INFO 271B LECTURE 9 COYE CHESHIRE Sampling
Agenda Info 271B 2 Non-probability Sampling Probability Sampling Probability Distributions
Why Sample? Info 271B 3 Drawing populations versus ‘samples’ E.g., survey of iSchool masters students Reducing Error
Non-Probability Sampling Info 271B 4 Quotas Pick key groups of interest and find individuals to fill specific goals (i.e., 100 people in each key group). Quotas are fulfilled without using random sampling Purposive Sampling Find key groups and only study them
More Non-Probability Sampling Info 271B 5 Convenience Sampling Taking anyone you can get to participate Snowball Sampling Find starting point and use these individuals to get next participant…and so on
Probability and Probability Sampling 6 Are the things that we observe different from what would be expected by chance?
Real-World Example: Attitudes About the President (1-5 Likert Scale) 7
Do men and women differ in their assessment of the US president? 8
Probability Sampling Info 271B 9 Sampling Frames A list of units of analysis from which you take a sample and to which you generalize Directories, local census, etc. But, often cannot get an adequate sampling frame Field research
How Large of a Sample? Info 271B 10 Sample Accuracy versus Sample Precision Key Issues for Determining Sample Size: 1) Heterogeneity of Population 2) Number of Subgroups 3) Size of Subgroup 4) Precision of sample statistics
Randomized Samples Info 271B 11 Simple Random Sample Requires numbering all potential participants in a given sampling frame (N) Pull random numbers from any source, use these as the sample (n) Select n units out of N such that each N C n has and equal chance of being selected. Issues… True randomization? Replacement “in the field”
Systematic Random Samples Info 271B 12 Random start and sampling interval (Sample x Interval = Population) Issues Periodicity Poor sampling frames (
Info 271B 13
Stratified Random Sampling Info 271B 14 Key Issue: Representation of salient sub-populations Maximize between-group variance while minimizing within-group variance Proportionate Samples Do you know the key independent variables? If not, may be better off avoiding stratification Disproportionate Samples Weighting
Complex Sampling Designs Info 271B 15 Cluster Sampling No available frames Based on areas, institutions, or ‘clusters’