Population and Sample
• A population is the entire group that
you want to draw conclusions about.
• A sample is the specific group that
you will collect data from. The size of
the sample is always less than the
total size of the population.
In research, a population doesn’t always
refer to people. It can mean a group
containing elements of anything you
want to study, such as objects, events,
organizations, countries, species,
organisms, etc.
Example: Population & Sample
Sampling
• Sampling is the process of selecting a few (a sample) from a bigger group (the
sampling population) to become the basis for estimating or predicting the
prevalence of an unknown piece of information, situation or outcome regarding
the bigger group.
• A sample is a subgroup of the population a researcher is interested in. This
process of selecting a sample from the total population has advantages and
disadvantages.
• The advantages are that it saves time as well as financial and human resources.
• However, the disadvantage is that the research does not find out the information
about the population’s characteristics of interest but it only estimates or predicts
them. Hence, the possibility of an error in estimation exists.
• Sampling, therefore, is a trade-off between certain benefits and disadvantages.
While on the one hand it saves time and resources, on the other the research
may compromise the level of accuracy in findings. Through sampling a research
only makes an estimate about the actual situation prevalent in the total
population from which the sample is drawn.
Factors affecting the inferences drawn from a
sample
The sampling principles suggest that two factors may influence the degree of
certainty about the inferences drawn from a sample:
1. The size of the sample – Findings based upon larger samples have more certainty
than those based on smaller ones. As a rule, the larger the sample size, the more
accurate the findings.
2. The extent of variation in the sampling population – The greater the variation in
the study population with respect to the characteristics under study, for a given
sample size, the greater the uncertainty. (In technical terms, the greater the
standard deviation, the higher the standard error for a given sample size in your
estimates.)
• If a population is homogeneous (uniform or
similar) with respect to the characteristics under
study, a small sample can provide a reasonably
good estimate, but if it is heterogeneous
(dissimilar or diversified), you need to select a
larger sample to obtain the same level of
accuracy. Of course, if all the elements in a
population are identical, then the selection of
even one will provide an absolutely accurate
estimate.
• As a rule, the higher the variation with respect to
the characteristics under study in the study
population, the greater the uncertainty for a
given sample size.
Aims in selecting a sample
• When selecting a sample in quantitative studies researchers are primarily aiming to
achieve maximum precision in estimates within a given sample size, and avoid bias
in the selection of sample of research.
• Bias in the selection of a sample can occur if:
o sampling is done by a non-random method – that is, if the selection is consciously or
unconsciously influenced by human choice;
o the sampling frame – list, index or other population records – which serves as the
basis of selection, does not cover the sampling population accurately and completely;
o a section of a sampling population is impossible to find or refuses to co-operate.
