PROBABILITY

SAMPLING

Sheldon Manickam

SAMPLING

WHY SAMPLING?
It would be impracticable for you to survey the entire
population
Your budget constraints prevent you from surveying
the entire population
Your time constraints prevent you from surveying the
entire population
You have collected all the data but need the results
quickly

DEFINITIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Element: The object about
which or from which the
information is desired, e.g., the
respondent
Sampling unit: An element, or
a unit containing the element,
that is available for selection at
some stage of the sampling
process
Sampling Frame: List
containing all the elements from
which you choose the sample

PROBABILITY SAMPLING
Probability sampling (or representative
sampling) is most commonly associated with
survey-based research strategies where you need
to make inferences from your sample about a
population to answer your research question(s)
or to meet your objectives.

FOUR STAGES OF PROB. SAMPLING

1 ) Identify a suitable sampling frame based on your
research question(s) or objectives.
2 ) Decide on a suitable sample size.
3 ) Select the most appropriate sampling technique
and select the sample.
4) Check that the sample is representative of the
population.

SUITABLE SAMPLE SIZE

The larger your samples size, the lower the likely
error in generalizing to the population
Probability sampling is therefore a compromise
between the accuracy of your findings and the
amount of time and money you invest in
collecting, checking and analyzing the data.

TYPES OF PROB. SAMPLING

Probability
Sampling

Simple
Random

Systematic

Stratified
Random

Cluster

Multi-stage

PROBABILITY SAMPLING
Each element in the population has a known and
equal probability of selection.
Every element is selected independently of every
other element.

SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
1) Number each of the cases in your sampling frame with a
unique number. The first case is numbered 0, the second 1
and so on.
2) Select the first case using a random number.
3) Calculate the sampling fraction.
sampling fraction =actual sample size
total population
4) Select subsequent cases systematically using the
sampling fraction to determine the frequency of selection.

STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING

1) Choose the stratification variable or variables.
2) Divide the sampling frame into the discrete strata.
3) Number each of the cases within each stratum
with a unique number.
4) Select your sample using either simple random or
systematic sampling.

CLUSTER SAMLPING
1) Choose the cluster grouping for your sampling
frame.
2) Number each of the clusters with a unique
number. The first cluster is numbered 0,
the second 1 and so on.
3) Select your sample using some form of random
sampling.

MULTI-STAGE SAMPLING
Also called multi-stage cluster sampling
Used to overcome problems associated with a
geographically dispersed population when faceto-face contact is needed or where it is expensive
and time consuming to construct a sampling
frame for a large geographical area

MULTI-STAGE SAMPLING
Example: Population is very large, sample size is
very small
To select 60 people from all over India
Select 2 people from each state randomly