The sample described is a convenience sample. This type of sampling involves selecting individuals who are easily accessible or readily available, rather than using random sampling methods to ensure a representative group. In this case, the sports columnist is gathering opinions from people who happen to be in a bar, which may not represent the broader population of basketball fans or stakeholders.
Identify the kind of sample that is described.
A sports columnist asks people in a bar about the potential basketball lockout.
3 answers
A researcher randomly selects 5 local fast food restaurants and then asks all school age children at those restaurants their opinion on the new town curfew.
The sample described is a cluster sample. In cluster sampling, the population is divided into groups (or clusters), and then entire clusters are randomly selected for inclusion in the sample. Here, the researcher randomly selects 5 local fast food restaurants (the clusters) and then surveys all school-age children at those selected restaurants. This method allows the researcher to gather information from a specific subset of the population based on the clusters chosen.