Sociology 2206A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Sampling Frame, Sampling Error, Statistical Parameter

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 2206A/B
• Professor: Stephen Lin

Document Summary

Sampling definition: the process of selecting a subset of cases in order to draw conclusions about the entire set. Key terms: target population/defined study population, sampling frame, sample, coverage error, sampling error (statistics vs parameters) The population to which researchers would like to generalize their results. The entity about whom or which the researcher gathers information (individuals, groups, social artifacts) An operational definition of the population that provides the basis of drawing a sample. A list of cases from which a sample may be selected. Sampling frame not the same as sample. A subset of people selected for a study. A mismatch between the target population and sampling frame. Overcoverage: duplication (overcount: sample the same individual twice) Technical problem (e. g. , no access to the internet) Is the deviation of the selected sample from the true characteristics, traits, behaviours, qualities or figures of the entire population. Two important terms: parameters: characteristics of a population, statistics: estimates of population parameters.