Sampling method

Identify sampling bias in described scenarios and indicate the methods used in several studies (40 points). In PART II, you are given 15 flawed survey items. You need to identify the flaws of each item and elaborate how it can be improved (60 points). You may need to review Chapter 8 in the textbook about the topics of questionnaire design and sampling bias/methods to complete this assignment.

PART I: Sampling

1. What would be possible sources of sampling bias in the following sampling method? (10 points)

a. A researcher wants to investigate job satisfaction among civil service employees. He does not have a list of all civil service employees. However, he does have a list of the supervisors of all major divisions. Therefore, he sends a cover letter along with 10 copies of his survey to all the supervisors. In the letter he asks the supervisors to distribute the survey to 10 of their employees.

b. A researcher wants to investigate student satisfaction with library services at the UNLV. She arranges for her assistants to distribute surveys to the first 200 students who enter the Lied Library on a Monday morning between 8:30 AM and noon.

Identify the sampling methods used in the following situations. (30 points)

2. A health science student planned a content analysis of journal articles concerned with research ethics in the medical field. By searching a database she obtained a list of all relevant articles within the time period she was interested in. The search resulted in a list of 432 articles. She then marked every fifth article on the list and analyzed those articles.

3. An educational researcher was interested in surveying teachers in a certain school district to find out how often they were in contact with the parents of their students. Based on his review of the literature he expected that elementary school teachers were in contact with parents more frequently than high school teachers. First, from the 204 elementary school teachers in the district he randomly sampled 51 (25%). Next, from the 68 high school teachers in the district he randomly sampled 17 (25%).

4. A doctoral student in school psychology wished to survey middle school students to identify their most common sources of stress. She was able to obtain permission to conduct the study in the middle school where she was doing her internship. Furthermore, a teacher in the school who had worked on a committee with the doctoral student agreed to distribute the surveys in her class.

5. A doctoral student in educational administration wanted to survey Nevada school district superintendents about their policies on teacher evaluation. He obtained a listing of all Nevada school district administrators from the State Department of Education. Using a random number table, he selected 150 administrators and mailed his questionnaire to them.

6. An audiologist wanted to interview school nurses in Nevada elementary schools to find out whether they conducted hearing screenings, and if so, what equipment they used for these screenings. Since it would save her considerable travel time and expense to be able to visit several schools in the same geographic region, she selected schools in the following way. First, she randomly sampled 10 school districts from a listing of Nevada school districts. Next she randomly sampled 3 elementary schools from each district.

PART II: Flawed Survey Items

Identify the flaws of the following survey items and elaborate how it can be improved (4 points per item).

1. How long have you worked in the education field?

a. Less than 1 year
b. 1-2 years
c. 2-4 years
d. 5-10 years
e. 10 years or more

2. How dissatisfied are you with your salary?

a. Very dissatisfied
b. Moderately dissatisfied
c. Somewhat dissatisfied

3. Are there any senior citizens living in your household?

a. yes
b. no

4. I don’t feel less tired today than I did yesterday.

a. strongly agree
b. agree
c. undecided
d. disagree
e. strongly disagree

5. What is your income? $______

6. How often does your Introduction to Research Methodology instructor apply cognitive constructivist methods?

a. often
b. sometimes
c. rarely
d. never

7. What is your religious affiliation?

a. Catholic
b. Protestant
c. Jewish

8. The University of Pittsburgh should stop wasting student activities funds on elitist organizations such as fraternities and sororities.

a. strongly agree
b. agree
c. neutral
d. disagree
e. strongly disagree

9. The American Dietary Association recommends eating three to five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. A diet high in complex carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables has been found to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. On the average, how many servings of fruits and vegetables do you eat per day?

a. none
b. one
c. two
d. three or more

10. How many drugs are you currently taking?

11. Would you approve of the establishment of a group home for mental defectives in your neighborhood?

a. yes
b. no

12. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

a. high school
b. college
c. graduate or professional school

13. How well do you get along with faculty in your program and with your classmates?

a. very well
b. fairly well
c. not very well
d. not at all well

14. There should be a high tax on cigarettes to penalize people who are stupid enough to smoke.

a. strongly agree
b. agree
c. undecided
d. disagree
e. strongly disagree