Business Research Methods

Sampling: Design and Procedures

Sample or Census
Population:

The aggregate of all elements, sharing some common set of characteristics, that compromises the universe for the purpose of research problem. Census: A complete enumeration of the elements of a population or study objects. Sample: A subgroup of the elements of the population selected for participation in the study.

Sample Vs Census
Sample versus Census CONDITIONS FAVORING THE USE OF SAMPLE 1. Budget 2. Time available 3. Population size 4. Variance in the characteristic 5. Cost of sampling errors 6. Cost of nonsampling errors 7. Nature of measurement 8. Attention to individual cases Small Short Large Small Low High Destructive Yes CENSUS Large Long Small Large High Low Nondestructive No

The Sampling Design Process

Target Population: The collection of elements or

objects that possess the information sought by the researcher and about which inferences are to be made. Element: Objects that possess the information sought by the researcher and about which inferences are to be made. Sampling Unit: The basic unit containing the elements of the population to be sampled.

The Sampling Design Process

Define the target population

Determine the sampling scope

Select a sample technique(s) Determine the sampling size Execute the sampling process

Target Population
The target population for a department store project may be defined as follows: Elementsmale or female head of the household responsible for most of the shopping at department stores. Sampling unitshouseholds ScopeMetro Cities Time2011

Select a Sampling Technique

Sampling

with replacement: A sampling technique in which an element can be included in the sample more than once. Sampling without replacement: A sampling technique in which an element cannot be included in the sample more than once.

Determine The Sample Size

Determining the sample size is a complex method and

involves several qualitative and quantitative considerations. Important qualitative factors that should be considered in determining the sample size include:
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The importance of the decision The nature of the research The number of variables The nature of the analysis Sample sizes used in similar studies Incidence rates Resource constraints

A Classification of Sampling Techniques

1.

Nonprobability
1. 2. 3. 4.

Convenience Sampling Judgmental Sampling Quota Sampling Snowball Sampling

2.

Probability
1. Simple Random Sampling 2. Systematic Sampling 3. Stratified Sampling 1. Proportionate 2. Disproportionate 4. Cluster Sampling 5. Other Sampling Techniques

Nonprobability Sampling
Sampling techniques that do not use chance selection procedures. Rather, they rely on the personal judgment of the researcher.

Probability Sampling
A sampling procedure in which each element of the population has a fixed probabilistic chance of being selected for the sample.

Nonprobability Sampling Techniques

Convenience Sampling: Convenience sampling

attempts to obtain a sample of convenient elements. The selection of sampling units is left primarily to the interviewer. Often, respondents are selected because they happen to be in the right place at the right time.

Nonprobability Sampling Techniques

Judgmental Sampling: Judgmental sampling is

a form of convenience sampling in which the population elements are selected based on the judgment of the researcher. The researcher, exercising judgment or expertise, chooses the elements to be included in the sample, because he or she believes that they are representative of the population of interest or are otherwise appropriate.

Nonprobability Sampling Techniques

Quota

Sampling: Quota sampling may be viewed as two-stage restricted judgmental sampling, where the first stage consists of developing control categories, or quotas, of population elements.

Nonprobability Sampling Techniques

Snowball Sampling: In snowball sampling, an

initial group of respondents is selected, usually at random. After being interviewed, these respondents are asked to identify others who belong to the target population of interest. Subsequent respondents are selected based on referrals. This process may be carried out in waves by obtaining referrals from referrals, thus leading to a snowballing effect.

Probability Sampling Techniques

Simple Random Sampling: In simple random

sampling (SRS), each element in the population has a known and equal probability of selection. Furthermore, each possible sample of a given size (n) has a known and equal probability of being the sample actually selected.

Sampling Frame

A 1 2 3 4 5

B 6 7 8 9 10

C 11 12 13 14 15

D 16 17 18 19 20

E 21 22 23 24 25

Probability Sampling Techniques

Systematic Sampling: In systematic sampling,

the sample is chosen by selecting a random starting point and then picking every ith element in succession from the sampling frame. The sampling interval, i, is determined by dividing the population size N by the sample size n and rounding to the nearest integer.

Probability Sampling Techniques

Stratified Sampling: Stratified sampling is a two-

step process in which the population is partitioned into subpopulations, or strata. The strata should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. Every population element should be assigned to one and only one stratum and no population elements should be omitted. Next, elements are selected from each stratum by a random procedure, usually SRS.

Probability Sampling Techniques

Cluster Sampling: In cluster sampling, the target

population is first divided into mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subpopulations, or clusters. The a random sample of clusters is selected, based on a probability sampling technique such as SRS.

Difference Between Stratified and Cluster Sampling

Factor Stratified Sampling Cluster Sampling (one stage)

Objective
Subpopulations

Increase precision

Decrease cost

All strata are included A sample of clusters is chosen Each stratum should be homogeneous Strata should be heterogeneous Needed for the entire population Each cluster should be heterogeneous Clusters should be homogeneous Needed only for the selected clusters

Within subpopulations Across subpopulations Sampling frame

Selection of

Elements selected

All elements from each

Choosing Nonprobability Vs Probability Sampling

Choosing Nonprobability Vs Probability Sampling CONDITIONS FAVORING THE USE OF FACTORS Nature of research Relative magnitude of sampling and nonsampling errors Variability in the population Statistical considerations Operational considerations NONPROBABILITY SAMPLING Exploratory Nonsampling errors are larger Homogeneous (low) Unfavorable Favorable PROBABILITY SAMPLING Conclusive Sampling errors are larger Heterogeneous (high) Favorable Unfavorable