Sampling Bias in Research
Assignment Instructions: The student must also reply to at least (2) classmates using a minimum of 150 words per reply by Sunday before 11:59 PM. 1 reference per student.
Student 1
If we were chosen to participate in the study, we would be in the sample. The population includes all male and female college students, which is what the researcher wants to learn about. The sample is a smaller group from this population to help represent it in the study (How to Reduce Sampling Bias in Research, 2022.).
To ensure the study is fair, the researcher should choose students randomly or ensure an equal number of male and female students from different schools. It’s also important to have students from different backgrounds, such as different ages, races, and types of schools (like big universities and small community colleges). This helps the results apply to more people.
The researcher might want to use the study results to understand all college students in a specific city, state, or country. The study could also help compare students from different types of schools, like universities and trade schools. The researcher might even want to compare college students with young adults who are not in school to see if their social support is different.
To make sure the right people are in the study, the researcher needs rules about who can and can’t join. Students can be included if they are currently in college, identify as male or female, and agree to take part in the study. Students might not be included if they are not in college. If they don’t identify as male or female (unless the study mainly includes them), or if they have health conditions that make it hard for them to interact with others.
To make the study more accurate, the researcher should pick students randomly so that one group isn’t overrepresented. It’s also a good idea to get students from different schools to make sure the results apply to more people. The researcher should also try to invite many other types of students instead of only those who are very social. Before doing the complete study, the researcher can test the questions in a small group to make sure they are clear. Using good tools to measure social support will also help the study be more reliable. All of these steps will make sure the study is fair and valuable (How to Reduce Sampling Bias in Research, 2022.).
Student 2
Since I\’m a part of a small student population, I would be regarded as part of the sample in this study rather than the population. Despite the possibility of a smaller sample size, the researcher would need to exercise extra caution in choosing a sample that appropriately represents this community. If random sample is not practical in this case, selective sampling or snowball sampling may be helpful. While attempting to preserve diversity within the sample, these techniques guarantee that the researcher can still collect useful information from a particular group (Martínez-Mesa et al., 2016).
The researcher\’s goal would probably be to extrapolate results to college students in general, particularly those in comparable social and intellectual contexts. Students from various institutions (such as universities and community colleges) or geographical areas may be included in this. Being a full-time, enrolled student who identifies as male or female and being willing to participate are possible inclusion criteria for the study. Students who are part-time, outside of the normal college age range, or who have serious mental health issues or other problems that could affect their ability to interact with others may be excluded. Aiming for a large, varied sample, carefully choosing participants to prevent volunteer bias, and using standardized instruments to evaluate social support uniformly among participants are all ways the researcher might minimize sampling error and bias. Random selection can also reduce the likelihood of systematic bias in the research (Worsley et al., 2021).
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