Data Collection & Sampling Flashcards

A researcher wants to study customer satisfaction across 5 regional offices, selecting 20 respondents from each office regardless of office size. Which sampling method is being used?

Answer: Disproportionate stratified sampling

Disproportionate stratified sampling selects equal or fixed numbers from each stratum regardless of stratum size, unlike proportionate sampling which reflects stratum proportions.

Which type of bias occurs when survey respondents answer questions in a way they believe the researcher expects rather than their true opinions?

Answer: Demand characteristics bias

Demand characteristics bias occurs when respondents pick up on cues about the study's purpose and alter their behavior or answers accordingly.

In a telephone survey, what is the 'incidence rate'?

Answer: The proportion of the population that qualifies for the study

Incidence rate is the percentage of the general population that meets the eligibility criteria for a given research study.

A researcher conducts in-depth interviews until no new themes emerge. This approach is best described as sampling to:

Answer: Theoretical saturation

Theoretical saturation is the qualitative research principle of continuing data collection until additional data yields no new insights or themes.

Which data collection mode typically achieves the highest response rates for employee satisfaction surveys within large organizations?

Answer: Online surveys distributed via company intranet

Online surveys distributed through internal channels leverage organizational trust and convenience, typically yielding higher completion rates for employee studies.

What is the key distinction between a 'panel' survey and a 'cross-sectional' survey?

Answer: Panel surveys measure the same respondents over time; cross-sectional surveys measure different respondents at one point in time

Panel surveys track the same individuals across multiple time points to measure change, while cross-sectional surveys capture a snapshot of different respondents at one moment.

A market researcher selects every 10th household from a neighborhood list, starting from a randomly chosen household between 1 and 10. What sampling method is this?

Answer: Systematic sampling

Systematic sampling selects every kth element from a list after a random starting point, making it efficient for large populations with ordered lists.