Sunday, June 2, 2013

Random Sampling Surveys, Gettting the best answers through Sampling

Sampling shouldn't ever be ignored in Research

Whenever a researcher would like to conduct a research, there is always need to significantly take a realistic, persuasive approach to gathering your findings in research. It doesn't really matter what others will say, but if you are conducting a research that will require you to select a sample group...Please do not hesitate to select a reliable, impressive sample group. A sample survey or survey sample will help you accomplish your research in a realistic better approach. Sample surveys or survey samples are realistically what every researcher should have on their mind when conducting a research that will require interviewing your sample group in order to gather some data. But then, what exactly is sampling in research and why is it so important?

Random Sampling Research, the Sample size does matter

Imagine you have been commissioned to conduct a research on the levels of literacy among married couples in a certain country situated in Europe. It really isn't hard to realize soon that it is practically unrealistic to interview all the over five million couples in a country that is already heavily populated, where would you get the resources for such an exercise? But that's not the only problem, getting people to actually give you time to answer your questionnaire  in a city which is already so busy isn't practical at all in most cases. So what do you do as a researcher? You have to select a sample group. In short your research will now be a random sampling survey which will involve you selecting a sample group which is indeed a realistic approach. There are number of key points that you shouldn't ignore when selecting the sample group. Please take note below researcher;

1. Sample Size; The sample size is very important and highly noted for consideration. The sample size should be sizable enough that any researcher can conclusively say that when the analysis is completed, every researcher can agree that it is somehow similar to what could have been found had it been for the whole population.

2. Sample Representation; The sample size selected in every research should reflect the whole entire population..At least it should try to. In short the sample size should be reflective in the areas of certain characteristics that are deemed as being common to all couples in the country. Such common characteristics could be things like couples number of children, couples date of marriage e.t.c What is the common characteristics of couples in a country? As soon as you find the answer to that you select a sample size that contains the most common characteristics. That is the type of research you shouldn't throw away

3. Resources; This is by far the most important when undertaking a research depending on the kind of approach you will use. Resources could be human capital to collect the data or simply funds to undertake such an important research. For instance, if you will be conducting a research from door to door, there is need for money to cater for your allowances, for your fuel and travel and for other important staff. That's how expensive a research assignment can take. If for instance, you decide to mobilize a sample group to one location and make interviews far much easier, that will attract heavy spending. So that is why sometimes sample groups may be increased or decreased in number depending on the resources available.

The Random Sampling Questionnaire

A questionnaire used during random sampling should ensure that it covers all the needed questions to make the reporting process significantly easier. What are qualities of a good questionnaire, well in nut shell a good questionnaire shouldn't be lengthy, should be easy to understand, should capture all the necessary data or information for the research and finally shouldn't be offensive to the respondents. So what should you as a researcher do when developing a questionnaire? It is important to always review your questionnaire and compare it to your research proposal to ensure that it adequately captures all the information you want. Always review your questionnaire. More details of a questionnaire will be discussed soon but in the meantime make sure to enjoy your random sampling activities...Later!!!


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