Sampling

How it is used

Core methods vocabulary. Probability sampling (random, stratified, cluster) aims at a representative sample; non-probability sampling (purposive, snowball, convenience) is common in qualitative studies. The list you sample from is the sampling frame.

Example sentences

1. We used snowball sampling because night-shift workers were hard to reach through official lists.

2. Stratified sampling ensured that every region was represented in the survey.

Common collocations

• random sampling
• snowball sampling
• stratified sampling
• sampling frame
• sampling bias

Related terms

• surveyA research method that asks a group of people the same set of questions, through a questionnaire or a structured interview, to collect comparable data.
• quantitative researchResearch that collects numerical data, usually from large samples, and uses statistics to measure patterns and test relationships between variables.
• variableA characteristic that can take different values from case to case, such as age, income, education level or attitude, and that researchers measure and compare.
• validityThe extent to which a research method or measure actually captures what it claims to measure and gives a true picture of the social reality being studied.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• sampling · Food Science & Technology

More terms: Research Methods

• qualitative research
• ethnography
• participant observation
• semi-structured interview
• hypothesis
• operationalise
• reliability
• informed consent
• focus group
• case study
• secondary data
• fieldwork