WJEC AS Sociology: Research Methods - Sampling

1. Methods

1.1. Snowball Sampling: - ask one member to ask two members they know then those ask two and so on - not easily located - less representative

1.2. Purpose Sampling: - sample chosen according to a known characteristic

1.3. Cluster Sampling: - certain areas chosen and samples taken in those areas

1.4. Stratified Sampling - randomly selected through a population of people that reflect the study - dividing into groups and sampling from each - good for being representative - can be generalised

1.5. Opportunity Sampling: - using anyone available - unreliable and unrepresentative

1.6. Volunteer Sampling: - used to find participants that are typically hard to locate - found through advertisement - may be biased as to why they want to take part

1.7. Quota Sampling: - interviewing people from random groups - use of the first few people you find from random groups - quick, cheap, and easy - not necessarily representative

1.8. Random Sampling: - each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected - computer draws are used - large samples are needed - equal chance, avoids biased selection

1.9. Systematic Sampling: - take every nth name from the sampling frame - quick and avoids bias

2. Experiments

2.1. Laboratory Experiment: - an experiment conducted in lab surroundings

2.2. Field Experiments: - an experiment conducted in everyday social settings

3. Keywords

3.1. Variables: - factors which affect behaviour, variables can vary or change

3.2. Hawthorne Effect: - participants will act differently if they know they are being studied

3.3. Experiment Bias: - the unintended effect of the experiment on the participant