Sampling
Aurang Zeb
Mbioethics, MSN
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Objectives of Presentation
By the end of this session, the learners will be able to:
Define the term “population” & “Sampling”
Recognize the use of sampling in research studies
Identify the different types of sampling
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Important statistical terms
Population:
a set which includes all
measurements of interest
to the researcher
(The collection of all responses, measurements, or
counts that are of interest)
Sample:
A subset of the population
Population
Target Population
The group from which the study population is selected
Study Population
The group selected for investigation
Elements of a population
The subject on which the measurement is collected
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Population
All the inhabitants of a given country or area considered
together; the number of inhabitants of a given country or
area
The population is all elements (individuals, objects, or
substance) that meet certain criteria for inclusions in a study
(Kerlinger, 1986).
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Sample
A sample is “a smaller (but hopefully representative)
collection of units from a population used to determine
truths about that population” (Field, 2005)
The sampling frame is the list from which the potential
respondents are drawn
Registrar’s office
Class rosters
Must assess sampling frame errors
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Sampling
Sample
A sample is a subset of the population that is selected for a
particular study, and the members of a sample are the
subjects or study participants.
Randomization
When study subjects are randomly allocated in study
groups from population
Each person is getting equal chance to be selected in
either group
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Process
The sampling process comprises several stages:
Defining the population of concern
Specifying a sampling frame
Specifying a sampling method
Determining the sample size
Implementing the sampling plan
Data collection
Reviewing the sampling process
8
3 factors that influence sample representative-ness
Sampling procedure
Sample size
Participation (response)
When might you sample the entire population?
When your population is very small
When you have extensive resources
When you don’t expect a very high response
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Sampling
Sampling Error
The fluctuation of the value of statistic from one sample to
another drawn from the same population
OR
The part of the total estimation error of a parameter caused by
the random nature of the sample
Sampling Bias
Distortion that arise when a sample is not representative of the
population from which it was drawn
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Sampling & Representativeness
Sampling
Population
Sample
Target Population
Target Population Sampling Population Sample
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Why do we use samples ?
Get information from large populations
At minimal cost
At maximum speed
At increased accuracy
Using enhanced tools
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Non-Probability Probability
Samples (Random) Samples
• Simple random
sample
• Convenience • Systematic random
sample sample
• Purposive sample • Stratified random
• Quota sample
• Multistage sample
• Multiphase sample
• Cluster sample
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Probability Sampling
It is a method of sampling that utilizes some form of
random selection.
In order to have a random selection method, you must
set up some process or procedure that assures that the
different units in your population have equal
probabilities of being chosen
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Some Definitions
N = the number of cases in the sampling frame
n = the number of cases in the sample
f = n/N = the sampling fraction
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Sampling Fraction
If the size of the population is N and the size of the sample
is n, the ratio is n/N called the sampling fraction. If
N=100 , n=10 then n/N 10/100 =1/10 the ratio.
(10/100X100=10%,)
It means 10% of the population is included in the
sample.
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1. Simple Random Sampling
• All subsets of the frame are given an equal probability.
Each element of the frame thus has an equal probability of
selection.
• Applicable when population is small, homogeneous &
readily available
Procedure
Use a table of random numbers, a computer random
number generator, or a mechanical device to select the
sample.
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Simple Random sampling
Advantages
– Simple
– Sampling error easily measured
Disadvantages
– Need complete list of units
– Does not always achieve best Representativeness
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Simple Random Sampling
Example: Estimate the prevalence of tooth decay among the
1200 children attending a school
List of children attending the school
Children numerated from 1 to 1200
Sample size = 100 children
Random sampling of 100 numbers between 1 and 1200
How to randomly select?
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Simple Random Sampling
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Stratified Random Sample
- A stratified random sample is one obtained by separating the
population elements into non-overlapping groups, called
strata, and then selecting a simple random sample from
each stratum.
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Stratified sampling
Advantages
More precise if variable associated with strata
All subgroups represented, allowing separate
conclusions about each of them
Disadvantages
Sampling error difficult to measure
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Systematic Random Sampling
- All of this will be much clearer with an example. Let's
assume that we have a population that only has N=100
people in it and that you want to take a sample of n=20.
To use systematic sampling, the population must be listed
in a random order. The sampling fraction would be f =
20/100 = 20%. in this case, the interval size, k, is equal to
N/n = 100/20 = 5.
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Systematic Random Sampling
- Now, select a random integer from 1 to 5. In our
example, imagine that you chose 4. Now, to select the
sample, start with the 4th unit in the list and take every
k-th unit (every 5th, because k=5).You would be
sampling units 4, 9, 14, 19, and so on to 100 and you
would wind up with 20 units in your sample.
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Systematic sampling
N = 1200, and n = 60
sampling fraction = 1200/60 = 20
List persons from 1 to 1200
Randomly select a number between 1 and 20 (ex : 8)
1st person selected = the 8th on the list
2nd person = 8 + 20 = the 28th
etc .....
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Systematic sampling
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 ……..
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Cluster Sampling
In, we follow these steps:
Divide population into clusters (usually along
geographic boundaries)
Randomly sample clusters
Measure all units within sampled clusters
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Cluster Sampling
It is a probability sample in which each sample unit is a
collection, or cluster, of elements
The first task in cluster sampling is to specify appropriate
clusters
Elements within a cluster are often physically close
together and hence tend to have similar characteristics.
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Example: Cluster sampling
Section 1 Section 2
Section 3
Section 5
Section 4
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Cluster sampling
Advantages
Simple as complete list of sampling units within
population not required
Less travel/resources required
Disadvantages
Sampling error difficult to measure
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Multi-Stage Sampling
The four methods we've covered so far -- simple, stratified,
systematic and cluster -- are the simplest random sampling
strategies.
The most important principle here is that we can combine the
simple methods described earlier in a variety of useful ways
that help us address our sampling needs in the most efficient
and effective manner possible. When we combine sampling
methods, we call this multi-stage sampling.
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Non Probability sampling
Convenience sampling
Quota Sampling
Purposive sampling
Network Sampling(snow ball sampling)
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Convenience sampling
It is used in exploratory research where the researcher is
interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the
truth.
As the name implies, the sample is selected because they are
convenient.
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Quota Sampling
It uses a convenience sampling technique with added
feature - a strategy to ensure the inclusion of subjects
types who are likely to be underrepresented in the
convenience sample e.g. ethnicity , Hindu religion in
Pakistan
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Quota sampling
It is the non-probability version of stratified sampling. Like
stratified sampling, the researcher first identifies the stratums
and their proportions as they are represented in the
population. Then convenience or judgment sampling is used to
select the required number of subjects from each stratum. This
differs from stratified sampling, where the stratums are filled
by random sampling.
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Purposive /Judgment Sampling
It is a common non-probability method. The researcher selects
the sample based on judgment.
This is usually an extension of convenience sampling.
For example, a researcher may decide to draw the entire
sample from one "representative" city, even though the
population includes all cities.
When using this method, the researcher must be confident that
the chosen sample is truly representative of the entire
population.
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Network / Snowball Sampling
It is a special non-probability method used when the desired sample
characteristic is rare. It may be extremely difficult or cost
prohibitive to locate respondents in these situations. Snowball
sampling relies on referrals from initial subjects to generate
additional subjects.
While this technique can dramatically lower search costs, it comes
at the expense of introducing bias because the technique itself
reduces the likelihood that the sample will represent a good cross
section from the population.
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Conclusions
Probability samples are the best
Beware of …
refusals
absentees
“do not know”
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References
1. Burns, N. & Grove, S.K (2007). Understanding Nursing Research, building
an Evidence-Based Practice 4th [Link]. Louis, Missouri: Saunders.
2. Dawson, B., & Trapp, R. G. (2004). Basic & Clinical Biostatistics (4th
ed.). New York: Lange/McGraw-Hill
3. Harris, M. & Taylor, G. (2008). Medical Statistics Made Easy, 2nd
Edition. Oxford shire: Scion Publishing
4. Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2008). Nursing research: Generating and
assessing evidence for nursing practice (8th ed.). Philadelphia:
Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
5. Kerlinger FN. Foundations of Behavioral Research (Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, New York, NY).
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