Deck 5: Selecting a Sample

Question 1

Jill examines the career interest of children of international diplomats. She selects the children of international diplomats from the United States who were in service between 1980 and 1990. The children had to be at least eight years old but less than 16 years old at the time of their parent's service and had to be stationed outside the United States with their diplomat parent for at least 24 continuous months. Jill is using which type of sampling?

A) Random purposive sampling
B) Homogeneous sampling
C) Intensity sampling
D) Snowball sampling

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Jane is conducting a study at a small liberal arts school on the East Coast that addresses the reasons why male college students are less likely to graduate within a four-year time frame than are female students. She would like her study to generalize to all of the college student population in the United States. Given Jane's study which of the following is the accessible population?

A) The participants in Jane's study
B) The students at small liberal arts schools on the East Coast
C) All college students in the United States
D) The students at the school from which the participants were sampled

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Alexandra is conducting a study on math achievement and wants to collect a sample representative of minority students. She goes to St. Louis inner-city schools because she knows there are a lot of racial and ethnic minorities in these schools. Alexandra is illustrating which of the following?

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Sean knows a lot about racial tensions in public schools. He wants to conduct a quantitative study that examines the current state of affairs in public schools. He contacts two school districts, one that has a history of problems and one that does not randomly selects students from these schools to participate in his study. One concern with the study, however, is that Sean used

A) convenience sampling.
B) purposive sampling.
C) quota sampling.
D) multistage sampling.

Question 5

Sophia needs to conduct a survey for the Alumni Association. She takes the list of all the alumni and calls every 10^th name on the list. Sophia is best illustrating

A) Stratified random sampling.
B) Cluster sampling.
C) Systematic sampling.
D) Simple random sampling.

Question 6

A large marketing firm has decided to do a study that describes the needs of practicing teachers regarding instructional materials. The vice-president wants data from 400 practicing teachers. Shawna, a researcher with the firm, sends a mass mailing and when 400 surveys are returned she analyzes the data. Shawna is best illustrating which sampling strategy?

A) Cluster sampling
B) Quota sampling
C) Purposive sampling
D) Convenience sampling

Question 7

Which of the following is a type of random sampling?

A) Intensity
B) Criterion
C) Systematic
D) Snowball

Question 8

Jacki is conducting a study that examines the effects of multi-vitamins on common cold symptoms. She hopes to generalize her findings to the school-age population of children in a specified region in her state. She knows the population of children is 9,000. She is going to do a survey study and decides to sample 7000 children. Regarding Jacki's sample we know that

A) it is substantially too small.
B) it is not representative.
C) it will result in large sampling bias.
D) it is substantially too big.

Question 9

Joe is the director of middle school science education for the state and is interested in differences between teaching science content in thematic units or by teaching the content in the units as presented in the students' text. He randomly selects classrooms in the state to participate. This best illustrates

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

Question 10

The first step in random sampling is to

A) identify the sampling technique to use.
B) identify the population.
C) determine the sample size.
D) select the sample.

Question 11

Your school district is considering having summer library hours at several elementary schools. These hours will allow children to take out books over the summer. A team of researchers has been hired to determine if the local community supports the cost of the program. The researchers develop a brief survey and go to the local public library on Saturday morning to solicit volunteers to fill out their survey. These researchers are illustrating

A) quota sampling.
B) purposive sampling.
C) convenience sampling.
D) systematic sampling.

Question 12

If all participants in a given sample have an equal and independent chance of being selected for a study it is said that the sample has been selected

A) randomly.
B) systematically.
C) biasedly.
D) conveniently.

Question 13

Ken is conducting a qualitative study for the university regarding the institutional variables that racial and ethnic minority doctoral students face in completing their degrees. Only those students who have completed their degrees in the last five years and may have faced institutional barriers are desired for the study. He feels he needs to interview about 35 graduates. He interviews a small initial sample identified though formal complaints filed regarding the issue. He then asks each of those he interviews to identify any additional participants they can think of and then interviews those individuals until he has reached his sample size. Ken is best illustrating

A) random purposive sampling.
B) systematic sampling.
C) intensity sampling.
D) snowball sampling.

Question 14

Generally, which of the following is NOT suggested for use in quantitative studies?

A) Purposive sampling
B) Random sampling
C) Multistage sampling
D) Systematic sampling

Question 15

Max is interviewing education majors at a large University. He tells his graduate assistant to get 5 interviews and to make sure at least one male participates. Max is illustrating

A) purposive sampling.
B) quota sampling.
C) convenience sampling.
D) cluster sampling.

Question 16

Some researchers have complained that most of the research that has been conducted with the benefits of animation for student learning has been done on college students enrolled in introductory courses at large research institutions. Assuming this is true what does this problem illustrate?

A) Cluster sampling
B) Quota sampling
C) Purposive sampling
D) Convenience sampling

Question 17

Jack identifies the population for his study on the effects of television violence on children as five year old children who watch television more than 15 hours a week. He has determined the sample size he needs, but has hit a snag. He can't list all the members of his population. It is likely that Jack will employ a ______________ approach.

A) simple random
B) stratified
C) convenience
D) snowball

Question 18

Francisco is studying young children's color preferences by age. He is interested in comparing three, four, and five-year old children's color preferences. He is reluctant to use simple random sampling because he wants to assure that he has comparable numbers of children at each age. Which quantitative sampling strategy is the approach for Francisco to use?

A) Cluster sampling
B) Convenience sampling
C) Stratified sampling
D) Systematic sampling

Question 19

The characteristics of a sample that include pertinent information about the sample, such as gender or socioeconomic status, are referred to as the samples'

A) properties.
B) demographics.
C) qualities.
D) biases.

Question 20

Ken randomly selected 75 students to participate in his study and then randomly assigned them to one of three conditions. When he examined his groups he found he had very unequal gender by condition. Ken's samples illustrate

A) sampling bias.
B) sampling error.
C) nonrandom sampling.
D) purposive sampling.

Question 21

Abby is conducting research on the perceived role of Arts within medium-sized suburban communities. She wants to survey people with an affinity for some from of the Arts. She goes to a local theatre production of The Music Man to get participants. Abby is illustrating

A) convenience sampling.
B) quota sampling.
C) purposive sampling.
D) systematic sampling.

Question 22

The school board asked Han to conduct a study on the attitudes of faculty regarding the proposed school uniform policy. Han stops by the teachers' lounge and surveys the faculty present. Which nonrandom sampling approach did Han employ?

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

Question 23

When employing random purposive sampling, the initial sample is selected

A) randomly.
B) by criterion.
C) purposively.
D) systematically.

Question 24

Participants identified as those from whom to seek information is the definition of

A) a sample.
B) a population.
C) a target population.
D) an accessible population.

Question 25

All of the following are examples of probability sampling techniques EXCEPT

A) cluster sampling.
B) stratified sampling.
C) multistage sampling.
D) criterion sampling.

Question 26

In simple random sampling, after the researcher has determined the desired sample size she must

A) identify the population.
B) define the population.
C) list all members of the population.
D) select an arbitrary number from the table of random numbers.

Question 27

Given that you would like to generalize the findings from your survey regarding eating disorders in high school athletes, which of the following sampling approaches is most appropriate?

A) Homogeneous
B) Random purposive
C) Cluster
D) Systematic

Question 28

Derrick is conducting a stratified sampling procedure. He wants to assure he has the appropriate representation of students from at each of the class levels in his study. Next he will

A) identify and define the population.
B) determine desired sample size.
C) classify all members of the population as members of the subgroups.
D) randomly select an appropriate number of individuals to represent the subgroups.

Question 29

The type of random sampling that targets groups, not individuals is

A) criteria.
B) cluster.
C) homogeneous.
D) simple random.

Question 30

All forms of sampling include the following steps EXCEPT

A) listing all members of the population.
B) identifying the population.
C) determining sample size
D) selecting the sample.

Question 31

Bonnie is conducting a study on the social skills of those children who have identified speech and language needs. She selects children who have Individual Education Plans IEPs) for speech and language only and not any other educational exceptionalities. Bonnie is illustrating

A) homogeneous sampling.
B) intensity sampling.
C) criterion sampling.
D) snowball sampling.

Question 32

Pat is on an editorial review board for a research journal and when reviewing a recent manuscript found the qualitative study included 7 teachers. Which of the following sampling strategies most likely would have been used in the study?

A) Simple random
B) Cluster
C) Intensity
D) Criteria

Question 33

Given that you want to compare different instructional strategies teachers can use to teach early reading you would likely employ __________ sampling in your research.

A) Homogeneous
B) Random purposive
C) Cluster
D) Systematic

Question 34

Graham recruited student volunteers to participate in his dissertation study. He set up several times for students to come to a specified classroom and read various types of instructional materials and to be tested. He ran all of his control conditions first and then for each session he placed all students at the session in the same treatment condition. This is problematic because those who volunteered early are likely different than those who volunteered later. This problem is primarily due to

A) error rates.
B) sampling error.
C) researcher bias.
D) sampling bias.

Question 35

The group that the researcher would ideally like to generalize findings to is referred to as

A) a sample.
B) a population.
C) a target population.
D) an accessible population.

Question 36

The college Dean asked Meg to conduct a study that surveyed one half of the college students regarding their opinions of change in course offerings. Which nonrandom sampling approach is Meg likely to use?

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

Question 37

In homogeneous sample, researchers

A) compare differences of two or more levels of the topic.
B) select a small group of participants who fit a narrow topic.
C) identify participants who meet a defined criterion and select a sample.
D) allow initial participants to identify additional study participants.

Question 38

Jenn is a qualitative researcher interested in the experiences of male kindergarten teachers in her county. There are only three teachers that fit her study. She is likely to use which of the following examples of qualitative sampling?

A) Intensity
B) Homogeneous
C) Criterion
D) Snowball

Question 39

Marc is a qualitative researcher who needs to interview both expert and novice teachers for a study. He expects to interview about 50 teachers. Which sampling strategy will Marc likely use?

A) Simple random
B) Systematic
C) Criterion
D) Intensity

Question 40

The provost is interested in what it is like to be a teacher at a Research I Institution. He selects three specific types of participants for his study. Those who teach only advanced doctoral students, those who teach only undergraduate survey courses, and those who teach a mix of course levels. The provost is illustrating

A) homogeneous sampling.
B) intensity sampling.
C) criterion sampling.
D) snowball sampling.

Question 41

Peggy is conducting a reading intervention study that involves many children in many classrooms in many schools. The intervention is delivered by the teacher to the entire classes. Peggy would like to use a random sampling approach. Which of the following is Peggy likely to consider?

A) Simple random sampling
B) Systematic sampling
C) Purposive random sampling
D) Multistage sampling

Question 42

What is the next step that Jim will conduct to carry out random sampling for his study?

A) Jim will select an arbitrary number from the random number table.
B) Jim will assign all individuals on the list a consecutive number.
C) Jim will stratify his sample by academic standing.
D) Jim will randomly assign participants as either in or not in his study. .

Question 43

Generally, qualitative researchers select a sample that is

A) selected purposely.
B) as large as possible.
C) generalizable to a target population.
D) diverse demographically.

Question 44

In his study on test anxiety, Jim is particularly interested in studying only first-year university students because he wants his findings to generalize to only first year students in large universities in the United States. He samples first year students at his own west coast, state university. He has identified all first year students at his institution, he has determined his desired sample size, and he has listed all the members of the population.
In Jim's study, the accessible population is

A) west coast university students.
B) first-year students at US universities.
C) students at Jim's university.
D) first-year students at Jim's university.

Question 45

Sammy collected data from 18 pre-service secondary science majors at a small university in the Western United States regarding their opinions of Inquiry as an instructional approach.
Which of the following represents Sammy's accessible population?

A) All pre-service science teachers
B) Pre-service science teachers in the Western United States
C) Pre-service science teachers at the University
D) Pre-service science teachers in her sample

Question 46

Kim needs to randomly select 80 students from a group of 400. After listing all potential participants what will Kim do next?

A) Identify and define the population
B) Determine the sample size
C) Assign all individuals a consecutive number
D) Go to the random number table and start to select

Question 47

Sammy collected data from 18 pre-service secondary science majors at a small university in the Western United States regarding their opinions of Inquiry as an instructional approach.
Which of the following is likely Sammy's target population?

A) All pre-service science teachers
B) Pre-service science teachers in the Western United States
C) Pre-service science teachers at the University
D) Pre-service science teachers in her sample

Question 48

Maude is conducting an ethnographic study that concerns the transitions that older Americans face as they move into transitional housing. She is particularly interested in the potential differences in the challenges for men and women. She therefore is careful to include both men and women in her sample. Maude's strategy can best be categorized as

A) systematic sampling.
B) intensity sampling.
C) homogeneous sampling.
D) cluster sampling.

Question 49

Charlie has written up his study on special education students' attitudes about technology. He includes a statement regarding the ethnicity of the students in his sample. This information is best classified as

A) statistical.
B) demographic.
C) accessible.
D) generalizable.

Question 50

One benefit of cluster sampling is

A) it is effective for use in school research.
B) it assures limited sampling error.
C) it is more generalizable than simple random sampling.
D) it assures all members of the population can be in a treatment condition.

Question 51

Isabella is conducting a study of American middle-school science teachers' beliefs about content area reading. She obtains a list of all the middle-school science teachers in the state who are members of the National Reading Conference NRC). She lists all of the names and selects every third name as a participant in her study.
Who is the target population in Isabella's study?

A) All science teachers in the state.
B) All middle school science teachers in the country.
C) All science teachers in the state who are interested in reading.
D) All middle school science teachers in the state who are members of NRC.

Question 52

Of the 9000 students at a small Liberal Arts College, 3 out of 5 are Jewish. Lauren is conducting a study regarding opinions about the relationship between religion and politics. She would like to generalize her findings to the population of the College. Which of the random sampling strategies should Lauren use to assure that her sample represents her population?

A) Multistage
B) Simple random
C) Systematic
D) Stratified

Question 53

Maria needs to randomly select 90 participants from a pool of 5000. With how many digits in each entry of the random number table will Maria need to be concerned?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 54

Given Isabella's strategy, selecting teachers who are members of the NRC represents which of the following?

A) Sampling error
B) Measurement error
C) Sampling bias
D) Design bias

Question 55

Sally is completing a narrative study on the rehabilitation of middle-aged women runners after stress fractures in their feet. She therefore selects only women in the 35-45 year age range who are just beginning rehabilitation at one particular clinic. Sally's sampling strategy can best be described as

A) simple random sampling.
B) cluster sampling.
C) homogeneous sampling.
D) random purposive sampling.

Question 56

In his study on test anxiety, Jim is particularly interested in studying only first-year university students because he wants his findings to generalize to only first year students in large universities in the United States. He samples first year students at his own west coast, state university. He has identified all first year students at his institution, he has determined his desired sample size, and he has listed all the members of the population.
In Jim's study, the target population is

A) west coast university students.
B) first-year students at US universities.
C) students at Jim's university.
D) first-year students at Jim's university.

Question 57

Jody is a quantitative researcher who wants to use a random sampling technique. Of the following, which is she likely to use?

A) Quota sampling
B) Cluster sampling
C) Purposive sampling
D) Homogeneous sampling

Question 58

How would one define the sampling strategy Isabella selected?

A) Random sampling
B) Stratified sampling
C) Systematic sampling
D) Cluster sampling

Question 59

As a volunteer worker in a recent election, Ulan made telephone calls to registered republicans. He needed to contact 200 African American males, between 30-50, who work in small businesses. The sampling strategy that Ulan worked under is best described as

A) quota.
B) simple random.
C) snowball.
D) intensity.

Question 60

Isabella is conducting a study of American middle-school science teachers' beliefs about content area reading. She obtains a list of all the middle-school science teachers in the state who are members of the National Reading Conference NRC). She lists all of the names and selects every third name as a participant in her study.
Who is the available population in Isabella's study?

A) All science teachers in the state.
B) All middle school science teachers in the country.
C) All science teachers in the state who are interested in reading.
D) All middle school science teachers in the state who are members of NRC.

Question 61

Missy is a key informant in Allison's study on teenage girls' study habits. Of the following, which is likely the strategy by which Missy was selected?

A) Random sampling
B) Stratified sampling
C) Criterion sampling
D) Intensity sampling

Question 62

Charleon is conducting a study to examine TechState employees' use of university computers for non-work related tasks. She would like to generalize her findings to all of the employees of the TechState University community.
If Charleon is conducting this study as a quantitative researcher, which of the following nonrandom sampling strategies might she employ?

A) Snowball sampling
B) Cluster sampling
C) Intensity sampling
D) Quota sampling

Question 63

Lars is conducting a quantitative study that examines students' achievement within schools, districts, and states in the United States. Which of the following sampling strategies will Lars likely need to use to obtain his sample?

A) Snowball
B) Cluster
C) Criterion
D) Simple random

Question 64

Of the following, which is a common example of demographic information collected in a survey study?

A) opinion
B) gender
C) interest
D) ability

Question 65

Matt is a qualitative researcher interested in the benefits of community gardens on respect for cultural diversity. He questions whether working together in a gardening environment changes people's tolerance for cultural differences. To conduct his study he selects 8 members of a community gardening group who are Anglo Americans whose families have been in the country for at least three generations and who have been members of the gardening community for at least two years. The sampling strategy Matt is using is best described as ____________ sampling.

A) Homogeneous
B) Criterion
C) Stratified
D) Intensity

Question 66

Tavares is a quantitative researcher interested in surveying members of a particular school district regarding their opinions on funding for language instruction. He develops a survey to mail to those living in the district. He wants to assure that he has responses from district members across the range of Socio-Economic Status. Of the following, which is the best way for Tavares to assure he has adequate sample size and representativeness?

A) Convenience sampling
B) Systematic sampling
C) Cluster sampling
D) Intensity sampling

Question 67

Charleon is conducting a study to examine TechState employees' use of university computers for non-work related tasks. She would like to generalize her findings to all of the employees of the TechState University community.
Given Charleon's study, which of the following is the target population?

A) Members of University communities in the United States
B) Staff members of TechState University
C) Employees including faculty and staff of TechState University
D) Employees of the Universities in her geographic region

Question 68

Ina explores eating disorders among male athletes. Nick is a key informant in her study. Which of the following is the most likely sampling strategy that Ina used in her research?

A) Random sampling
B) Stratified sampling
C) Intensity sampling
D) Criterion sampling

Question 69

Gimbya is completing a narrative study on the benefits of accommodations for post-secondary students at her small liberal arts college. Of the following which is likely her sampling strategy?

A) homogeneous sampling.
B) simple random sampling.
C) cluster sampling.
D) random purposive sampling.

Question 70

Yohance intends to conduct a large survey study that examines access to higher education among urban populations in Mexico. Of the following, which is most likely the sampling strategy that Yohance will consider?

A) Snowball sampling
B) Intensity sampling
C) Stratified sampling
D) Convenience sampling

Question 71

Which of the following are two general indicators that determine adequacy in sample size?

A) Representativeness and redundancy
B) Generalizability and representativeness
C) Redundancy and clarity
D) Responsiveness and generalizability

Question 72

A political polling organization has decided to do a study that explores teachers' opinions about school vouchers. To be representative the group seeks data from 1200 practicing teachers in four regions of the United States. The group used an electronic survey and when 1200 surveys are returned, the data are analyzed. This best represents which of the following strategies?

A) Cluster sampling
B) Random sampling
C) Stratified sampling
D) Quota sampling

Question 73

Which of the following is NOT a purposive sampling technique?

A) Snowball
B) Criterion
C) Intensity
D) Cluster