will be 10 – i.e. every
10th person on a list of 1000 people will be picked.
The starting point is selected at random.
 STRATIFIED SAMPLING
The study population is first divided
into sub-groups or strata according to
one or more characteristics (e.g. sex,
age group, area of residence etc.) and
then simple random or systematic
sampling is performed on each group.
CLUSTER SAMPLING
Groups (or clusters) of individual units
are selected instead of the individual
units themselves.
◦ The clusters may be – villages, household,
clinics, schools, etc.
◦ Selection of clusters is done by simple
random sampling.
◦ Units found in the selected clusters are then
studied.
 MULTI-STAGE SAMPLING (Syn:
Multi stage cluster
sampling)

This method is used in large scale studies.

 It is essentially a cluster method but
the procedure is carried out in phases
(stages).
Example: - Multi-stage
sampling
Study of latrines in a district with 6
wards
◦ Stage 1: Select 3 wards out of six
(Randomly)
◦ Stage 2: For each ward select 5 villages
(Randomly)
◦ Stage 3: For each village select 10
households
◦ Stage 4: For each household select whom to
interview
BIAS IN SAMPLING
 DEFINITION
Bias in sampling refers to the distortion of
results as a result of some influences in
selecting a sample from the population.
SOURCES OF BIAS
 Non-response:-respondents refuse to respond
or forget to fill in the information
 Use of only volunteers as study population
 Use of registered patients only
 Use of hospital or clinic populations
 Conducting a study in one season only for a
problem which is known to vary with season.
 Selecting a study area because they are easily
accessible (Tarmac bias).
 Missing cases of short duration
STRATEGY TO REDUCE NON-
RESPONSE BIAS
Pre-testingthe questionnaire
Follow-up of non-respondents
Include additional people in the sample
(exceed minimum sample size)

ETHICS
Discuss all possible biases in the study
Sampling Error
No sample is the exact mirror image of the
population
Magnitude of error can be measured in probability
samples
Expressed by standard error (SE), e
◦ of mean, proportion, differences, etc (e.g. SE of p)

n p (1  p )
e  1
  N n
Finite Population
Correction Factor
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Sampling Error
Generally, the standard error is a
function of
◦ sample size, n
◦ amount of variability in measuring factor
of interest
Usually, with large study populations,
N, the finite population correction
(fpc) factor can be ignored

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Non-Sampling Error

Due to problems in design or conduct

◦ Measurement Bias (systematic over or under-
reporting)
◦ Selection Bias (part of target population not in
sampled population)
◦ Questionnaire Design
◦ Interview Bias
◦ Processing Error
◦ Non-response
◦ Under coverage

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END OF SAMPLING
METHODS

ANY QUESTIONS?
Next lecture on….

Hypothesis testing

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