SOC200H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Sampling Frame, Nomothetic
Document Summary
Population in social science - it can mean anything you want to study. There are two main approaches for getting samples: non-probability sampling. Doesn"t ensure each member of your population has an equal chance of being selected. Otherwise your sample is not really random. Not generalizable to the target population ] Used in situations where it is virtually impossible or unnecessary to ensure the generalizability. Sample is limited to whoever is available - good for pretesting a questionnaire or providing information for a pilot study, but that"s about it. Selecting your sample based on your own knowledge of the sample and the purposes of the study. Locates a few members of the target population, ad then asks these members to be referred to other members of the target population they know. Begins with knowing the demographic breakdown of your target population. Then go out and find several people fitting this combination of characteristics.
