| Accessible; available population |
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Those whom the researher can realistically contact; select; or be available to involve |
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| Target population; Larger group |
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Generalizable group to whom the reseach seeks to apply the results to |
| Accessible Population |
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Target Population: in characteristics (demographics) |
| age; experience; gender rations; income; training |
- In quantitative work, good, clean samples yield good, clean results
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- Sampling steps:
- Exactly who: idenfity population to research
- How many: appropriate sample size
- How to choose: select the sample
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- Probability sampling
- ways to obtain random samples
- a) simple random sample: all individuals in a chosen/selected population have an equal and independent chance of being seleceted
- - best, most appropriate single method of obtaining a representative sample
- - differences between the sample and the population are by chance, not bias
- eg. more females than males (S > P)
- eg. more smokers than non-smokers (S > P)
- - aligns sample results with statistical analysis methods requiring random sampling
- a) standard error (from mean)
- - how much to expect the sample means to differ from the others from the same population
- b) tests of significance
- - do sample mean differences amount to significant, true difference?
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EDER 603.02
Quantitative Research Methods
