Question

Let's say you want to study causes of bullying middle school students. The study hypothesis is males are more likely to engage in bullying than females. Describe a non-probability sampling technique (e.g., availability, quota, purposive, snowball) that you might use to obtain a sample for this study. Explain how you would use the selected technique to draw your sample and explain why you selected this technique over the other available non-probability sampling techniques.

Answer 1

Purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling technique that involves selecting participants based on specific criteria, such as gender, age, or behavior. In this case, I would select participants based on their gender, with the goal of obtaining a sample that includes both male and female middle school students who have engaged in bullying behavior. To draw my sample using purposive sampling, I would first identify a few middle schools in the area and contact the school counselors or administrators. would explain the purpose of my study and ask if they could provide me with a list of students who have been reported for engaging in bullying behavior. From this list, I would select participants who meet the criteria for my study, specifically focusing on getting an equal number of male and female participants. I selected the purposive sampling technique over other non-probability
sampling techniques, such as availability or snowball sampling, because it allows me to target participants who have engaged in bullying behavior and to control for gender. By selecting participants based on specific criteria, I can increase the likelihood of obtaining a sample that is representative of the population I am studying.
Additionally, because my study hypothesis focuses on gender differences, it is important to obtain a sample that includes both males and females.

Answer 2

Sure, I can help you with that.

One non-probability sampling technique that you might use to obtain a sample for this study is **convenience sampling**. Convenience sampling involves selecting participants who are easily accessible to the researcher. In this case, you could select middle school students who are attending a particular school or who are members of a particular club or organization.

To draw your sample using convenience sampling, you could start by identifying a list of middle schools in your area. Then, you could contact the principals of those schools and ask for permission to survey students. Once you have permission, you could randomly select a group of students from each school and survey them.

You might select convenience sampling over other non-probability sampling techniques because it is relatively easy and inexpensive to implement. Additionally, convenience sampling can be a good way to obtain a sample of participants who are willing to participate in your study.

However, it is important to note that convenience sampling can be biased. This is because the participants in your sample may not be representative of the population of all middle school students. For example, if you only survey students who are attending a particular school, your sample may be biased towards students from that particular school.

To reduce the bias of convenience sampling, you can try to select participants from a variety of different schools and backgrounds. Additionally, you can use a technique called **purposive sampling** to select participants who are likely to have the information that you are looking for. For example, if you are interested in studying the causes of bullying, you could purposively select students who have been bullied or who have witnessed bullying.

By using a combination of convenience sampling and purposive sampling, you can reduce the bias of your sample and increase the likelihood that your results will be representative of the population of all middle school students.