Deck 6: Sampling

Question 1

Which of the following is true of a sampling frame developed from the address listing for a community provided by the United States Postal Service

A)Some addresses may not appear on the list.
B)All addresses in a community will appear on the list.
C)It is one of the least accurate listings of residences in a community.
D)Researchers avoid using it because of the expense.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Using a stratified sample would be most justified if:

A)the cost of each case, such as an interview, is low.
B)a researcher is forced to use one of the nonprobability samples.
C)the population is homogeneous on the variables being studied.
D)the cost of each additional case is expensive.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In the sampling mistake created by the Literary Digest magazine, the thing they did wrong was to:

A)use a sampling frame consisting of all registered voters.
B)use a sampling frame consisting of lists of automobile owners.
C)use random digit dialing.
D)use a targeted sampling technique.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If a researcher's goal is to minimize sampling error, he or she would be best off using:

A)proportionate stratified sampling.
B)simple random sampling.
C)area sampling.
D)disproportionate stratified sampling.

Question 5

A representative sample is best defined as:

A)a sample that confirms the researcher's hypotheses.
B)a sample that accurately reflects the distribution of relevant variables in the target population.
C)a sample that is at least half the size of the target population,
D)a sample that is at least as large as the sampling frame.

Question 6

All possible cases of what a researcher is interested in studying would be called:

A)the sample.
B)the sampling frame.
C)the population.
D)the aggregate.

Question 7

For which of the following groups would it probably be most difficult to develop an adequate sampling frame

A)recipients of public assistance.
B)people suffering from mental disorders.
C)current college students in the United States.
D)Vietnam veterans.

Question 8

The sampling mistakes discussed in the text involving the magazine Literary Digest occurred, at least in part, because:

A)the researchers had inadequate sampling frames.
B)the researchers used probability samples rather than nonprobability samples.
C)the samples used were too small for research purposes.
D)the samples used were too large for research purposes.

Question 9

If you were using a stratified sample in order to reduce sampling error, which variable would you probably stratify on

A)some variable other than the independent variable.
B)the independent variable.
C)the dependent variable.
D)variables that are unrelated to the dependent variable.

Question 10

When each element in a population has a chance to appear in a sample and the researcher can determine what that chance is, we have a:

A)purposive sample.
B)representative sample.
C)quota sample.
D)probability sample.

Question 11

Which of the following is a reason for using sampling in research rather than studying the whole group in which we are interested

A)the whole group is sometimes too large to be feasible to study.
B)sampling can make available data from more people than we could possibly gather from the whole group.
C)carefully drawn samples can provide better information than can be gotten from studying the whole group.
D)the whole group is sometimes too large to be feasible to study, and carefully drawn samples can provide better information than can be gotten from studying the whole group.

Question 12

In defining a population, we need to specify all of the following EXCEPT:

A)the content of the population.
B)the unit of analysis.
C)the level of measurement.
D)the extent of the population.

Question 13

With disproportionate stratified samples, when the goal is to ensure sufficient numbers of cases for analysis, the variables on which the researcher stratifies are:

A)the control variables.
B)the independent variables.
C)the variable that has a category with a small number of cases in it.
D)the dependent variables only.

Question 14

A sample in which we select every 15th element from a sampling frame is called:

A)a simple random sample.
B)an area sample.
C)a stratified sample.
D)a systematic sample.

Question 15

The more homogeneous a population is on the variables being studied:

A)the larger the sample size must be to be representative.
B)the more one should use cluster sampling.
C)the smaller the sample size needs be to be representative.
D)the less necessary it is to use probability samples.

Question 16

Which of the following is true of all probability samples

A)each element in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
B)they are highly representative of the populations from which they are drawn.
C)each element in the population has a known chance of being included in the sample.
D)they can be selected either with or without utilizing a sampling frame.

Question 17

One of the major reasons for using a stratified sample is:

A)to achieve a more representative sample
B)to reduce sampling error for a given sample size.
C)to make use of a sampling frame.
D)to learn what the probability is of each unit in the population appearing in the sample.

Question 18

Which of the following sampling procedures is likely to produce biased results if a sampling frame contains a cyclical or recurring pattern

A)systematic sampling.
B)simple random sampling.
C)stratified sampling.
D)quota sampling.

Question 19

A major drawback to using simple random sampling is that:

A)it is often impractical and costly with a large sampling frame.
B)sometimes we cannot determine the probability of each unit in the sampling frame being included in the sample.
C)it is possible for a nonprobability sample to result when using this procedure.
D)people at the beginning and the end of the sampling frame have a lower probability of being included in the sample.

Question 20

Sampling in which a person first samples among larger units and then takes samples of smaller units within those larger ones is called:

A)back stage sampling.
B)proportionate sampling.
C)simple random sampling.
D)cluster sampling.

Question 21

The text suggests that racial and ethnic minorities sometimes have "rare event" status. This means that:

A)minorities constitute a relatively small percentage of some populations that are sampled.
B)minorities refuse to participate in social science research studies at much higher rates than non-minorities.
C)minorities typically show up in samples in disproportionately small numbers compared to their numbers in the population.
D)minorities are less likely to show up in snowball samples than in probability samples.

Question 22

In sampling, the term "precision" refers to:

A)the number of variables used to establish quotas in quota sampling.
B)the amount of sampling error contained in a given sample.
C)the number of strata used when doing stratified sampling.
D)the fraction of the population that is included in the sample.

Question 23

A sample is one in which the researcher selects elements for the sample that the researcher's judgment and prior knowledge suggest will best serve the purposes of the study.

A)snowball
B)systematic
C)quota
D)purposive

Question 24

One of the drawbacks of snowball sampling is:

A)it is a very expensive form of sampling.
B)the sampling error tends to be very large.
C)it may miss people who are isolated from social networks.
D)it leads to bias if the elements are listed in the sampling frame in a cyclical fashion.

Question 25

Which of the following types of samples is subject to the greatest sampling error

A)simple random samples.
B)stratified samples.
C)systematic samples.
D)area samples.

Question 26

One of the advantages of availability samples is:

A)they are more representative than other nonprobability samples.
B)they are less expensive than many other sampling procedures.
C)they combine the benefits of snowball and purposive sampling.
D)they reduce sampling error by keeping the sampling fraction relatively small.

Question 27

Respondent-driven sampling is a variation on:

A)systematic sampling.
B)convenience sampling.
C)snowball sampling.
D)dimensional sampling.

Question 28

_______________ is a technique for selecting small samples in a way that enhances their representativeness.

A)Dimensional sampling
B)Quota sampling
C)Systematic sampling
D)Convenience sampling

Question 29

Which type of sampling procedure might involve selecting for the sample "ideal" elements that the researcher is most convinced will confirm our hypotheses

A)theoretical sampling
B)judgmental sampling
C)convenience sampling
D)systematic sampling

Question 30

Quota sampling is like stratified sampling in that both:

A)have low sampling error.
B)can determine the probability of each element in a population appearing in the sample.
C)are nonprobability samples.
D)divide a population into categories and sample from those categories.

Question 31

Which of the following sampling techniques would, in general, have the least sampling error

A)area sampling
B)simple random sampling
C)cluster sampling
D)multistage sampling

Question 32

Which of the following best describes an availability sample

A)a psychologist studying single mothers uses those single mothers who are among her clients.
B)a study of college students uses every 50th person on an alphabetical list of all college students at a university.
C)a researcher asks substance abusers he knows to suggest the names of other substance abusers who might be willing to participate in the research.
D)a study of teenagers uses the first 100 teenagers to arrive at a rock concert.

Question 33

According to the text, nonprobability samples are useful when:

A)the goal of the research is to detect a relationship rather than to generalize.
B)the goal is to use qualitative research to understand the meaning structure of a group.
C)it is impossible to develop a sampling frame.
D)all of the answers represent situations in which nonprobability samples are useful.

Question 34

The term "sampling fraction" refers to:

A)the number of elements in the sample.
B)the size of the sample you will need to have a representative sample.
C)the number of elements in a stratum relative to the number of elements in the whole stratified sample.
D)the number of elements in the sample relative to the number of elements in the population.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of dimensional sampling

A)it is faster and less expensive than studying large samples.
B)it provides a more detailed knowledge of each case than do large samples.
C)it enables the researcher to develop a sampling frame of the population.
D)all of the answers represent advantages of dimensional sampling.

Question 36

Which of the following would best describe a snowball sampling procedure

A)a psychologist studying single mothers uses those single mothers who are among her clients.
B)a study of college students uses every 50th person on an alphabetical list of all college students at a university.
C)a researcher asks substance abusers he knows to suggest the names of other substance abusers who might be willing to participate in the research.
D)a sample of college students is selected from a list of all college students provided by the university.

Question 37

Which of the following are limitations of nonprobability samples

A)no real claim can be made that they represent a population.
B)the degree of sampling error is unknown.
C)the sampling fraction tends to be very large.
D)no real claims can be made that they represent a population and the degree of sampling error is unknown.

Question 38

One of the major shortcomings of quota sampling is that:

A)the interviewers do the actual selection of cases.
B)it is subject to the problem of periodicity.
C)it has a large sampling fraction.
D)it requires a sampling frame for its construction.

Question 39

_______________ samples tend to have more sampling error than do _______________ samples.

A)Area...simple random.
B)Area...availability.
C)Stratified...simple random.
D)Simple random...area.

Question 40

The reason that cluster samples are subject to greater sampling error than are other probability samples is:

A)some error is introduced at each stage of the sampling process.
B)cluster samples have smaller sample sizes.
C)cluster samples are more expensive.
D)the sampling fraction of cluster samples tends to be larger than with other samples.

Question 41

Discuss the differences between probability and nonprobability sampling.

Question 42

Describe how cell phone technology has influenced the use of telephone numbers for sampling in social science and human service research.What are some of the strategies that researchers have used to adapt to this new technology

Question 43

Select a population relevant to human service research and indicate a sampling frame suitable for use in sampling that population. Elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of the sampling frame you selected.

Question 44

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of systematic sampling as compared with simple random sampling.

Question 45

Describe the procedures followed in area (cluster)sampling. (You may use a diagram to illustrate your answer if you wish.)

Question 46

Indicate and discuss three of the five factors that affect desired sample size for a given research project.

Question 47

Select four of the nonprobability sampling techniques.Define and give an example of each one. Describe the advantages of each one in comparison to the others.

Question 48

Both quota and stratified sampling involve dividing up the population into various categories before drawing the sample. Discuss the differences between these two types of sampling.

Question 49

Describe what was wrong with the sampling used by the Literary Digest magazine when it inaccurately predicted the 1936 presidential election.

Question 50

Define stratified sampling and describe how it is done. Differentiate between proportionate or disproportionate stratified sampling and indicate the conditions that might make each most appropriate.