Examples of sample in the following topics:
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- A “sample” is a set of observations derived from a subset of a population.
- This is the practical reason why that we must collect samples.
- When we collect our sample, we compute numerical values that summarize the data in our sample.
- In a “random sample,” every element of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
- Although random samples are the ideal, researchers will often end up using samples of convenience instead (e.g., volunteers from an Introduction to Psychology class) because truly random samples are difficult to obtain and often impractical.
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- Research studies with small sample sizes, high variability, and sampling bias are usually not representative of the general population.
- A study's external validity can be threatened by such factors as small sample sizes, high variability, and sampling bias.
- Sampling bias occurs when the sample participating in the study is not representative of the general population.
- Selection bias happens when the comparisons in data from the sample population have no meaning or value because the participants in the sample were not equally and fairly selected for both the experimental and control groups.
- When conducting research, sample and selection biases can impact the results of the research.
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- Even a seemingly strong correlation, such as .816, can actually be insignificant due to a variety of factors, such as random chance and the size of the sample being tested.
- With smaller sample sizes, it can be easy to obtain a large correlation coefficient but difficult for that correlation coefficient to achieve statistical significance.
- In contrast, with large samples, even a relatively small correlation of .20 may achieve statistical significance.
- With a large sample size, you can use one variable to predict the likelihood of the other when there is a strong correlation between the two.
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- Participant observation involves the researcher joining a sample of individuals without interfering with that group's normal activities in order to document their routine behavior or observe them in a natural context.
- Often researchers in observational studies will try to blend in seamlessly with the sample group to avoid compromising the results of their observations.
- For example, social psychologists Roger Barker and Herbert Wright studied how a sample of children interacted with their daily environments.
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- A major criticism of many personality tests is that because they are sometimes based on narrow samples in which white, middle-class males are over-represented, they tend to skew test results toward this identity.
- For example, the sample used to develop the original MMPI consisted primarily of white people from Minnesota.
- While the MMPI-2 intentionally expanded this sample to address this bias, critics argue that Asian Americans, Hispanics, and under-educated people are still largely underrepresented.
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- For example, the original MMPI was intended to be used in clinical populations, and the normative sample (or the sample of individuals whose scores are used as a baseline against which all test-takers' scores are compared) consisted of psychiatric patients.
- The MMPI-2 used a normative sample from within the general population that was thought to be representative of all major demographic variables, expanding its applicability.
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- Although a researcher may choose to only administer a survey to sample of individuals as their entire study, surveys are often used in experimental research as well.
- The benefits of this method include its low cost and its large sample size.
- Surveys are an efficient way of collecting information from a large sample and are easy to administer compared with an experiment.
- Survey samples tend to be self-selected since the the respondents must choose to complete the survey.
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- Common selection tools include ability tests, knowledge tests, personality tests, structured interviews, the systematic collection of biographical data, and work samples.
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- This is a sample IQ test question modeled after a person's ability to identify and continue patterns in progressive matrices.
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- The observations made in a case study are based on a very limited sample, and since this sample is not randomized or typically very large, the findings cannot be extrapolated to apply to broader contexts.