How to Use Different Methods of Sampling

Whether you are looking to choose students from a class for a special project or you are looking for a pool of people to take a survey, the first thing you will need to do is decide on how you will choose your sample, or group of students.

Instructions

1. Pull names out of a box after they have been mixed to gather a random sampling. This type of sampling is best if you are trying to get a sample that is representative of the population from which it is chosen. So, if you are trying to get a sample that has the same percentage of certain minorities, of genders and such, then you would want to use this method of sampling. All members of the population being sampled have an equal chance of being chosen for the sample because there is no sub-categorization or partitioning of the population.

2. Choose the most convenient sample for you in order to gather a convenience sample. If you need to gather a sample of 50 people and you grab the first 50 people to pass you on the street then you are gathering a convenience sample, named so because of its convenience for whomever is gathering the sample. This kind of sampling is also called grab or opportunity sampling.

3. Divide the population into different subgroups so that each member of the population only belongs to one subgroup, then randomly choose individuals from each subgroup. This kind of sampling is called stratified random sampling and is used to make sure that each subgroup in a population is represented adequately.

4. Choose a sample from the same area, such as neighborhood or street. This is called cluster sampling, and much like convenience sampling, this method of sampling is generally chosen because of its ease on the one taking the sample. It is also usually cheaper than other methods of sampling.

5. Organize the members of the population to be sampled into an organized list and then choose your sample systematically from the organized list. For example, you may choose every tenth name on the list for your sample. This type of sampling is called systematic sampling and it often used for its ease. This type of sampling is open to bias and it is important that the first name in your sample is not simply the first name on the list.