7 Sample Design and Sampling

Sample Designs and
Sampling
Definition
Acc. to Mildred Parton:
“Sampling method is the process or the method of
drawing a definite number of the individuals, cases
or the observations from a particular universe,
selecting part of a total group for investigation.”
Sampling
A part of population is known as sample. The method
consisting of the selecting for study, a portion of the
‘universe’ with a view to draw conclusions about the
‘universe’ or ‘population’ is known as sampling. A
statistical sample ideally purports to be a miniature
model or replica of the collectively or the population
constituted of all the items that the study should
principally encompass, that is, the items which
potentially hold promise of affording information
relevant to the purpose of a given research.
Sampling
Sampling helps in time and cost saving. It also helps in
checking their accuracy. But on the other hand it
demands exercise of great care caution; otherwise the
results obtained may be incorrect or misleading.
Advantage of sample survey
 Accurate.
 Economical in nature.
 Reliable.
 High suitability ratio towards the different surveys.
 Takes less time.
In cases, when the universe is very large, then the
sampling method is the only practical method for
collecting the data.
Characteristics of Good Sample
 Representativeness
 Accuracy
 Precision
 Size
Limitation of Sampling
 Less Accuracy
 Changeability of units
 Misleading Conclusions
 Need For Specialized Knowledge
 When sampling is not possible
Sampling: Basic Concepts
 Population
 Sample
 Element (Sampling Unit)
 Sampling Frame
Sampling Terminology
• Sample
– A subset, or some part, of a larger population.
• Population or universe
– Any complete group of entities that share some
common set of characteristics.
• Population element
– An individual member of a population.
• Census
– An investigation of all the individual elements
that make up a population.
Sampling Terminology
• Sampling Unit
– A single element or group of elements subject to
selection in the sample.
– For example, if an airline wishes to sample
passengers, it may take every 25th name on a
complete list of passengers.
Stages of Sample Selection
Major Categories of Sampling
• Nonprobability sampling
– Units of the sample are selected on the basis of
personal judgment or convenience; the
probability of any particular member of the
population being chosen is unknown.
• Probability sampling
– Every member of the population has a known,
nonzero probability of selection.
Nonprobability Sampling
• Convenience
• Judgment
• Quota
• Snowball
Nonprobability Sampling:
Convenience Sampling
• Also called haphazard or accidental sampling
• The sampling procedure of obtaining the people
or units that are most conveniently available.
• For example, many Internet surveys are
conducted with volunteer respondents who, either
intentionally or by happenstance, visit an
organization’s Web site.
Judgment Sampling
• Also called purposive sampling
• An experienced individual selects the sample
based on his or her judgment about some
appropriate characteristics required of the sample
member
• Test-market cities often are selected because they
are viewed as typical cities whose demographic
profiles closely match the national profile.
Nonprobability Sampling: Quota
Sampling
• Ensures that the various subgroups in a population are
represented on pertinent sample characteristics to the
exact extent that the investigators desire
• For example, an interviewer in a particular city may be
assigned 100 interviews, 35 with owners of Sony TVs,
30 with owners of Samsung TVs, 18 with owners of
Panasonic TVs, and the rest with owners of other
brands. The interviewer is responsible for finding
enough people to meet the quota.
Snowball Sampling
• A sampling procedure in which initial
respondents are selected by probability methods
and additional respondents are obtained from
information provided by the initial respondents.
• This technique is used to locate members of rare
populations by referrals.
Probability Sampling
• Simple random sample
• Systematic sample
• Stratified sample
• Cluster sample
Probability Sampling: Simple
Random Sampling
• A sampling procedure that ensures that each
element in the population will have an equal
chance of being included in the sample.
• Examples include drawing names from a
Hat/Box
Probability Sampling: Systematic
Sampling
• A sampling procedure in which a starting point
is selected by a random process and then every
nth number on the list is selected.
• Ex- Suppose a researcher wants to take a
sample of 1,000 from a list of 200,000 names.
With systematic sampling, every 200th name
from the list would be drawn.
Probability Sampling: Stratified
Sampling
• A probability sampling procedure in which simple
random subsamples are drawn from within each strata
of the population.
• Subgroups, or strata is whose members are more or
less equal with respect to some characteristic.
• For example, University students can be divided by
their class level, school or major, gender, and so forth.
After a population is divided into the appropriate
strata, a simple random sample can be taken within
each stratum).
Probability Sampling: Cluster
Sampling
• An economically efficient sampling technique
in which the primary sampling unit is not the
individual element in the population but a
large cluster of elements; clusters are selected
randomly.
Probability Sampling: Cluster
Sampling: Examples
Population Element Possible Clusters
Airline travelers Airports

Planes
Sports fans Football stadiums

Basketball arenas
Baseball parks
Determining Sample Size
 How many responses do you really need? This simple question
is a never-ending dilemma for researchers. A larger sample can
yield more accurate results — but excessive responses can be
pricey.
 Consequential research requires an understanding of the
statistics that drive sample size decisions. A simple equation
will help you get the answer about the sample size.
 Before you can calculate a sample size, you need to determine a
few things about the target population and the sample you
need:
Cont’d….
 Population Size — How many total people fit your
demographic? For instance, if you want to know about
mothers living in the Delhi, your population size would be
the total number of mothers living in the Delhi. Don’t worry
if you are unsure about this number. It is common for the
population to be unknown or approximated.
 Margin of Error (Confidence Interval) — No sample will
be perfect, so you need to decide how much error to allow.
The confidence interval determines how much higher or
lower than the population mean you are willing to let your
sample mean fall. If you’ve ever seen a political poll on the
news, you’ve seen a confidence interval. It will look
something like this:
“68% of voters said yes to Proposition Z, with a margin of
error of +/- 5%.”
Cont’d….
 Confidence Level — How confident do you want to be that
the actual mean falls within your confidence interval? The
most common confidence intervals are 90% confident, 95%
confident, and 99% confident.
 Standard Deviation — How much variance do you expect in
your responses? Since we haven’t actually administered our
survey yet, the safe decision is to use .5 – this is the most
forgiving number and ensures that your sample will be large
enough.
Cont’d….
 As of now we have these values defined, we can calculate our
needed sample size.
 Your confidence level corresponds to a Z-score. This is a
constant value needed for this equation. Here are the z-scores
for the most common confidence levels:
 90% – Z Score = 1.645
 95% – Z Score = 1.96
 99% – Z Score = 2.576
Cont’d….
 If you choose a different confidence level, use this Z-score
table to find your score.
 Next, plug in your Z-score, Standard of Deviation, and
confidence interval into this equation:*
Necessary Sample Size =

(Z-score)² * (Std. Dev.)² / (margin of error)²
Cont’d….
 Here is how the math works assuming
you chose a
 95% confidence level
 .5 standard deviation,
 and a margin of error (confidence
interval) of +/- 5%.
Cont’d….
 (1.96)² x (.5) ² / (.05)²
(3.8416 x .25) / .0025
.9604 / .0025
384.16
385 respondents are needed
 You’ve just determined your sample size.
Practice session
An economist is interested in estimating the average
monthly household expenditure on food items by the
households of a town. Based on past data, it is
estimated that the standard deviation of the
population on the monthly expenditure on food item
is Rs. 30. with allowable error set at Rs. 7, estimate
the sample size required at a 90 per cent confidence.
 You are given a population with a standard deviation
of 8.6. Determine the sample size needed to estimate
the mean of the population within ± 0.5 with a 99
per cent confidence.
 It is desired to estimate the mean life time of a

certain kind of vacuum cleaner. Given that the
population standard deviation σ = 320 days, how
large a sample is needed to be able to assert with the
confidence level of 96 percent that the mean of the
sample will differ from the population mean by less
than 45 days?

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Sample Designs and

Airline travelers Airports

Sports fans Football stadiums

Necessary Sample Size =

 It is desired to estimate the mean life time of a

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