ABSTRACT
In this chapter, sampling methods are presented. Each method is more suitable for a particular research purpose and each method can yield more or less precise population parameter estimates. These methods are used to assure that the sample resembles the population in respect to some key defining variables, so that the inferences about a population can be made on the basis of findings from the sample. Sampling methods and issues in sampling of participants where a participant could be a person or a school or a hospital are presented, focusing on small-scale survey research studies that are more common in thesis and dissertation work. The presentation is organized according to the following questions that survey researchers typically have to answer to identify their samples: (1) Whom should we select? (2) How should we select? (3) How precise are the sample estimates? (4) How many should we select? and (5) What evidence can we provide to determine whether our sample is representative of the population?
