SAMPLING & SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION

The need for accurate & reliable data is necessary for taking policy decisions in
different fields of human activity. There are 2 methods of obtaining the required
information : 1) complete enumeration survey. (census method)
2) sampling technique.
Concepts & Definitions :
Population , sample , parameter , statistic , sampling distribution , standard error
Sampling , Types of sampling ( probability sampling , Non-probability sampling
Advantages of sampling :
1. Less time.
2. Reduced cost of survey.
3. Greater accuracy or more reliable results.
4. Administrative convenience.
5.Sampling method is the only method used in testing the quality of chalks, crackers,
life of electric bulbs etc
Limitations of sampling
1.Proper care must be taken in planning & execution of the survey. Otherwise
the results obtained may be inaccurate & misleading.
2. Sampling method needs the services of trained & qualified people
otherwise the surveys are not trustworthy.
3. If the infn is required from each & every unit of the popn & time and
money are not impt factors , a complete census may be better than
sampling.
PRINCIPLES OF SAMPLING
1. Principle of statistical regularity : this principle is based on the
mathematical theory of probability. According to this a sample drawn at
random from a popn of interest is likely to possess all the features of the
parent population.
2. Principle of inertia of large numbers : According to this as the sample size
increases the statistical inference is likely to be more accurate & stable.
For ex if a coin is tossed large no. of times then the relative frequency of
occurrence of head & tail is same.
SAMPLING METHODS :
Random sampling methods ( probability samples)
• Simple random sampling.
• Stratified sampling.
• Cluster sampling.
• Systematic sampling.
• Multistage sampling.
Non- Random sampling methods (non-probability samples)
• Quota sampling.
• Judgment or purposive sampling.
• Convenience sampling.
Sampling distribution , standard error etc
Point estimation & interval estimation
Confidence interval 95% or 99 %
Sample size determination : as the sample size increases the value of
statistic will be closer to the population value. Hence sample size depends
on the degree of accuracy required , degree of confidence & the maximum
allowable error. hence sample size is determined by
• confidence level desired. This will be determined by the value of Z. for ex
95% confidence level means Z=1.96.
•Maximum error allowed (E)
•The s.d of the population
thus sample size will increase if error is small, confidence level increases &
the value of the variance within the population increases.
N=Z2xs.d2/E2
PROBLEMS
1.A random sample of 900 workers showed an avg ht of 67inches with a s.d
of 5 inches. Establish 95% & 99% confidence interval estimate of the mean ht
of all the workers at a steel plant. (66.67&67.32 66.57&67.43)
2.A random sample of 100 workers showed a mean monthly salary of Rs 500
&s.d of 50.obtain 95% &99% c.i (490.2=509.8 487.1_512.9)
3.Given a popn with s.d of 8.6. what sample is needed to est the mean of popn
within +-0.5 with 99% confidence? (1964)
4.A cigarette manufacturer wishes to use random sampling to est the avg
nicotine content. the sampling error should not be more than 1 mg.above or
below the true mean with 99% confidence. the popn s.d is 4 mg.what sample
size the company should use in order to satisfy these requirement?(107)
5.A firm wishes to est with a max allowable error of 0.05 & a 95% level of
confidence, the proportion of consumers who prefer its product. hoe large a
sample will be required in order to make such an est if preliminary sales
report indicate that 25% of consumers prefer the firms product. (407)
6. A private T V channel would like to estimate the number of voters who vote
for a particular party’s candidate if he wants to have 95% confidence that his
predictions is within 0.08 of the population proportion then what sample size
is needed considering sampling error of 0.03 . (315)
7. A hospital wants an estimate of the mean time that a doctor spends with
each patient in the OPD. How large a sample should be taken if taken if the
desired margin of error 2 minutes at a 95% of level of confidence assuming a
population Standard Deviation of 8 minutes. (62)