Simple Random Sampling

Researchers are often faced with the task of making statements about entire populations. However, including every member of a population into a [Page 1520]study is often not possible and simply not feasible. Thus, subsets of the population (samples) must be chosen to represent the population. If samples are collected properly, precise statements can be made about a population, with a fairly high degree of confidence, from relatively small samples. Numerous techniques have been developed to ensure that the subset, or sample, is representative of the overall population so generalizations can be made. Simple random sampling is a probability method of selecting a subset, or sample, from a larger population in such a manner that every element (individual member of the population whose characteristics are to ...