Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues

What Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues covers

Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues is examined in Component 2, Methods of Sociological Enquiry — compulsory. It covers target populations and sampling frames, simple random and systematic random sampling, stratified random and quota sampling, snowball and volunteer sampling, purposive and opportunity samples, gatekeepers and gaining access, informed consent and vulnerability, deception and covert research, confidentiality, anonymity and privacy, the right to withdraw and protection from harm, Sensitivity and researching difficult subjects, operationalisation and the choice of research topic and time, cost and the practical limits on research.

The 13 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Target populations and sampling framesTarget population in sociological research, sampling frame and sampling unit.Open →
• Simple random and systematic random samplingSimple random sample and systematic random sample.Open →
• Stratified random and quota samplingStratified random sample, disproportionate stratification and quota sample.Open →
• Snowball and volunteer samplingSnowball sample, volunteer sample and self-selection bias.Open →
• Purposive and opportunity samplesPurposive sample, theoretical sampling and opportunity sample.Open →
• Gatekeepers and gaining accessGatekeeper in sociological research, key informant and ethical duty when access is refused.Open →
• Informed consent and vulnerabilityInformed consent, process consent and vulnerability in research ethics.Open →
• Deception and covert researchWhen concealment is defensible and when it is not: Humphreys, Patrick and Barker, informed consent, the harm to those studied and to later researchers, and what ethics committees now require.Open →
• Confidentiality, anonymity and privacyConfidentiality in research and privacy in the ethical sense.Open →
• The right to withdraw and protection from harmRight to withdraw and vicarious trauma.Open →
• Sensitivity and researching difficult subjectsResearching violence, bereavement, illness and crime — gaining access and trust, the risk of distress to respondents and to the researcher, and why some findings cannot be published as gathered.Open →
• Operationalisation and the choice of research topicTurning a concept into something countable, the judgements hidden in that step, and what actually decides a topic: funding, access, the researcher's values and what has been asked before.Open →
• Time, cost and the practical limits on researchWhy the ideal design is rarely the one carried out — funding, deadlines, access, sample size and the trade-off between depth and reach that every study settles somehow.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Target population vs Sampling frame

  Target population: everybody the researcher wants to draw conclusions about. Sampling frame: the actual list from which names are picked.

• Simple random sampling vs Systematic random sampling

  Simple random sampling: drawing every name by lot. Systematic random sampling: counting along the list at a fixed interval after a chance start.

• Operationalisation vs Hypothesis

  Operationalisation: turning an abstract idea into something measurable. Hypothesis: the testable prediction that measurement is meant to check.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is a target population in sociological research?

   Model answer

   The target population is the whole group a researcher wants to draw conclusions about. Every member of it should in principle have a chance of selection.

2. 2

   Why must a target population be defined precisely before sampling begins?

   Model answer

   A vague definition makes it impossible to say who counts as a member. The researcher then cannot judge whether the sample represents anybody.

3. 3

   What is a sampling frame?

   Model answer

   A sampling frame is the list of every member of the target population from which a sample is drawn. Names, addresses or numbers are the usual entries.

4. 4

   Name two sampling frames commonly used in Britain.

   Model answer

   The electoral register and the Postcode Address File are widely used sampling frames. School registers and membership lists serve for smaller populations.

5. 5

   Give two faults that make a sampling frame unreliable.

   Model answer

   A sampling frame can be out of date, so movers and the dead remain on it. A frame can also be incomplete, omitting people who never registered.

6. 6

   Who is missing from the electoral register, and why does it matter?

   Model answer

   Young people, private renters and recent movers register least often. A sample drawn from the register therefore under-represents the most mobile groups.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues revision questions

What does Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues cover in Eduqas A-Level Sociology?

13 subtopics: target populations and sampling frames, simple random and systematic random sampling, stratified random and quota sampling, snowball and volunteer sampling, purposive and opportunity samples, gatekeepers and gaining access, informed consent and vulnerability, deception and covert research, confidentiality, anonymity and privacy, the right to withdraw and protection from harm, sensitivity and researching difficult subjects, operationalisation and the choice of research topic and time, cost and the practical limits on research. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues organised?

By the Eduqas A200QS specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.