![]() The advantages are that your sample should represent the target population and eliminate sampling bias.Random samples are the best method of selecting your sample from the population of interest. Random samples require a way of naming or numbering the target population and then using some raffle method to choose those to make up the sample. If the “population” is everyone who bought a lottery ticket, then everyone has an equal chance of winning the lottery (assuming they all have one ticket each). Random sampling is a type of probability sampling where everyone in the entire target population has an equal chance of being selected. The one chosen will depend on a number of factors (such as time, money, etc.). But who will you try it out on, and how will you select your participants? OK, so you’ve thought up this brilliant psychological study and designed it perfectly. Many psychology studies have a biased sample because they have used an opportunity sample that comprises university students as their participants (e.g., Asch ). Sampling bias refers to situations where the sample does not reflect the characteristics of the target population. One of the problems that can occur when selecting a sample from a target population is sampling bias. The more representative the sample, the more confident the researcher can be that the results can be generalized to the target population. This is important because we want to generalize from the sample to the target population. Hence, psychologists select a sample or sub-group of the population that is likely to be representative of the target population we are interested in. ![]() ![]() Studying every person in a target population is more or less impossible. Still, in other types of research, the target population might be a smaller group, such as teenagers, preschool children, or people who misuse drugs. In some types of research, the target population might be as broad as all humans. We call the group that we are interested in studying our “target population.” In psychological research, we are interested in learning about large groups of people who all have something in common. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |