THE WHO, HOW, AND WHY OF RESEARCH

Objectives
To Understand Sampling Procedures and Strategies To Understand Research Strategies To Understand Research Designs To Identify Reasons For Conducting Research

RESEARCH PROCESS

POPULATION, SAMPLE, & PARTICIPANTS

Population= the universe of people or objects to which the study could be generalized. Sample= the subset of people or objects that will participate or be included in the study. Participants= other term of the sample in social science research. Sampling= method for including people/object in a study, or the process of selecting a small number of elements from a larger defined target group of elements such that the information gathered from the small group will allow judgments to be made about the larger groups

Sampling Frame= a complete list of all the members of the population from which a
sample will be drawn. For instance, if you were doing a phone survey and selecting names from the telephone book, the book would be your sampling frame , from which you will draw your sample. Governmental census is always conducted using

geographical regions as the sampling frame.

Steps in a Sampling Process

Define the Population of Interest
Develop the Sampling Frame Select Sampling Technique(s)

Determine the Sample Size Execute the Sampling Process

Step 1:
The target population is the collection of elements or objects that possess the information sought by the researcher and about which inferences are to be made. Thus, defining the target population is to determine from whom or what the data to get in order to answer the research question(s). The target population should be defined in terms of elements, sampling units, extent, and time. o An element is the object about which or from which the information is desired, e.g., the respondent. o A sampling unit is an element, or a unit containing the element, that is available for selection at some stage of the sampling process. o Extent refers to the geographical boundaries. o Time is the time period under consideration.

Illustration (Defining Population)

A researcher intends to study which is the most favored taxi in Jakarta and why. To get the answer, he formulates the following research questions: Among the cabs in Jakarta, which do people in Jakarta like to ride in most? Do the passengers prioritize hiring the taxi due to lower fare? Is their inclination to prioritize the taxi based on the of the driver hospitality ? Do they like riding the taxi due to the cars cleanliness? After studying some relevant literature, the researcher decides that the population of this study will be the residences of Jakarta who often use taxi as their transportation mode.

Step 2: Develop the Sampling Frame

A sampling frame is a complete list of all the members of the population from which a sample will be drawn. A sample is only relevant for the sample frame, not appropriate for making inferences beyond the defined sample frame Differentiate target population and sample populations Target populations are all the individuals relevant to a study (i.e., who/what we want to include) The sample population is who/what we actually sample Goal is for these to be equal The target and sample populations can differ when some of the target population cant be sampled After considering all relevant factors, the researcher decides to conduct the survey through telephone. Thus, he uses Jakarta phone book as his sampling frame. In other words, the people whose names are listed in the phone book are the target population, and those who often ride a taxi are the sample.

Sampling technique selection refers to the procedures we use to select members from the sample frames for the sample. There are many ways to do this, and they are discussed in the coming slides

Classification of Sampling Techniques

Sampling Techniques

Non-probability Sampling Techniques

Probability Sampling Techniques

Convenience Sampling

Judgmental Sampling

Quota Sampling

Snowball Sampling

Simple Random Sampling

Systematic Sampling

Stratified Sampling

Cluster Sampling

Other Sampling Techniques

Convenience Sampling
Convenience sampling attempts to obtain a sample because they are available (or convenient) to study. Often, they are selected because they happen to be in the right place at the right time. Some examples of this sampling are: use of students, use of members of social organizations mall intercept interviews without qualifying the respondents people on the street interviews

Judgmental (Purposive) Sampling

Judgmental sampling is a form of convenience sampling in which the population elements are selected based on the judgment of the researcher that the people he chose are typical or average, or possess a unique characteristic. The researcher never knows if the sample is representative of the population, and this method is largely limited to exploratory research. Examples: Primary school teachers with more than ten years experience expert witnesses used in court

Quota Sampling
Quota sampling may be viewed as two-stage restricted judgmental sampling. The first stage consists of developing control categories, or quotas, of population elements. In the second stage, sample elements are selected based not randomly but on convenience or judgment. For example, in a university there are 12.000 students, of which 60% are male and 40% are female. If a researcher would like to interview 120 students of both sexes, he should do meet 72 male students and 48 female students.

Snowball Sampling
Also called network, chain, or reputational, snowball sampling begins with a few people or cases and then gradually increases the sample size as new contacts are mentioned by the people you started out with.

Simple Random Sampling (SRS)

Simple random sampling involves picking a certain number of participants out of the total number of possible participants in the sampling frame. This technique is used when the needed population is relatively small, self-contained, or clearly defined. For instance, a city of say 40,000 inhabitant. The researcher simply obtains a list of all residents. He then can use a sequence of numbers from a random numbers table (or draws of a hat, flips of a coin), to select, say 10%, 20%, or some portion of names on that list. He should, however, make sure he does not draw from any letter of the alphabet more heavily than others.

Systematic Sampling
In using this method, a researcher moves through the sampling frame list and selects one out of every fixed number of entries. For example, if a phone survey needs 400 respondents out of 10,000 people from a phone book or purchased calling list, then in systematic sampling the researcher will pick every 25th person (4% of 10,000 is 400). This is a form of random sampling, but because selection is based on where one is in the list, not everyone has an equal chance of inclusion. For example, if we randomly decide to start at the 10th person on the list, then the 11th through 34th people will not be included, even though selection began with a random process.

Stratified Sampling
Stratified random sampling involves selecting research participants based on their membership in a particular subgroup or stratum. This technique allows the sample to look more like the population in terms of mirroring the different subgroups. Unlike simple random sampling, stratified random sampling involves selecting research participants based on their membership in a stratum. Dividing the sampling frame into strata (plural of stratum) allows the researcher to sample people proportionately based on the size of each stratum. For example, according to the latest census, 100.000 people live in city X and 45.000 (45%) graduated from high school. In a stratified sample of 1,000 city residents, researchers would make sure that 450 of the 1,000 sample residents were senior high school graduates.

The target population is first divided into mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subpopulations, or clusters (usually counties, census tracts, or other boundaries). Then a random sample of clusters is selected, based on a probability sampling technique such as SRS. For each selected cluster, either all the elements are included in the sample (onestage) or a sample of elements is drawn probabilistically (two-stage). Elements within a cluster should be as heterogeneous as possible, but clusters themselves should be as homogeneous as possible. Ideally, each cluster should be a small-scale representation of the population.

Types of Cluster Sampling

Cluster Sampling

One-Stage Sampling

Two-Stage Sampling

Multistage Sampling

Simple Cluster Sampling

Probability Proportionate to Size Sampling

 The correct sample size for a research depends on the purpose of the study and the nature of the population under scrutiny. In relation to this ones knowledge to the overall demographics; age, sex, class, etc. of the population is necessary. The greater the diversity and differences that exist in the population, the larger your sample size should be. The sample size of 30 is often held to be the minimum number of cases if researchers plan to use some form of statistical analysis on their data. However, in reality, the larger the sample the better, for greater size of sample will not only give greater reliability but also enables more sophisticated statistics to be used.

Two Common Ways of Sample Size Determination

A. Subjective methods (less sophisticated methods) The rule of thumb approach: e.g.. 5% of population Conventional approach: e.g. average of sample sizes of similar other studies; Cost basis approach: The number that can be studied with the available funds;

B. Statistical formulae (more sophisticated methods) Confidence interval approach.

Execute the Sampling Process

After considering his objective and budget/time limitation, the researcher intending to survey the most favored taxi in Jakarta and the reasons why it is so finally decides to use the cluster sampling method. He first divides the residents of Jakarta listed in the phonebook into five cluster (East, West, North, South, and Middle Jakarta). In each region, he randomly phones 50.000 persons, expecting that a half of them (25.000) ride cabs quite often. Those who reply that they use taxi quite often will then be interviewed. Using this scenario, the researcher expect to get 250.000 respondents (around 5% of the 5 mil. residents of Jakarta) for the study.

SELECTING RESEARCH STRATEGY

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH in laboratory settings Using independent variable which affects the dependent variable (outcome) Disadvantage: the experiment may be unlike the real world

DESCRIPTIVE & CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH describes the attitudes and behaviors observed during the investigation Commonly uses naturalistic observation which collects data where people are ordinarily found SURVEY RESEARCH

could use and analyze primary secondary data. Conducted using tlphone surveys, mail surveys, email surveys, face-toface interview

Can involve collecting quantitative information Can describe categories of qualitative information such as patterns of interaction when using technology in the classroom. Does not fit neatly into either category Involves gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data. Uses description as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis. Often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader Quite effective within the educational setting since educational research experiences cannot be as realistically controlled as laboratory experiments. Descriptive research allows for the human element of research.

 Survey is a method of obtaining information about a population from representative sample. Survey research studies large and small populations (or universes) by selecting and studying samples chosen from the populations to discover the relative incidence, distribution and interrelations of sociological and psychological variables. Survey is differentiated to cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal survey.

Types of Designs (frequency of data collection)

ONE - SHOT DESIGN
one group of participants is studied only one time Used in surveys, experiments, or field studies.

LONGITUDINAL DESIGN
studies the same people over multiple data-collection periods.

CROSS - SECTIONAL DESIGN

studies several different groups of people of different ages to compare whether age differences exist in the behavior or attitude being studied

REPEATED INDEPENDENT SAMPLES DESIGN

investigate a different sample of people over repeated trials to track changes in behaviors or attitudes

 to verify existing theories, refining, modification or restating the theories or interpreting new theories lays down the foundation for the applied science that follow

Associated with specific problem & have immediate practice application. It aims at finding out a solution for an immediate problem faced by a society

Basic Research

Applied Research

 The purpose of research should be clearly defined & common concepts are used. The procedural design of research should be carefully planed to estimate their effect upon finding or to yield results that one set in objective. Data should be adequate & authentic for analysis & the method of analysis used should be appropriate. The reliability & validity of the data should the checked carefully. Conduction should be confined, justified by the data of research and be limited to those for which it can provide with an adequate basis. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher has experience and a good reputation in research.

 To generate new knowledge-explore the reality. To describe the phenomenon under investigation. To frame verifiable generalization and understanding that explain how the variable involve in the situation behave. To generate more knowledge & understanding of the phenomenon that occur & to build theories based on research result. To refine the existing method & to develop new & more effective method design & procedure.

References
Creswell, John W. 2008. Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. New Jersey: Pearson VanderStoep, Scott W. & Johnston, Deirdre D. 2008. Research Methods for Everyday Life: Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass