Sample methods
sampling methods by Sam Cook a former student
A point to remember before looking through sampling methods is the survey population is the whole group being studied while the sampling frame is a list of names of all those included in the survey. These two aspects of social
research come from the sample size which needs to representative of the group being studied. To help the researcher have a representative sample a sampling method is chosen in order to achieve the most representative sample possible.
The main sampling methods are:
- Random sampling – people selected at random
- Stratified random sampling – a random sample is chosen from a subdivided group of people eg a specific age range
- Quota sampling – researcher selects people by a certain criteria eg gender
- Snowball sampling – the researcher selects a respondent meeting their requirements, then asks them to recommend someone meeting the same criteria
- Cluster or multistage sampling – selecting your sample in various stages eg 1st – take a random sample of hospital patients; 2nd – select a random sample from within those patients for your study
- Systematic sampling – selecting from the sampling frame at regular intervals until the size of sample is reached
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