Research Sampling – PST06210 Operational Research
NTA Level 6 • Semester 2 • PST06210 Research Sampling Operational Research • Source Session/Topic 13 Full source-text version: all educational wording from the extracted learning source is retained; only presenter/tutor metadata and web-layout noise are removed, while formatting is improved for readability. Session 13: Research Sampling Total Session Time: 120 minutes + 240 minutes assignment Prerequisites None Learning Tasks By the end of this session students are expected to be able to: Define the common terms used in sampling Identify the population(s) to be studied Describe common methods of sampling Explain reasons for sampling Describe source of bias in sampling that should be avoided Resources Needed Flip charts, marker pens, and masking tape Black/white board and chalk/whiteboard markers Computer and LCD Projector Handout 13.1: Types of sampling methods and when to use it SESSION OVERVIEW Activity/ Step Time Content Method 1 05 minutes Presentation Introduction, Learning Tasks 2 20 minutes Presentation Definition of the Common Terms Used in Sampling 20 minutes Presentation Identification of the Population(s) to be Studied 3 Buzzing 35 minutes Presentation 4 Group Common Methods of Sampling discussion 5 10 minutes Presentation Reasons for Sampling 6 15 minutes Presentation Source of Bias in Sampling that Should be Avoided 7 05 minutes Presentation Key Points 8 05 minutes Presentation Evaluation ___________________________________________________________________________ PST 06210 Operational Research NTA Level 6 Semester 2 Facilitator Guide 104 9 05 minutes Presentation Assignment SESSION CONTENTS STEP1: Presentation of Session Title and Learning Tasks (5 minutes) READ or ASK students to read the learning tasks and clarify ASK students if they have any questions before continuing STEP 2: Definition of Common Terms Used in Sampling (20 minutes) • Sampling: Process of selecting a number of study units from a defined study population. o For studies which involve only small numbers of people all of them can be included in the investigation. o For research which focuses on a large population, for practical reasons, it is only possible to include some of its members in the investigation. It is important to draw a sample from the total population. Sampling unit o A single section selected to research and gather statistics of the whole. o For example, when studying a group of college students, a single student could be a sampling unit. o Unit of selection in the sampling process, e.g. Person, a school, a household, etc. Sampling frame o a list of units from which a sample is to be picked Sampling fraction (sampling ratio) o a proportion of sampling units to be picked from a specified sampling frame = number units in a sample number of units in sampling frame Sampling interval o An interval at which units are picked from a sampling frame when systematic sampling is done. ___________________________________________________________________________ PST 06210 Operational Research NTA Level 6 Semester 2 Facilitator Guide 105 STEP 3: Identifying the Population (s) to be Studied (20 minutes) Activity: Buzzing (5 minutes) ASK students to pair up and buzz on the following question for 2 minutes ‘What is study population? ALLOW few pairs to respond and let other pairs to add on points not mentioned WRITE their response on the flip chart/board CLARIFY and SUMMARIZE by using the content below Study population o Collective of study units for which the values of the varieties of interest could possibly be determined. o In identifying the population(s) to be studied we must consider the following questions: What is the group of people (STUDY POPULATION) we are interested in from which we want to draw a sample? How many people do we need in our sample? How will these people be selected? Sample is a subset of study population selected to participate in the research when whole study population cannot be reached o The study population has to be clearly defined (for example, according to age, sex, and residence.) Otherwise we cannot do the sampling o Each study population consists of STUDY UNITS. The way we define our study population and our study unit depends on the problem we want to investigate and on the objectives of the study • Representativeness o If researchers want to draw conclusions which are valid for the whole study population, which requires a quantitative study design, they should take care to draw a sample in such a way that it is representative of that population. o A representative sample has all the important characteristics of the population from which it is drawn ___________________________________________________________________________ PST 06210 Operational Research NTA Level 6 Semester 2 Facilitator Guide 106 Figure 1: Relationship between population and sample STEP 4: Common Methods of Sampling (35 minutes) Activity: Small Group Discussion (20 minutes) DIVIDE students into small manageable groups ASK students to discuss on the following question • What are the common methods of sampling? ALLOW students to discuss for 10 minutes ALLOW few groups to present and the rest to add points not mentioned CLARIFY and SUMMARIZE by using the contents below The common methods of sampling are: Two types of sampling probability and non-probability o Non-probability o Probability (random sampling) • Probability Sampling (Quantitative Data) ___________________________________________________________________________ PST 06210 Operational Research NTA Level 6 Semester 2 Facilitator Guide 107 o Involves using random selection procedures, to ensure that each unit of the sample is chosen on the basis of chance. o All units of the study population should have an equal, or at least a known chance of being included in the sample. o Requires listing of all study units exist or can be compiled. This listing is called the sampling frame. • Types of random or probability sampling o Simple random sampling o Systematic sampling o Stratified sampling o Cluster sampling o Multistage sampling • Simple Random Sampling To select a simple random sample, you need to: o Make or search for an existing numbered list of all the units in the population from which you want