Sampling and Sampling Methods

Abriham S. 1
The concept of sampling
Sampling unit: the ultimate unit to be sampled or elements of the
population to be sampled.
Examples: If some body studies Scio-economic status of the house
holds. The sampling unit is house holds
If one studies performance of freshman students in some college.
The sampling unit is student
Sampling frame: is the list of all elements in a population.
Examples:
List of house holds.
List of students in the registrar office.

Abriham S.
2
Generalizability: the extent to which inferences drawn from a
sample are true for the population.
Homogenous population: a population whose every element is
similar regarding the variables required for the research.
Heterogeneous population: a population the elements of which
are not similar to each other.
Sampling bias: a situation where the selected sample does not truly
reflect the characteristics of population.
Systematic errors: the errors that are caused by over or under
representation of some characteristics of population in the sample.

Abriham S.
3
Abriham S.
4
Sampling: the process of selecting a portion of the population to
represent the entire population.
A main concern in sampling:
❖ Make sure that the sample represents the population, and
❖ The findings can be generalized.
Advantages of sampling:
Feasibility: Sampling may be the only feasible method of collecting
information.
Reduced cost: Sampling reduces demands on resource such as finance,
personnel, and material.
Greater accuracy: Sampling may lead to better accuracy of collecting data
Greater speed: Data can be collected and summarized more quickly
Abriham S.
5
Error in Sampling
✓ No sample is the exact mirror image of the population
✓ Can not be avoided or totally eliminated
✓ The chance and random variation in variables that occurs
when any sample is selected from the population
✓ Sampling error is to be expected
✓ To avoid sampling error, a census of the entire population
must be taken
✓ To control for sampling error, researchers use various
sampling methods

Abriham S. 6
 There are two types of errors
1. Sampling error: is the discrepancy between the population
value and sample value.
✓ is any type of bias that is attributable to mistakes in either
drawing a sample or determining the sample size.
✓ the uncertainty associated with an estimate that is based on
data gathered from a sample of the population rather than the
full population.
2. Non-sampling error: are errors due to procedure bias:
✓ Observational error
✓ Respondent error
✓ Lack of preciseness of definition
✓ Errors in editing and tabulation of data
Abriham S. 7
There are two types of sampling methods.

I. Probability sampling methods

II. Non-probability sampling methods

Abriham S. 8
PROBABILITY SAMPLING
✓ Any method of sampling that utilizes some form of random
selection.
✓ Involves random selection of a sample
✓ Every sampling unit has a known and non-zero probability of
selection into the sample
✓ Involves the selection of a sample from a population based on
chance
✓ Probability sampling is:
◦ more complex,
◦ more time-consuming and
◦ usually more costly than non-probability sampling

Abriham S. 9
 Most common probability sampling methods
1. Simple random sampling
2. Systematic random sampling
3. Stratified random sampling
4. Cluster sampling

Abriham S. 10
 Simple random sampling(SRS)
✓ It is the technique of selecting samples in which each and every
individual or item of the population has an equal chance of being
selected into the sample. Which item or individual gets selected is
purely a matter of chance. The personal bias of the investigator
does not influence the selection.
✓ In order to ensure the randomness of the selection we can use the:
Lottery method
Table of random numbers
Lottery Method: If the size of the population is relatively small, we
may number or write their names on separate pieces of paper of
identical size & shape.
These papers are identically folded & mixed up in a container.
The required items are picked up from the container one after other.
Each piece of paper has the same chance of being picked up until the
desired sample size has been taken. Abriham S.
Random number table: can be used to select a representative sample
from a population of a large size.
✓ Is one in which every digit (0, 1, 2, …, 9) has been entered
randomly. The chance of getting any one of the ten digits (0, 1, 2,
…, 9) would be the same & exactly 1/10.
✓ The occurrence of any number in one part of the table is
independent of the occurrence of any number in any other part of
the table.
✓ In selecting a random sample from a finite population, we first
assign a code number to each member of the population.
Example 1: If there 100 members in the population, then each member will
be assigned a code number 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, …, 99. we want to select
a random sample of 10 members from this population. Now let us a random
number to select our 10 samples.
Example 2: Let us assume that there are 2000 students at Wachemo
University arranged in alphabetical order. We want to a sample of 200
students out of these 2000 for the purpose of studying their average age.
Abriham S.
 Systematic random sampling
✓ Sometimes called interval sampling
✓ Selection of individuals from the sampling frame
systematically rather than randomly
✓ Individuals are taken at regular intervals down the list
✓ The starting point is chosen at random
Steps in systematic random sampling
❖Number the units in the population from 1 to N
❖Decide on the n (sample size) that you want or need
❖k = N/n = the interval size
❖Randomly select an integer between 1 to k
❖Then, take every 𝑘 𝑡ℎ unit
Abriham S.
Example: N=1200, and n=60
1200
Sampling fraction (k)= =20
60
❖ List persons from 1 to 1200
❖ Randomly select a number between 1 and 20
❖ Let the first person selected = the 8𝑡ℎ on the list
❖ The 2𝑛𝑑 person =8+20 = the 28𝑡ℎ
❖ The 3𝑟𝑑 person = 28+20= the 48𝑡ℎ
❖ The 4𝑡ℎ person = 48+20= the 68𝑡ℎ … etc.

Abriham S.
Abriham S.
 Stratified random sampling
A method of probability Sampling in which the population is divided
into different subgroups and samples are selected from each
subgroup.
Some of the criteria for dividing a population into strata are: Sex
(male, female); Age (under 18, 18 to 28, 29 to 39); income, etc.
These subgroups are homogeneous and mutually exclusive groups
called strata

Abriham S.
❖ Divide the population into non-overlapping groups (i.e., strata)
𝑁1 , 𝑁2 , … 𝑁𝑖 such that 𝑁1 +𝑁2 + ⋯ + 𝑁𝑖 = N

A separate sample is taken independently from each stratum

depending on the type of allocation

Elements within each strata are homogeneous, but are

heterogeneous across strata.

A simple random or a systematic sample is taken from each strata

Proportional allocation: allocating sampling proportional to the

total population of each strata using the formula:
𝑛
𝑛𝑖 = *𝑁𝑖
𝑁
Abriham S.
Where n=total sample size to be selected
N=total population
Ni = total population of each strata
ni=sample size from each strata
Exercise: find proportional allocation for the following villages
Village A B C D Total
HHs 100 150 120 130 500
Sample size ? ? ? ? 60

Abriham S.
Cluster sampling
• The population is divided in to non overlapping groups called
clusters.
• A simple random sample of groups or cluster of elements is
chosen and all the sampling units in the selected clusters will
be surveyed.
• Clusters are formed in a way that elements with in a cluster
are heterogeneous, i.e. observations in each cluster should be
more or less dissimilar.
• Cluster sampling is useful when it is difficult or costly to
generate a simple random sample.
For example, to estimate the average annual household income
in a large city we use cluster sampling
A less expensive way is to let each block within the city represent
a cluster. A sample of clusters could then be randomly selected,
and every household within these clusters could be interviewed
to find the average annual household income.
Abriham S.
Abriham S.
Abriham S.
 Non Random Sampling
❖ It is a sampling technique in which the choice of individuals for
a sample depends on the basis of convenience, personal choice
or interest.
❖ non probability sampling does not involve random selection
❖ In non-probability sampling, every item has an unknown
chance of being selected
❖ They are quick, inexpensive and convenient
Most common types of non-probability sampling
1. Convenience or haphazard sampling
2. Volunteer sampling
3. Judgment or Purposive sampling
4. Quota sampling
5. Snowball sampling
Abriham S.
Convenience sampling is sometimes referred to as haphazard
or accidental sampling.
• It is not normally representative of the target population
because sample units are only selected if they can be accessed
easily and conveniently
• The method is easy to use, but that advantage is greatly offset
by the presence of bias.
Volunteer sampling
▪As the term implies, this type of sampling occurs when people
volunteer to be involved in the study.
Judgment sampling
• is sampling method the choice of samples depends exclusively
on the judgment of the investigator. The investigator exercises
his own judgment & includes those items in the sample which
he/she thinks are most typical to represent the population.
• Researchers often use this method in exploratory studies like
pre-testing of questionnaires and focus groups.
Abriham S.
• One advantage of judgment sampling is the reduced cost and
time involved in acquiring the sample.
Quota Sampling
• Sampling is done until a specific number of units (quotas) for
various sub-populations have been selected
• Is generally less expensive than random sampling
• In many cases where the population has no suitable frame,
quota sampling may be the only appropriate sampling method
Snowball Sampling
• Used in studies involving respondents who are rare to find.
• To start with, the researcher compiles a short list of sample
units from various sources
• Each of these respondents are contacted to provide names of
other probable respondents.

Abriham S.
 Sample size determination
• Sample size is the number of study subjects selected to
represent a given study population
• Should be sufficient to represent the characteristics of interest
of the study population

Abriham S.
Sample size depends on
• Objective of the study

• Design of the study

• Plan for statistical analysis

• Accuracy of the measurement to be made

• Degree of precision required for generalization

• Degree of confidence

Abriham S.
 Sample Size for Single Proportion
For making confidence limit statement the following formula can be used to
estimate minimum sample size:

2
𝑍𝛼ൗ 𝑝𝑞
2
𝑛=
𝑑2
Where
Z refers reliability coefficient (confidence level)
P the proportion in the population possessing the characteristic of interest
d margin of error

Abriham S.
To get P we have three options

o Doing pilot study

o Literature

o Take a value of 0.5

The margin of error (d) measures the precision of the estimate

o Small value of d indicates high precision

o For P close to 50%, d is assumed to be close to 5%

o For smaller value of p, d is assumed to be lower than 5%

Abriham S.
Abriham S.
Abriham S.
Parameters in the formula
o n is minimum sample size
o P is estimate of the prevalence rate for the population
• From available data, or Pilot study result, or 0.5
should be used to get the possible minimum large
sample size; if given in range, take the value closest to
0.5.
o d is the margin of sampling error tolerated
o Zα/2 is the standard normal variable at (1-α )%
confidence level and α is mostly taken to be 5%
• Usually 95% confidence level is used = 1.96
o N population size
Abriham S.
Central Limit Theorem (CLT)
If 𝑋1 , 𝑋2 , … 𝑋𝑛 is a random sample from a population with mean
µ and variance 𝜎 2 , then as n goes to infinity the distribution of the
ത approximates normal distribution with mean µ
sample mean, 𝑋,
𝜎2
and variance .
𝑛
𝜎2
In short as n gets large number, 𝑋ഥ ~𝑁 𝜇,
𝑛

Abriham S.
Abriham S.