QUANTITATIVE

METHODS

MDSC3200
Affette McCaw-Binns, Community Health

Learning Objectives
2

After the lecture and with supplemental reading you should:

1.
Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative
methods of data collection
2.
State the reasons why sampling is performed
3.
Distinguish between probabilistic and non-probabilistic
sampling methods
4.
Describe probabilistic sampling methods
random, systematic, stratified, cluster, multi-stage
5.

6.

7.

Describe non-probabilistic (convenience) sampling

methods
State the advantages and disadvantages of each
sampling method
State how each sampling method could bias study
results
McCaw-Binns 08/27/15

Quantitative vs Qualitative
Research

Quantitative methods document amount of the

problem
How much of a problem there is
Who numerically are affected
Study based on measures of quantity or frequency
Findings described in numbers, not words

Qualitative methods classify phenomena

What, how, when, where the essence/ambience

The nature of the problem as people perceive it

Concepts, definitions, characteristics, symbols, descriptors

Why groups differ

What social/behavioural problems influence disease and
how
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Quantitative data collection

methods

Census full count of total population

Survey sample of population

Study units selected from the population in such a

way that the findings can be generalized to the
total population
Ensure that sample selected is not biased

This affects the type of conclusions made

Bias Last defines bias as:

Any effect at any stage of investigation or

inference tending to produce results that depart
systematically from the true values

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Why sample?
5

Not feasible to always measure the whole

population
A subset, which is carefully chosen
can be representative of the entire
population
can provide valid information about the
population
Everyday life consists of making
generalizations from samples

Example:
Population medical/dental students knowledge of
epidemiology
Sample - responses to quiz questions on epidemiology

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

General principles
6

Statistical techniques allow inferences to be

made about populations once samples

Are representative of the parent population

Are sufficiently large
Achieve high response rate

A representative sample has all the

characteristics of the population from which it
is drawn and must be

Internally valid measures what it is intended to

measure
Externally valid can be generalized to the wider
population from which the sample was drawn

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Population terms
7

Population

group of people (institutions, cases or objects)

defined as under study by a researcher
e.g. infants, hospitals, bats

Sample or target population

group or population from which a sample is

drawn
Population pregnant women in Jamaica
Sample population pregnant women in KSA

Would this sample be externally valid?

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Types of samples
8

Non-probability sample chosen in

haphazard fashion of limited utility

Convenience
Snowball
Quota

Probability each unit in the total

population has a known probability or
chance of being selected

Simple random
Systematic
Stratified
Cluster

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Non-probability
Convenience sample

Also called incidental or haphazard or grab sample

grab who you can get

Sample based on availability

No sampling frame needed
Can be chosen systematically

every nth patient in the clinic today or first n patients

e.g. stand at Queens Gate and asking questions of

passersby

Which approach is better and why?

Drawback:
Sample may not be representative
Some units may be over-selected, other underselected or missed altogether
Impossible to adjust for such distortions

Bad sample = incorrect conclusions!

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Non-probability
10

Quota sampling
Species of the convenience sample
Composition of sample determined beforehand
Sample units selected so that all categories of
specific characteristic is represented = Quotas,
e.g.

Age 55% young, 35% middle age, 10% old

Gender 48% male, 52% female

Interview as many people in each category

until fill the quota for characteristic of interest
Drawback: May still not be representative

Some groups not represented

McCaw-Binns 08/27/15
Some groups over-represented

11

Non-probability
Purposive sample

Sample selected to fill specific purpose of

study e.g.

Interested in full spectrum of beliefs on a

subject so people on the fringes deliberately
included (over-represented)
Interested in attitudes to service at antenatal
clinic so sampling done at peak times

Drawback:
External validity?

In the psychosis paper, the target population

was sampled from community care facilities
Why were cases and controls so different?
McCaw-Binns
08/27/15

Non-probability
12

Snowball sampling

Also called chain referral sampling

People already sampled are asked to identify
others who meet the sample criteria
Useful for hard-to-find groups, e.g.

persons with rare characteristics or unusual

behaviours and who tend to move in closed
circles
(drug users, MSMs, CSWs, centenarians)

Drawback:
Sample may not be representative
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

13

Non-probability
Caution: use sparingly

Non-probability samples useful in very

preliminary pilot-type studies

Want to know how difficult clients respond

e.g. very bright, behavioural challenges

May be useful in some qualitative studies

May be useful in some biological studies
where each member of the population is
expected to have the same characteristics
Drawback:
External validity
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Probability sampling
14

The probability of an individual being

included in the sample is known
Parent population is defined (sampling
frame needed)
Each sampling unit has the same probability
or chance of being selected
Designed to be representative of the
population and hence results generalizable
to the wider population, if done correctly
Drawback:
May be expensive and difficult to do
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Probability
15

Simple random sample

Every individual in the population has an
equal/known chance of being selected
Selection has independence selection of one
unit does not affect selection of the others
Chance is only factor influencing sample
selection

Requirement/Drawback:
Sampling frame

List of all study units available ahead of time or

One can be easily compiled
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Drawing a random sample

16

Prepare sampling frame

Determine sample size sampling ratio, e.g.

List of all individuals, units, events etc in the

population, e.g.
Voters list
Census population
Registered students
Births
Health centres etc.
10%, 1%

Devise system to draw sample, e.g.

Lottery method (grab bag)

Table of random numbers

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Table of random numbers

17

39634
14595
30734
64628
42831
80583
00209
05409
95836
65358

62349
35050
71571
89126
95113
70361
90404
20830
22530
70469

74088
40469
83722
91254
43511
41047
99457
01911
91785
87149

65564
27478
79712
24090
42082
26792
72570
60767
80210
89509

16379
44526
25775
25752
15140
78466
42194
55248
34361
72176

McCaw-Binns

19713
67331
65178
03091
34733
03395
49043
79253
52228
18103

08/27/15

39153
93365
07763
39411
68076
17635
24330
12317
33869
55169

Simple Random Sampling

18

Drawbacks:
Representativeness not guaranteed,
especially if sample is small
While ideal, rarely possible in the
real world

Sampling frame often non-existent

May be too costly or inefficient to locate
selected individuals
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Systematic sample
19

A system is used to select subjects

according to a simple systematic rule

Names which begin a certain letter

Those who attend clinic on Tuesday
Every nth person selected
n

determined from the sampling ratio

expressed as k (the sampling interval)

Individuals chosen at regular

intervals

e.g. every 5th unit from the sampling frame

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Probability
Systematic sample I

20

Process:

Decide on the sampling fraction (e.g.

5%= 1 in 20)
List the population in order
Randomly select starting point based on
the sampling fraction (e.g. number
between 1 and 20)
Start at or near the beginning of list and
select every nth person (e.g. 20th) based
on the sampling fraction
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

21

Systematic vs. simple random

sample
Advantages:

Less time consuming/easier to perform

Doesnt require sampling frame ahead of time
e.g. persons registering at hospital on a given day

Equivalent to simple random sampling only if

the sampling frame has no systematic pattern

Disadvantage:

Risk of bias if sampling interval coincides with

systematic variation in the sampling frame,
e.g.

a)
b)

Selecting days and choosing an interval of 7

Every 5th house sampled

Uniform blocks of 5 houses and 5th house on corner lot

only corner lot houses included
Why are these problems?
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Probability
Stratified sampling I

22

Odd variations can occur by chance

Simple random sampling does not ensure

that the proportion of individuals with
certain characteristics in the sample will
be same as reference population, e.g.
Sample 40% males, 60% females (by chance)
Population= 48% males, 52% females
Some group naturally over/under-represented

Examples?

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Why stratified sampling?

23

Reduces sample variation with respect to strata

can ensure balanced numbers in major sub-groups in
sample
ensures equal representation of characteristic which
may be unevenly distributed within a population
If sampling ratio same for each strata:

proportionate allocation

If sampling ratio differs by strata e.g.

oversample sparsely populated strata to improve sample

size
disproportionate stratified sampling

Advantage:

Ensures that proportion of individuals sampled with a

characteristic of interest is adequately represented in the
McCaw-Binns
08/27/15
sample

24

Selecting a stratified
sample
Process:

Divide sampling frame (population) into

strata or subsets, based on characteristic of
interest; e.g. sex

Sample independently within strata

if random sampling used = stratified random

sample
if systematic sampling done = stratified systematic
sample

May have to over sample sparsely

populated strata to have enough subjects to
study
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Cluster sampling
25

Similar to simple random and systematic except unit of

selection is a group or cluster of individuals

Sampling frame = clusters, not individuals in the clusters

Sampling unit = cluster

Probability proportional to size (PPS):

Probability of selecting a sampling unit (e.g., village,

district, HC) proportional to the size of its population
Useful when the sampling units vary considerably in size

Assures that those in larger sites have same probability of getting

into the sample as those in smaller sites, and vice versa

What does this imply re number of highly populated versus

sparsely populated clusters selected?

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

When is Cluster Sampling

preferred

26

If difficult to draw a simple random sample,

e.g.

No complete sampling frame

Logistically the process may be unwieldy, e.g.

Persons scattered over wide geographic area

And, there is a list of groupings of study

units, e.g.

Villages, schools, polling divisions, health centres

Then, these groupings can be randomly

selected

Each unit = group of persons or units = cluster

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Provisos
27

Remember
The unit of selection is the cluster
Characteristics of members within a
cluster may be correlated
Large clusters can bias results if
individual characteristics pooled
Better to have many small clusters than
few large clusters

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Selecting a cluster sample

28

Identify the sub-groups or clusters of the

population

Not necessarily homogeneous as strata are

Draw a random sample of clusters

Each cluster = persons/units in geographic area

Then, select either:

All persons in cluster
Random sample of persons in each cluster
Only persons meeting pre-identified criteria, e.g.

All households with children 0-4 years

Every nth household with an adult 30-79 years old
15 systematically selected adolescents 15-19 years
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Why use cluster sampling?

29

Advantages

Useful for national surveys

Less expensive, time consuming

Study population easier to locate

Not scattered geographically

Disadvantages

May errors if the disease, attribute or variable

studied is clustered in the population, e.g. typhoid,
Chikungunya

Why would such diseases be clustered in space?

Initial survey may establish if there is clustering of

characteristics
May be able to adjust for effect of clustering in data analysis
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Weighting
30

If strata are sampled proportionately the

sample can be combined and treated
like a simple random sample

In disproportionate sampling different

weights must be applied to the strata
before data are combined

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

31

PROBABILITY
Multi-stage sampling

Population is sampled in stages, e.g.

In two-stage sample

Primary sampling units selected

e.g.

schools, electoral districts

Individuals then selected from primary

sampling units
e.g.

health centres, AN clinics, women 20-34

wks gestation

Any method of sampling used at each stage

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

32

Summary 1: Lesson
exercises

You want a sample of 10% of students in

the class
How would you draw a:

Simple random sample

Stratified random sample
What

would be your stratification variable?

Cluster sample
What

natural clusters do we now have in the

class?
What is the unit of randomization?
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Summary 2: Sample A
33

The book Women and Love (Shere Hite,

1987) was based on the authors findings
in response to a survey. She send out
100,000 questionnaires to women's
organizations and 4.5% were returned

What kind of sampling was this?

What problems do you see with this
approach and the conclusions from this
book?

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Summary 2: Sample A
34

The book Women and Love (Shere Hite,

1987) was based on the authors findings
in response to a survey. She send out
100,000 questionnaires to women's
organizations and 4.5% were returned

What kind of sampling was this?

What problems do you see with this
approach and the conclusions from this
book?

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Summary 3: Sample B
35

An interviewer is interested in learning

about interest in civil unions in the gay
community in Jamaica. They identified a
few persons and asked them to suggest
others who could be approached to take
part in this study

What kind of sampling is this?

Why was this the best approach to take
for this study?

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Summary 4: Sample C
36

Investigators wish to
assess the association
between dietary
Campus Tot Mal Femal
practices
2008/9
al and
es
es
-FM
attitudes
towards
S
lifestyle and nutrition
Cave Hill 188 60
128
counseling among
(32% (68%)
medical students
on
)
all 3 UWI
campuses.
Mona
308
887
2194
1
(29%select
(71%)
How might
they
)
a sample for this
St
200 725
1282
study?
Augustin 7
(36% (64%)

What factors should

they consider in
deciding how to
choose their sample?

Location?
Gender?
Differences in class
size?
Would the campus
specific gender
distribution be an
issue?

McCaw-Binns

08/27/15

Summary 5: sampling
37

Do samples always have to be representative of

the entire population?

Samples should be representative of the target

population to whom one wishes to generalize ones
findings. If only interested in children however there
is no need to sample both adults and children.

How could the population sampled affect your

conclusions?

If samples are biased findings cannot be safely

generalized to the parent population from which is
was drawn, leading to potentially erroneous
conclusions
McCaw-Binns

08/27/15