Week 6

Sampling Design Measurement and Scaling

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Sampling
Sampling: the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population, so that results from analyzing the sample are generalizable to the population.

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Relevant Terms - 1
Population refers to the entire group of people, events, or things of interest that the researcher wishes to investigate. An element is a single member of the population. A sample is a subset of the population. It comprises some members selected from it.
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Relevant Terms - 2
Sampling unit: the element or set of elements that is available for selection in some stage of the sampling process. A subject is a single member of the sample, just as an element is a single member of the population.

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Relevant Terms - 3
The characteristics of the population such as (the population mean), (the population standard deviation), and 2 (the population variance) are referred to as its parameters. The central tendencies, the dispersions, and other statistics in the sample of interest to the research are treated as approximations of the central tendencies, dispersions, and other parameters of the population.

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Statistics versus Parameters

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Advantages of Sampling
Less costs Less errors due to less fatigue Less time Destruction of elements avoided

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The Sampling Process

Major steps in sampling:
Define the population. Determine the sample frame Determine the sampling design Determine the appropriate sample size Execute the sampling process

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Sampling Techniques
Probability versus nonprobability sampling Probability sampling: elements in the population have a known and non-zero chance of being chosen

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Sampling Techniques
Probability Sampling
Simple Random Sampling Systematic Sampling Stratified Random Sampling Cluster Sampling

Nonprobability Sampling
Convenience Sampling Judgment Sampling Quota Sampling
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Simple Random Sampling

Procedure
Each element has a known and equal chance of being selected

Characteristics
Highly generalizable Easily understood Reliable population frame necessary

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Systematic Sampling

Procedure
Each nth element, starting with random choice of an element between 1 and n

Characteristics
Idem simple random sampling Easier than simple random sampling Systematic biases when elements are not randomly listed

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Cluster Sampling

Procedure
Divide of population in clusters Random selection of clusters Include all elements from selected clusters

Characteristics
Intercluster homogeneity Intracluster heterogeneity Easy and cost efficient Low correspondence with reality

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Stratified Sampling

Procedure
Divide of population in strata Include all strata Random selection of elements from strata
Proportionate Disproportionate

Characteristics
Interstrata heterogeneity Intrastratum homogeneity Includes all relevant subpopulations

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(Dis)proportionate Stratified Sampling

Number of subjects in total sample is allocated among the strata (dis)proportional to the relative number of elements in each stratum in the population Disproportionate case:
strata exhibiting more variability are sampled more than proportional to their relative size requires more knowledge of the population, not just relative sizes of strata

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Example

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Overview

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Overview

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Overview

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Choice Points in Sampling Design

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Tradeoff between precision and confidence

We can increase both confidence and precision by increasing the sample size

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Sample size: guidelines

In general:
Categories: Multivariate:

30 < n < 500

30 per subcategory 10 x number of vars

Experiments:
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15 to 20 per condition

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Sample Size for a Given Population Size

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Sample Size for a Given

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Measurement
Measurement: the assignment of numbers or other symbols to characteristics (or attributes) of objects according to a pre-specified set of rules.

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(Characteristics of) Objects

Objects include persons, strategic business units, companies, countries, kitchen appliances, restaurants, shampoo, yogurt and so on. Examples of characteristics of objects are arousal seeking tendency, achievement motivation, organizational effectiveness, shopping enjoyment, length, weight, ethnic diversity, service quality, conditioning effects and taste.

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Types of Variables
Two types of variables:
One lends itself to objective and precise measurement; The other is more nebulous and does not lend itself to accurate measurement because of its abstract and subjective nature.

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Operationalizing Concepts
Operationalizing concepts: reduction of abstract concepts to render them measurable in a tangible way. Operationalizing is done by looking at the behavioral dimensions, facets, or properties denoted by the concept.

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Example

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Scale
Scale: tool or mechanism by which individuals are distinguished as to how they differ from one another on the variables of interest to our study.

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Nominal Scale
A nominal scale is one that allows the researcher to assign subjects to certain categories or groups. What is your department? O Marketing O Maintenance O Finance O Production O Servicing O Personnel O Sales O Public Relations O Accounting What is your gender? O Male O Female

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Nominal Scale

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Ordinal Scale
Ordinal scale: not only categorizes variables in such a way as to denote differences among various categories, it also rank-orders categories in some meaningful way. What is the highest level of education you have completed? O Less than High School O High School/GED Equivalent O College Degree O Masters Degree O Doctoral Degree

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Ordinal Scale

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Interval Scale
Interval scale: whereas the nominal scale allows us only to qualitatively distinguish groups by categorizing them into mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive sets, and the ordinal scale to rank-order the preferences, the interval scale lets us measure the distance between any two points on the scale.

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Interval scale
Circle the number that represents your feelings at this particular moment best. There are no right or wrong answers. Please answer every question. 1. I invest more in my work than I get out of it I disagree completely 1 2 3 4 5 I agree completely

2. I exert myself too much considering what I get back in return I disagree completely 1 2 3 4 5 I agree completely

3. For the efforts I put into the organization, I get much in return I disagree completely 1 2 3 4 5 I agree completely

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Interval scale

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Ratio Scale
Ratio scale: overcomes the disadvantage of the arbitrary origin point of the interval scale, in that it has an absolute (in contrast to an arbitrary) zero point, which is a meaningful measurement point. What is your age?

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Ratio Scale

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Properties of the Four Scales

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Goodness of Measures

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Validity

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Reliability
Reliability of measure indicates extent to which it is without bias and hence ensures consistent measurement across time (stability) and across the various items in the instrument (internal consistency).

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Stability
Stability: ability of a measure to remain the same over time, despite uncontrollable testing conditions or the state of the respondents themselves.
TestRetest Reliability: The reliability coefcient obtained with a repetition of the same measure on a second occasion. Parallel-Form Reliability: Responses on two comparable sets of measures tapping the same construct are highly correlated.

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Internal Consistency
Internal Consistency of Measures is indicative of the homogeneity of the items in the measure that tap the construct.
Interitem Consistency Reliability: This is a test of the consistency of respondents answers to all the items in a measure. The most popular test of interitem consistency reliability is the Cronbachs coefcient alpha. Split-Half Reliability: Split-half reliability reflects the correlations between two halves of an instrument.

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