Exam 5: Sampling and Generalizability

Which of the following is not a procedure for simple random selection of elements?

How does a simple random sample differ from an availability sample? Which is better for social research and why?

If the probability of selection cannot be determined before a sample is drawn, what type of sampling procedure must be used?

A simple random sample of students could be achieved by stopping every other student who enters the library.

Which of the following is a common problem that can bias what appears to be a random sample?

A survey that takes measurements from all elements of a population is also known as a:

How does diversity within the population affect the sampling technique chosen in social research? Does this differ for probability and non-probability sampling? Explain at least three specific techniques that can be used to address high levels of diversity within a population.

In what type or types of sample design do elements have an equal probability of selection?

The larger the sample, the more confidence we can have in the sample's representativeness.

You have been assigned a research project for the state board of education in which you have been asked to conduct interviews with teachers from different schools throughout the state. Your supervisor suggests that you may use either a simple random sample or a cluster sample. Outline how you would conduct this research given the sampling technique you select, explaining your preference over the other method.

Should the U.S. Census be replaced by a survey of a random sample? Evaluate the arguments for and against this change.

A researcher has decided to do a study of people who hunt in a nearby national forest. He asks a friend, whom he knows to be a hunter, if he would consent to an interview. He interviews his friend, and then asks his friend if he could name other people who hunted in the forest. His friend provides him with five names. The researcher contacts those five people, interviews them, and asks each of those people for names of other hunters. This sampling technique is known as:

Which of the following is not a common type of probability sampling?

The text points out that the amount of sampling error introduced by random selection changes with the size of the sample and with the homogeneity of the population from which it is selected. Taking these points into account, explain how it is that stratified sampling can result in less sampling error that multi-stage cluster sampling. After all, isn't random selection random selection, no matter which type of sampling is used?

Use the following to answer questions 16-18: In each set, match a concept from Group A to a definition or example from Group B. -Probability Sampling Methods Group A 1. Simple random sampling 2. Systematic random sampling 3. Cluster sampling 4. Stratified random sampling Group B a. Elements are selected by choosing every nth element on the sampling frame after a random starting point b. Groups are randomly selected, and then elements are randomly selected from those groups c. Elements are selected by use of a random number table d. Sub-groups within the population are identified as sharing some characteristic, and elements are randomly selected from with those sub-groups e. Every other element is selected from the sampling frame until the sample size has been reached

A census collects data from every element in the entire population of interest.

If one third of all elements in a population will be selected for a simple random sample, the probability of selection for each element in the population is:

Four nonprobability sampling methods are discussed in the text. Describe eight research situations in which each one of these methods would be appropriate-two situations per method.

As the size of the sample goes up:

The group of elements from which a sample is drawn is known as the: