Continuous Variable If a variable can take on any value between its minimum value and its maximum value,

it is called acontinuous variable; otherwise, it is called a discrete variable. Some examples will clarify the difference between discrete and continuous variables. Suppose the fire department mandates that all fire fighters must weigh between 150 and 250 pounds. The weight of a fire fighter would be an example of a continuous variable; since a fire fighter's weight could take on any value between 150 and 250 pounds. Suppose we flip a coin and count the number of heads. The number of heads could be any integer value between 0 and plus infinity. However, it could not be any number between 0 and plus infinity. We could not, for example, get 2.5 heads. Therefore, the number of heads must be a discrete variable. Discrete Variable Variables that can only take on a finite number of values are called "discrete variables." All qualitative variables are discrete. Some quantitative variables are discrete, such as performance rated as 1,2,3,4, or 5, or temperature rounded to the nearest degree. Sometimes, a variable that takes on enough discrete values can be considered to be continuous for practical purposes. One example is time to the nearest millisecond. Stratified sample A stratified sample is a probability sampling technique in which the researcher divides the entire target population into different subgroups, or strata, and then randomly selects the final subjects proportionally from the different strata. This type of sampling is used when the researcher wants to highlight specific subgroups within the population. For example, to obtain a stratified sample of university students, the researcher would first organize the population by college class and then select appropriate numbers of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This ensures that the researcher has adequate amounts of subjects from each class in the final sample. It is important to note that the strata used in stratified sampling must not overlap. Having overlapping subgroups will give some individuals a higher chance of being selected as subjects in the sample. If this happened, it would not be a probability sample.

Some of the most common strata used in stratified random sampling are age, gender, religion, educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and nationality. Proportionate Stratified Random Sample For example, lets say you have four strata with population sizes of 200, 400, 600, and 800. If you choose a sampling fraction of , this means you must randomly sample 100, 200, 300, and 400 subjects from each stratum respectively. The same sampling fraction is used for each stratum regardless of the differences in population size of the strata. Advantages of Stratified Sampling Using a stratified sample will always achieve greater precision than a simple random sample, provided that the strata have been chosen so that members of the same stratum are as similar as possible in terms of the characteristic of interest. The greater the differences between the strata, the greater the gain in precision. Administratively, it is often more convenient to stratify a sample than to select a simple random sample. For instance, interviewers can be trained on how to best deal with a particular age or ethnic group while others are trained on the best way to deal with a different age or ethnic group. This way the interviewers can concentrate on and refine a small set of skills and it is less timely and costly for the researcher. A final advantage that stratified random sampling has over simple random sampling is that is guarantees better coverage of the population. The researcher has control over the subgroupsthat are included in the sample, whereas simple random sampling does not guarantee than any one type of person will be included in the final sample. Disadvantages of Stratified Sampling One main disadvantage of stratified random sampling is that is can be difficult to identify appropriate strata for a study. A second disadvantage is that it is more complex to organize and analyze the results compared to simple random sampling.

What is Cluster Sampling? Cluster sampling refers to a sampling method that has the following properties. The population is divided into N groups, called clusters. The researcher randomly selects n clusters to include in the sample.

The number of observations within each cluster Mi is known, and M = M1 + M2 + M3 + ... + MN-1+ MN. Each element of the population can be assigned to one, and only one, cluster. This tutorial covers two types of cluster sampling methods. One-stage sampling. All of the elements within selected clusters are included in the sample. Two-stage sampling. A subset of elements within selected clusters are randomly selected for inclusion in the sample. Cluster Sampling: Advantages and Disadvantages Assuming the sample size is constant across sampling methods, cluster sampling generally provides less precision than either simple random sampling or stratified sampling. This is the main disadvantage of cluster sampling. Given this disadvantage, it is natural to ask: Why use cluster sampling? Sometimes, the cost per sample point is less for cluster sampling than for other sampling methods. Given a fixed budget, the researcher may be able to use a bigger sample with cluster sampling than with the other methods. When the increased sample size is sufficient to offset the loss in precision, cluster sampling may be the best choice. The Difference Between Strata and Clusters Although strata and clusters are both non-overlapping subsets of the population, they differ in several ways. All strata are represented in the sample; but only a subset of clusters are in the sample. With stratified sampling, the best survey results occur when elements within strata are internally homogeneous. However, with cluster sampling, the best results occur when elements within clusters are internally heterogeneous.

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Correlation The correlation is one of the most common and most useful statistics. A correlation is a single number that describes the degree of relationship between two variables. Let's work through an example to show you how this statistic is computed.