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Chapter 5 Selecting a sample
Suggested Activities
1. One question my students always ask is, “How large does my sample need to be?” Although
appropriate for discussion in many parts of the course, now is a reasonable time to introduce a
2. To facilitate understanding of sampling, provide examples that are very general and that can be
sampled in most ways. The following example can be used to illustrate quantitative and
qualitative sampling. Some suggestions are included.
You are interested in studying school safety issues. Do parents, teachers, administrators,
and/or students feel their schools are safe?
3. As a small group activity, have students consider conducting a study that includes various
sampling decisions. The following example can be used for this exercise. Some thoughts
and guided prompts are suggested.
You are interested in studying school absenteeism. How do students, teachers,
administrators, and social service personnel define absenteeism and what are the
perceived results of absenteeism from each perspective?
This example will require a number of operational definitions (e.g., what defines
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When starting this exercise, I post the question and allow students to work in pairs or
small groups and encourage them to use their text. I ask them to work together to figure
out how they might conduct a study to address this general research problem. I then move
around to the groups and start to provide prompts such as:
• What is your research question(s)?
• What type of methodology do you intend to use?
• Are you going to sample all representative groups or select one or two?
• How many participants will you need to sample?
• How will you define your population(s)?
• What sampling strategy will you employ? Why? How?
4. Bring examples of participants’ sections to class to illustrate various sampling strategies. Some
journals to consider might be Elementary School Journal, which publishes classroom based
studies and often uses multistage sampling, Child Development, which often has a very small
number of experimental studies and longitudinal studies, and Anthropology & Education.
5. A discussion about generalizability of sample is good to include with Chapter 5 content. One
sample article to consider for use is Harris & Brooks (1998). I STILL continue to use this article,
although the study is a dated, because many students taking research methods can easily relate to
the study and the study is not heavily laden with any domain-specific content knowledge
requirements. I find the article works well to discuss generalizability of sample. I also use the
published instrument in this study as an example with Chapter 6 content so it is a nice transitional
activity. It will help the class discussion on sampling if students have read the article prior to
class but it is not necessary to have them do so.
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1. What is the target population of our study?
2. What is our accessible or available population?
3. What challenges might we face if we tried to employ a random sampling technique?
4. How would we conduct this study using systematic sampling?
5. If we are considering nontraditional students at our institution to be our population, and
there are 28,000 undergraduate students at our school, of which 20% are nontraditional,
what is the sample size we need to conduct the study?
6. If you were interested in conducting this study as a qualitative study, how might you use
snowball sampling to obtain your sample?
Sample Answers for Activity 5
6. To illustrate qualitative sampling, share the sampling techniques in existing research
publications. Four I might use are referenced below. The Corbett article is a very interesting
piece that examines perceptions of schooling within a Canadian Fishing Community.
Figueroa explores citizenship and homework in two families. Schweinle and her colleagues
employ some qualitative methodology but consider aspects of representation as they explore
motivation in mathematics classrooms. The Sloan article is one in a series of intriguing
studies that examine the effects of high stakes accountability through qualitative
methodology. These studies can be revisited in other chapters as we examine qualitative
methodology.
• Corbett, M. (2004). “It was fine, if you wanted to leave”: Educational ambivalence in a
Nova Scotian coastal community, 1963-1998. Anthropology and Education Quarterly,
35(4), 451-471.
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Chapter 5 Test Items
1. The first step in random sampling is to
a. identify the sampling technique to use.
b. identify the population.
c. determine the sample size.
d. select the sample.
2. Which of the following is a type of random sampling?
a. Intensity
b. Criterion
c. Systematic
d. Snowball
• 3. Ken randomly selected 75 students to participate in his study and then randomly
assigned them to one of three conditions. When he examined his groups he found he had
very unequal gender by condition. Ken’s samples illustrate
a. sampling bias.
b. sampling error.
c. nonrandom sampling.
d. purposive sampling.
• 4. Max is interviewing education majors at a large University. He tells his graduate
assistant to get 5 interviews and to make sure at least one male participates. Max is
illustrating
a. purposive sampling.
b. quota sampling.
c. convenience sampling.
d. cluster sampling.
• 5. Sophia needs to conduct a survey for the Alumni Association. She takes the list
of all the alumni and calls every 10th name on the list. Sophia is best illustrating
a. Stratified random sampling.
b. Cluster sampling.
c. Systematic sampling.
d. Simple random sampling.
• 6. Francisco is studying young children’s color preferences by age. He is interested
in comparing three, four, and five-year old children’s color preferences. He is reluctant
to use simple random sampling because he wants to assure that he has comparable
numbers of children at each age. Which quantitative sampling strategy is the approach
for Francisco to use?
a. Cluster sampling
b. Convenience sampling
c. Stratified sampling
d. Systematic sampling
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• 7. Jane is conducting a study at a small liberal arts school on the East Coast that
addresses the reasons why male college students are less likely to graduate within a four-
year time frame than are female students. She would like her study to generalize to all of
the college student population in the United States. Given Jane’s study which of the
following is the accessible population?
a. The participants in Jane’s study
b. The students at small liberal arts schools on the East Coast
c. All college students in the United States
d. The students at the school from which the participants were sampled
• 8. Joe is the director of middle school science education for the state and is
interested in differences between teaching science content in thematic units or by
teaching the content in the units as presented in the students’ text. He randomly selects
classrooms in the state to participate. This best illustrates
a. simple random sampling.
b. systematic sampling.
c. stratified sampling.
d. cluster sampling.
9. Some researchers have complained that most of the research that has been conducted
with the benefits of animation for student learning has been done on college students
enrolled in introductory courses at large research institutions. Assuming this is true what
does this problem illustrate?
a. Cluster sampling
b. Quota sampling
c. Purposive sampling
d. Convenience sampling
• 10. A large marketing firm has decided to do a study that describes the needs of
practicing teachers regarding instructional materials. The vice-president wants data from
400 practicing teachers. Shawna, a researcher with the firm, sends a mass mailing and
when 400 surveys are returned she analyzes the data. Shawna is best illustrating which
sampling strategy?
a. Cluster sampling
b. Quota sampling
c. Purposive sampling
d. Convenience sampling
• 11. The characteristics of a sample that include pertinent information about the
sample, such as gender or socioeconomic status, are referred to as the samples’
a. properties.
b. demographics.
c. qualities.
d. biases.
12. If all participants in a given sample have an equal and independent chance of being
selected for a study it is said that the sample has been selected
a. randomly.
b. systematically.
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c. biasedly.
d. conveniently.
• 13. Jack identifies the population for his study on the effects of television violence
on children as five year old children who watch television more than 15 hours a week.
He has determined the sample size he needs, but has hit a snag. He can’t list all the
members of his population. It is likely that Jack will employ a ______________
approach.
a. simple random
b. stratified
c. convenience
d. snowball
• 14. Jacki is conducting a study that examines the effects of multi-vitamins on
common cold symptoms. She hopes to generalize her findings to the school-age
population of children in a specified region in her state. She knows the population of
children is 9,000. She is going to do a survey study and decides to sample 7000 children.
Regarding Jacki’s sample we know that
a. it is substantially too small.
b. it is not representative.
c. it will result in large sampling bias.
d. it is substantially too big.
• 15. Sean knows a lot about racial tensions in public schools. He wants to conduct a
quantitative study that examines the current state of affairs in public schools. He contacts
two school districts, one that has a history of problems and one that does not randomly
selects students from these schools to participate in his study. One concern with the
study, however, is that Sean used
a. convenience sampling.
b. purposive sampling.
c. quota sampling.
d. multistage sampling.
16. Generally, which of the following is NOT suggested for use in quantitative studies?
a. Purposive sampling
b. Random sampling
c. Multistage sampling
d. Systematic sampling
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• 17. Ken is conducting a qualitative study for the university regarding the institutional
variables that racial and ethnic minority doctoral students face in completing their
degrees. Only those students who have completed their degrees in the last five years and
may have faced institutional barriers are desired for the study. He feels he needs to
interview about 35 graduates. He interviews a small initial sample identified though
formal complaints filed regarding the issue. He then asks each of those he interviews to
identify any additional participants they can think of and then interviews those
individuals until he has reached his sample size. Ken is best illustrating
a. random purposive sampling.
b. systematic sampling.
c. intensity sampling.
d. snowball sampling.
• 18. Jill examines the career interest of children of international diplomats. She
selects the children of international diplomats from the United States who were in service
between 1980 and 1990. The children had to be at least eight years old but less than 16
years old at the time of their parent’s service and had to be stationed outside the United
States with their diplomat parent for at least 24 continuous months. Jill is using which
type of sampling?
a. Random purposive sampling
b. Homogeneous sampling
c. Intensity sampling
d. Snowball sampling
• 19. Your school district is considering having summer library hours at several
elementary schools. These hours will allow children to take out books over the summer.
A team of researchers has been hired to determine if the local community supports the
cost of the program. The researchers develop a brief survey and go to the local public
library on Saturday morning to solicit volunteers to fill out their survey. These
researchers are illustrating
a. quota sampling.
b. purposive sampling.
c. convenience sampling.
d. systematic sampling.
• 20. Alexandra is conducting a study on math achievement and wants to collect a
sample representative of minority students. She goes to St. Louis inner-city schools
because she knows there are a lot of racial and ethnic minorities in these schools.
Alexandra is illustrating which of the following?
a. Quota sampling
b. Purposive sampling
c. Convenience sampling
d. Systematic sampling
21. Participants identified as those from whom to seek information is the definition of
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a. a sample.
b. a population.
c. a target population.
d. an accessible population.
22. All of the following are examples of probability sampling techniques EXCEPT
a. cluster sampling.
b. stratified sampling.
c. multistage sampling.
d. criterion sampling.
• 23. Bonnie is conducting a study on the social skills of those children who have
identified speech and language needs. She selects children who have Individual
Education Plans (IEPs) for speech and language only and not any other educational
exceptionalities. Bonnie is illustrating
a. homogeneous sampling.
b. intensity sampling.
c. criterion sampling.
d. snowball sampling.
• 24. The provost is interested in what it is like to be a teacher at a Research I
Institution. He selects three specific types of participants for his study. Those who teach
only advanced doctoral students, those who teach only undergraduate survey courses, and
those who teach a mix of course levels. The provost is illustrating
a. homogeneous sampling.
b. intensity sampling.
c. criterion sampling.
d. snowball sampling.
25. The group that the researcher would ideally like to generalize findings to is referred to as
a. a sample.
b. a population.
c. a target population.
d. an accessible population.
26. In simple random sampling, after the researcher has determined the desired sample size
she must
a. identify the population.
b. define the population.
c. list all members of the population.
d. select an arbitrary number from the table of random numbers.
• 27. Derrick is conducting a stratified sampling procedure. He wants to assure he has
the appropriate representation of students from at each of the class levels in his study.
Next he will
a. identify and define the population.
b. determine desired sample size.
c. classify all members of the population as members of the subgroups.
d. randomly select an appropriate number of individuals to represent the subgroups.
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• 28. The school board asked Han to conduct a study on the attitudes of faculty
regarding the proposed school uniform policy. Han stops by the teachers’ lounge and
surveys the faculty present. Which nonrandom sampling approach did Han employ?
a. Convenience sampling
b. Quota sampling
c. Purposive sampling
d. Systematic sampling
• 29. The college Dean asked Meg to conduct a study that surveyed one half of the
college students regarding their opinions of change in course offerings. Which
nonrandom sampling approach is Meg likely to use?
a. Convenience sampling
b. Quota sampling
c. Purposive sampling
d. Systematic sampling
• 30. Abby is conducting research on the perceived role of Arts within medium-sized
suburban communities. She wants to survey people with an affinity for some from of the
Arts. She goes to a local theatre production of The Music Man to get participants. Abby
is illustrating
a. convenience sampling.
b. quota sampling.
c. purposive sampling.
d. systematic sampling.
• 31. Jenn is a qualitative researcher interested in the experiences of male kindergarten
teachers in her county. There are only three teachers that fit her study. She is likely to
use which of the following examples of qualitative sampling?
a. Intensity
b. Homogeneous
c. Criterion
d. Snowball
32. All forms of sampling include the following steps EXCEPT
a. listing all members of the population.
b. identifying the population.
c. determining sample size
d. selecting the sample.
• 33. Graham recruited student volunteers to participate in his dissertation study. He
set up several times for students to come to a specified classroom and read various types
of instructional materials and to be tested. He ran all of his control conditions first and
then for each session he placed all students at the session in the same treatment condition.
This is problematic because those who volunteered early are likely different than those
who volunteered later. This problem is primarily due to
a. error rates.
b. sampling error.
c. researcher bias.
d. sampling bias.
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• 34. Pat is on an editorial review board for a research journal and when reviewing a
recent manuscript found the qualitative study included 7 teachers. Which of the
following sampling strategies most likely would have been used in the study?
a. Simple random
b. Cluster
c. Intensity
d. Criteria
• 35. Given that you would like to generalize the findings from your survey regarding
eating disorders in high school athletes, which of the following sampling approaches is
most appropriate?
a. Homogeneous
b. Random purposive
c. Cluster
d. Systematic
• 36. Given that you want to compare different instructional strategies teachers can use
to teach early reading you would likely employ __________ sampling in your research.
a. Homogeneous
b. Random purposive
c. Cluster
d. Systematic
37. In homogeneous sample, researchers
a. compare differences of two or more levels of the topic.
b. select a small group of participants who fit a narrow topic.
c. identify participants who meet a defined criterion and select a sample.
d. allow initial participants to identify additional study participants.
38. The type of random sampling that targets groups, not individuals is
a. criteria.
b. cluster.
c. homogeneous.
d. simple random.
39. When employing random purposive sampling, the initial sample is selected
a. randomly.
b. by criterion.
c. purposively.
d. systematically.
• 40. Marc is a qualitative researcher who needs to interview both expert and novice
teachers for a study. He expects to interview about 50 teachers. Which sampling
strategy will Marc likely use?
a. Simple random
b. Systematic
c. Criterion
d. Intensity
41. One benefit of cluster sampling is
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a. it is effective for use in school research.
b. it assures limited sampling error.
c. it is more generalizable than simple random sampling.
d. it assures all members of the population can be in a treatment condition.
• 42. Jody is a quantitative researcher who wants to use a random sampling technique.
Of the following, which is she likely to use?
a. Quota sampling
b. Cluster sampling
c. Purposive sampling
d. Homogeneous sampling
• 43.-44. Sammy collected data from 18 pre-service secondary science majors at a small university in
the Western United States regarding their opinions of Inquiry as an instructional approach.
• 43. Which of the following is likely Sammy’s target population?
a. All pre-service science teachers
b. Pre-service science teachers in the Western United States
c. Pre-service science teachers at the University
d. Pre-service science teachers in her sample
• 44. Which of the following represents Sammy’s accessible population?
a. All pre-service science teachers
b. Pre-service science teachers in the Western United States
c. Pre-service science teachers at the University
d. Pre-service science teachers in her sample
• 45. Charlie has written up his study on special education students’ attitudes about
technology. He includes a statement regarding the ethnicity of the students in his sample.
This information is best classified as
a. statistical.
b. demographic.
c. accessible.
d. generalizable.
• 46. Peggy is conducting a reading intervention study that involves many children in
many classrooms in many schools. The intervention is delivered by the teacher to the
entire classes. Peggy would like to use a random sampling approach. Which of the
following is Peggy likely to consider?
a. Simple random sampling
b. Systematic sampling
c. Purposive random sampling
d. Multistage sampling
• 47. Kim needs to randomly select 80 students from a group of 400. After listing all
potential participants what will Kim do next?
a. Identify and define the population
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b. Determine the sample size
c. Assign all individuals a consecutive number
d. Go to the random number table and start to select
• 48. Maria needs to randomly select 90 participants from a pool of 5000. With how
many digits in each entry of the random number table will Maria need to be concerned?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
• 49. Of the 9000 students at a small Liberal Arts College, 3 out of 5 are Jewish.
Lauren is conducting a study regarding opinions about the relationship between religion
and politics. She would like to generalize her findings to the population of the College.
Which of the random sampling strategies should Lauren use to assure that her sample
represents her population?
a. Multistage
b. Simple random
c. Systematic
d. Stratified
• 50. Generally, qualitative researchers select a sample that is
a. selected purposely.
b. as large as possible.
c. generalizable to a target population.
d. diverse demographically.
• 51. As a volunteer worker in a recent election, Ulan made telephone calls to
registered republicans. He needed to contact 200 African American males, between 30-
50, who work in small businesses. The sampling strategy that Ulan worked under is best
described as
a. quota.
b. simple random.
c. snowball.
d. intensity.
• 52. Maude is conducting an ethnographic study that concerns the transitions that
older Americans face as they move into transitional housing. She is particularly
interested in the potential differences in the challenges for men and women. She
therefore is careful to include both men and women in her sample. Maude’s strategy can
best be categorized as
a. systematic sampling.
b. intensity sampling.
c. homogeneous sampling.
d. cluster sampling.
• 53. Sally is completing a narrative study on the rehabilitation of middle-aged women
runners after stress fractures in their feet. She therefore selects only women in the 35-45
year age range who are just beginning rehabilitation at one particular clinic. Sally’s
sampling strategy can best be described as
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a. simple random sampling.
b. cluster sampling.
c. homogeneous sampling.
d. random purposive sampling.
• 54.-56. In his study on test anxiety, Jim is particularly interested in studying only first-year
university students because he wants his findings to generalize to only first year students
in large universities in the United States. He samples first year students at his own west
coast, state university. He has identified all first year students at his institution, he has
determined his desired sample size, and he has listed all the members of the population.
• 54. In Jim’s study, the target population is
a. west coast university students.
b. first-year students at US universities.
c. students at Jim’s university.
d. first-year students at Jim’s university.
• 55. In Jim’s study, the accessible population is
a. west coast university students.
b. first-year students at US universities.
c. students at Jim’s university.
d. first-year students at Jim’s university.
• 56. What is the next step that Jim will conduct to carry out random sampling for his
study?
a. Jim will select an arbitrary number from the random number table.
b. Jim will assign all individuals on the list a consecutive number.
c. Jim will stratify his sample by academic standing.
d. Jim will randomly assign participants as either in or not in his study.
.
• 57.-60. Isabella is conducting a study of American middle-school science teachers’ beliefs about
content area reading. She obtains a list of all the middle-school science teachers in the
state who are members of the National Reading Conference (NRC). She lists all of the
names and selects every third name as a participant in her study.
• 57. Who is the target population in Isabella’s study?
a. All science teachers in the state.
b. All middle school science teachers in the country.
c. All science teachers in the state who are interested in reading.
d. All middle school science teachers in the state who are members of NRC.
• 58. Who is the available population in Isabella’s study?
a. All science teachers in the state.
b. All middle school science teachers in the country.
c. All science teachers in the state who are interested in reading.
d. All middle school science teachers in the state who are members of NRC.
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• 59. How would one define the sampling strategy Isabella selected?
a. Random sampling
b. Stratified sampling
c. Systematic sampling
d. Cluster sampling
• 60. Given Isabella’s strategy, selecting teachers who are members of the NRC
represents which of the following?
a. Sampling error
b. Measurement error
c. Sampling bias
d. Design bias
• 61-62. Charleon is conducting a study to examine TechState employees’ use of university
computers for non-work related tasks. She would like to generalize her findings to all
of the employees of the TechState University community.
• 61. Given Charleon’s study, which of the following is the target population?
a. Members of University communities in the United States
b. Staff members of TechState University
c. Employees including faculty and staff of TechState University
d. Employees of the Universities in her geographic region
• 62. If Charleon is conducting this study as a quantitative researcher, which of the following
nonrandom sampling strategies might she employ?
a. Snowball sampling
b. Cluster sampling
c. Intensity sampling
d. Quota sampling
• 63. Matt is a qualitative researcher interested in the benefits of community gardens
on respect for cultural diversity. He questions whether working together in a
gardening environment changes people’s tolerance for cultural differences. To conduct
his study he selects 8 members of a community gardening group who are Anglo
Americans whose families have been in the country for at least three generations and
who have been members of the gardening community for at least two years. The
sampling strategy Matt is using is best described as ____________ sampling.
a. Homogeneous
b. Criterion
c. Stratified
d. Intensity
• 64. Tavares is a quantitative researcher interested in surveying members of a
particular school district regarding their opinions on funding for language instruction.
He develops a survey to mail to those living in the district. He wants to assure that he
has responses from district members across the range of Socio-Economic Status. Of
the following, which is the best way for Tavares to assure he has adequate sample size
and representativeness?
a. Convenience sampling
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b. Systematic sampling
c. Cluster sampling
d. Intensity sampling
65. Which of the following are two general indicators that determine adequacy in sample
size?
a. Representativeness and redundancy
b. Generalizability and representativeness
c. Redundancy and clarity
d. Responsiveness and generalizability
66. Which of the following is NOT a purposive sampling technique?
a. Snowball
b. Criterion
c. Intensity
d. Cluster
• 67. Missy is a key informant in Allison’s study on teenage girls’ study habits. Of the
following, which is likely the strategy by which Missy was selected?
a. Random sampling
b. Stratified sampling
c. Criterion sampling
d. Intensity sampling
• 68. Lars is conducting a quantitative study that examines students’ achievement
within schools, districts, and states in the United States. Which of the following
sampling strategies will Lars likely need to use to obtain his sample?
a. Snowball
b. Cluster
c. Criterion
d. Simple random
• 69. Ina explores eating disorders among male athletes. Nick is a key informant in
her study. Which of the following is the most likely sampling strategy that Ina used
in her research?
a. Random sampling
b. Stratified sampling
c. Intensity sampling
d. Criterion sampling
• 70. Yohance intends to conduct a large survey study that examines access to higher
education among urban populations in Mexico. Of the following, which is most
likely the sampling strategy that Yohance will consider?
a. Snowball sampling
b. Intensity sampling
c. Stratified sampling
d. Convenience sampling
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• 71. Gimbya is completing a narrative study on the benefits of accommodations for
post-secondary students at her small liberal arts college. Of the following which is
likely her sampling strategy?
a. homogeneous sampling.
b. simple random sampling.
c. cluster sampling.
d. random purposive sampling.
• 72. A political polling organization has decided to do a study that explores teachers’
opinions about school vouchers. To be representative the group seeks data from 1200
practicing teachers in four regions of the United States. The group used an electronic
survey and when 1200 surveys are returned, the data are analyzed. This best
represents which of the following strategies?
a. Cluster sampling
b. Random sampling
c. Stratified sampling
d. Quota sampling
• 73. Of the following, which is a common example of demographic information
collected in a survey study?
a. opinion
b. gender
c. interest
d. ability
• 74. As a coach running numerous training camps over the summer, you are interested in
whether it is better to distribute practices into 4 sessions instead of 2 sessions daily.
You have decided that your outcome variables will include speed, strength, endurance,
and number of injuries. You have several hundred possible participants distributed
across six sessions. Which of the following is the best possible sampling strategy to
use if you are interested in generalizability?
a. Snowball Sampling
b. Multi-stage sampling
c. Intensity sampling
d. Quota sampling
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Chapter 5 Answers